Homemade Toys for Cats

Cat toys help keep cats active and healthy. They offer cats an opportunity for physical exercise and mental stimulation. When you and your cat play with cat toys together, it becomes a bonding experience as well. In the case of homemade cat toys, there is an additional incentive: making cat toys can also be a fun craft project for you, the cat owner.

Things You'll Need

• Work table
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Needle
• Thread
• Dried catnip
• Ribbon
• Thin dowel
• Hammer
• Small nail
• Three feathers
• Elastic string

Instructions

Catnip Mouse

1. Choose a fabric for the mouse body--preferably a strong fabric such as 100 percent cotton. Choose solid white, brown or black fabric for a more realistic-looking mouse. Choose other colors or a patterned fabric, such as polka dots or stripes, for a mouse with a more unique look.

2. Place the fabric on the work table with the good side of the fabric facing up. Fold the fabric in half like a book. The wrong side of one side of the fabric will now be face up. Draw an oval shape onto the wrong side of the fabric. This will be the size of your mouse toy.

3. Trace a ¼-inch margin around the first oval to create a second larger oval. This will be your seam allowance. Cut out the mouse body on the line of the second larger oval.

4. Cut a length of ribbon for the tail. Make a small knot at both ends. Place the ribbon tail completely inside the mouse body but with 1 inch sticking out and sandwiched between the two pieces of fabric.

5. Thread the needle. Sew the mouse body's two pieces of fabric together along the outline of the first oval using small, simple stitches. Make sure to sew on top of the ribbon tail so the tail is firmly sewn in place. Make sure you leave an inch-wide opening in the mouse body unsewn. Knot the thread and trim it where you left off.

6. Turn the mouse body inside out through the small opening. The right side of the fabric--and the tail--should now be facing outward. Stuff the mouse body with dried catnip.

7. Thread the needle. Invisible stitch the small opening closed: this consists of sewing where the edges of the fabric meet with large loose stitches and then pulling all the stitches tight so that they are no longer visible from the outside. Knot the thread and trim it as close to the mouse body as you can.

Feather Fishing Pole

1. Buy one ¼-inch wooden dowel from a hardware or art supply store. If you wish, you can paint it with your favorite color or design using a non-toxic paint. Let the paint dry overnight.

2. Cut an 8-inch piece of ribbon. Gather the feathers together and tightly tie the tops of the feathers together with the piece of ribbon. Tie the feathers a second time. Knot the ribbon.

3. Cut a piece of elastic string to the desired length for the fishing pole. Tie a double knot on both ends. Place one of the knots on the top of the wooden dowel. Hammer the nail into the knot on the wooden dowel.

4. Tie the ribbon with the feathers to the other knotted end of the elastic string. Cut any extra ribbon off.

5. With a new length of ribbon, alternately wrap and tie the ribbon around where the feathers and the elastic string are joined together. Cut off any extra ribbon. Finish it with a decorative ribbon bow.

References

• The Humane Society of the United States: Cat Toys
• Authentic Knitting Board: Invisible Stitch