Homemade cat toy!!! Fun guaranteed!

I posted this to the pet group, and someone suggested I post it here as well:


This was a hit for my very lazy kitty!

I saw this on a toy website:



So, I made my own out of a cardboard box (from a humidifier filter, it was about the same size as this toy), and put half of the daily kibble ration in it so she had to "work" to eat part of her food. It totally worked! She is much more active, and I think it helps with her daytime boredom since she has something to do besides sleep and play with a fake mouse! She's also lost a little of her "excess baggage" (and is still getting the same amount of food)

My next project? Holes in a tennis ball to "roll out" treats!

Any other ideas for homemade pet toys? I'm addicted now!

I hide kitty treats in it, though I need to put it away from time to time to keep their interest in it high.If you have two or more cats, just take a large box and cut smallish holes in it. One cat will go in while the others try to paw at him/her from outside the box.

Little balls of thin tin foil are an amazingly simple and popular kitty toy. Or tie some small toys or objects to a towel bar in the bathroom, and leave them slightly exposed under the towels; drives my cats wild!

Another idea; go to the thrift store and purchase a handful of baby socks. Fill the socks with catnip and a jingle bell. Go to the craft store (not Michael's; they're red) and buy a big bag of cheap mixed feathers (you can use these in many toys). Hot glue gun a few feathers together at the base, wrap a little duct tape around them, and sew them into the top of your baby socks. Now you have the perfect sized catnip toy!

You can also make feather teasers (a "fishing pole" type toy") using the cheap feathers, a dowel rod or other stick, and some slender nylon string. My cat Oberon does through the feather attachments so fast on his "Da bird" toy that I just keep the feathers and glue gun handy for weekly replacements.

Crumpled up tissue paper in a laundry basket is fun for some younger cats. Also, leave small trails of crunchy treats hidden around the house before you leave in the morning feeds the kitty's "hunting' instinct. Instead of buying expensive treats, I recommend Artemis Fresh Mix Feline dry food as a crunchy treat for cat owners without a lot of extra $$$ (My cats love it more than the commercially available treats). To find a retailer near you, go to www.artemiscompany.com (they have two brands of dry cat food, but the "Fresh Mix" brand is the only one that gets treat status with most cats).

I tip on where to find some may be one of those newspaper coin op. boxes or just ask a retailer.

One of my cats just goes crazy.