Member Advice on Home-made Toys for Cats > Reviews (1)

One of the great things about being a cat is that you can play with almost anything, and you are less likely to be told off than the children you live with! How many times have you told the cat off for licking the sofa or putting a toy in their mouth?

One of the irritating things about having a cat is that you can spend £6 on a well made jingly, squeaky, catnipped toy, and she will still play with the sweet wrapper on the floor!

One of the good things about making your own toys for them is that it costs less, so it doesn’t matter as much if they get ignored!

There are toys on sale for cats that are simply fur balls on a bit of elastic.

Easy to make…
Ask for the scraps of fur from your local fabric shop, (they will usually get them free).

While you are there pick up 2 metres of thin elastic (20p).

Double the elastic over and twist the two parts together knotting at the bottom and leaving a loop above the knot above.

Or if you are feeling extravagant do the same with some thin ribbon (50p).

Screw the fabric up into a ball and stitch it carefully – the more time you spend making the ball the longer it will last.

Thread the ribbon or the elastic through each ball of fur.

Add a few bells inside the balls if you fancy something that will really get your cats’ attention – you can pick these up at a fabric shop too (20p – 60p depending on size).

Or you could thread your spare buttons through the end of the ribbon, they make a nice noise too.

If you’re cat’s a little too old for toys really, but you still want to play – spray the toy with some Catnip spray for around £1.50. That will soon get them going!

Truffle was kept happy for hours with my effort – until she found that sweet wrapper!

There are a few pointers to remember if you are going to make your own toys for them though:

Make sure that everything you stitch or glue is secure especially when using thread, the last thing you want to come home to is a strangled cat!

Don’t use anything small that they could swallow or choke on, if you do make sure that it is secure – and remember that a cat’s play can be quite rough.

Check the toy regularly for any wear and tare just encase anything has come loose.

While you are making the toy keep the cat away! – Loose string is a great thing to play with, but not when you’ve got a needle in your hand!

Currently I am working on a scratching post for Truffle. I saw a pyramid for sale not so long ago for £9 and all it is is carpet and cardboard! So here’s my instructions for this:

Cut out four equally sized triangles, of least a metre in height, from some study cardboard. The bases of fruit trays are great and you can pick them up for free at any nice supermarket.

Score down one side of each triangle about a centimetre in – these will be the flaps to stick each triangle together.

Using a triangle as a stencil cut out four triangles of carpet. Any old scraps will do, but ribbed ones seem to be the favourite of the pyramids that I have seen on sale.

Cut out a hole from the base of one triangle big enough for your cat to get through, so your monster can hide inside.

With a hot glue gun, or strong superglue, stick the flaps of the scored side to a non-flapped side of each triangle, Remember to keep that hole on the base of the pyramid.

Leave the glue to dry.

Again using the hot glue gun, dribble the glue on to each side and place on your carpet triangles; do not worry about covering the hole.

Once the glue is dry, cut the hole out of the carpet for your cat to climb through.

If you want a cosy inside then use some fur.
If you are handy with the sewing machine, make a fur base to the pyramid as well by sewing all 5 triangles together and sticking it to the cardboard inside – remember to leave that gap though. If you're not so handy – just stick the fur to the sides that are there.

You could add a toy to the top too:

Buy a ping-pong ball from your local toy shop, and sew it through a length of string. Remember to tie a knot on the end or it will fall off!

Thread the end of the string through the point of the pyramid with a knot in the inside.

Then just watch you rascal scratch, play and hide, all for less than £3!

There is no more danger of your cat being hurt in a homemade cat toy than a shop bought one. If anything there is less because you know exactly what went into making it. You're also likely to be a lot more rigours checking a homemade toy that a bought one even though there maybe faults.

And have fun experimenting with your own ideas, you know what textures and sounds you cat goes crazy over, although unfortunately it is hard to recreate the sound of the fridge door in a toy, that really would get their attention!

BUT REMEMBER

Anything stuck together must be done so securely.

Keep an eye on the toy for any damage that might be a problem!

And have fun!