Homemade Cat Toys that Will Delight You Cat and Your Wallet

Cats really aren't all that picky about what makes a good toy as long as it makes wonderful sounds, does interesting movements or accommodates their own particular quirks. And speaking of quirks, test your cat with catnip before ruining any toys. Not all cats like the stuff. In all the years I've lived with cats, only a few liked catnip and those behaved strangely when exposed to it. Of the cats we have now, most could care less and the rest absolutely detest it. None of them actually like it.

If you have or plan to have a rodent or bird as a pet in your house don't ever use feathers, real leather or fur unless you want your cat to develop a genuine killer instinct. Once they've had these items you'll never be able to have a rodent or bird in your house with them. Not all cats come with a developed killer instinct. However, it is my experience that feathers, real leather or real fur will awaken it in most of them. Some never develop that. We have one like that. But you can't know that until it's too late.

The items mentioned in this article have been field tested by generations of cats in our home and have been approved by them to provide hours of kitty pleasure. Of course some of them are more approved by certain individuals than by others. Some cats prefer the noisy over the quiet and some prefer the quiet over the noisy and then again some are equal opportunists and will take anything. You just need to test your cat to see which they prefer. Some of the items mentioned weren't intended as cat toys. They were my personal possessions annexed by the cats as theirs. Once a cat has swiped something you can only reclaim that item by putting it behind a closed door.

I also include a note about our house. We have hard floors with area rugs, not carpet since we live among sugar sand which filters down below the matting and can't be vacuumed up. So some of the suggestions may not work as well for you. Some of my suggestions are also by way of a warning.

Cardboard Boxes:

We found this one out by accident. My husband had brought in a banana box full of groceries and hadn't gotten around to taking the empty box outside. The cats took over the box. Four of them managed to stuff themselves into that box at the same time. Other times they would use the box as a toy. They would wiggle their paws through the handles and attack the outside of the box while inside or attack another cat outside the box. They would tear through the room and fly into the box and make it slide across the floor or they would get inside the box and lying on their side, they would beat up the box with their clawing and kicking. The real fun came when we had cats who wanted to sleep in the box at the same time that another wanted to play.

Paper Bags:

You can find paper bags in the freezer section of Walmart, if they're not out. I grew up with cats playing with paper bags. If you don't want the bag destroyed in in one day, then don't leave it on the floor. As soon as a paper bag is put on the floor, the cats claim it as their own and are dashing across the floor as fast as they can and either jumping onto the bag or trying to jump through the other end of the bag. They also love to jump on another cat who's in the bag or attack them from outside. They just love the noise. I haven't met a cat who doesn't like a nice
noisy paper bag. Note: Don't use plastic bags. The cats get caught in the handles and end up running through the house in a blind panic.

Pots and Pans:

Just like kids, they love the noise and the different space. We have an antique Deal table in the kitchen. Silly me, I thought it would be a good idea to put my antique enameled pots under the table and possibly use them for storage. Ha Ha. The joke is on me. The cats moved right in. They love to curl up in them and sleep. I'm not talking about little cats. I'm talking about huge, well-fed cats. They, sometimes fight over them. Some of them also carry their toys to the pots and drop them in and bat them around. They just love the noise and to watch the toy skitter around. We've also found some of our missing items tucked into those pots.

Large Baskets:

This is where I should have learned my lesson about the pots. We got this beautiful, huge basket in a sidewalk sale the first year we were married. For years we had one cat who didn't bother with the basket. We used the basket, at first, as a magazine holder. Later we used it to hold decorative household items that were also used on a regular basis. But then we got our latest bunch and they had a way different idea. Let's just say we ended up rescuing our possessions from the new owners of the basket.

When visitors come into our home, they will often see that basket tipped on its side sometimes under the living-room table and other times in the middle of the floor, usually with a cat in it. They use it the same way they use the pots. They also roll it around on the floor. The only thing I don't let them do to it is scratch it tear it up.

Jingle Bells:

I have bought jingle bells from the craft section or have taken some that I'd been given and have just tossed them out on the floor. The cats love them. I've learned that it's better not to add anything to them. The cats are plenty entertained with them the way they are and they're less hazardous to the cats' safety. Some can get entangled or caught in attached loops and others may decide to eat the loops and cause problems with their bowels.

Rocks:

I'm so glad I collect rocks. They don't break. The cats are constantly sneaking them onto the floor. They love the sound they make and the irregular movement they exhibit as they kind-of roll across the floor. A good size should be at least two inches or larger in diameter. Although I would be careful about how big the rock is because the larger it is the larger the sound it makes. How big a sound can you live with?

Marbles:

As usual, we did not give the cats the marbles. They swiped them from our son. They just love the free fluid movement of the rolling action. They love to see how fast they can bat the marbles through the house. However, these could be a hazard because they're so small that you could fall on them. The shooter marble is large enough and especially if it's one of the white ones to be easily seen.

Pill Bottles with Popcorn or Jingle Bell:

Just put a jingle bell or several kernels of popcorn into a pill bottle. Securely put the top on and drop it on the floor. The cats love the sound and the irregular roll the bottle gives.

Plastic Easter Egg with Popcorn or Jingle Bell:

This is the same as the pill bottle except that when you have put the jingle bell or the popcorn inside super-glue the egg together. The cats love this for the same reason that they love the pill bottle.

Golf ball, Baseball, Tennis Ball or Swimming Pool Ball:

None of these were given to the cats. They swiped all of them. They roll the golf balls and baseballs down the hallway just to hear the sound echo off the walls. They wrap themselves around the tennis balls or swimming pool balls and kick them with their hind feet or bat them around the house.

Pom Poms or fuzzy Craft Balls:

Some of our cats prefer the quiet toy that they can pick up in their mouth, carry around the house until they find their ideal location which is sometimes the antique pots, the basket or the sofa.

Old Socks and Plastic Bags:

Take an old sock that has No holes in it, stuff a small plastic bag in the sock and tie the end closed in a knot. In an instant you have given hours of very noisy pleasure to your kitties.

Wad of Aluminum Foil Wrap:

Take a piece of aluminum foil. Just tear off a strip and loosely wad it up into a ball and toss it in front of one of your kitties who likes things with strange noises and peculiar movement. And watch the fun begin. I use the lighter weight aluminum for the particular sound it makes.

Boot Laces or Long Shoe Laces with Jingle Bells or Old Key Rings Attached to the Ends
and Tied to the Back of a Chair; Or Any Kind of Cord Tied to the Back of a Chair:

We have two of these tied to the back of chairs in different parts of the house. Every-so-often I will hear a cat playing with one of them. The nice thing about this arrangement is that the cats can use this when they want to. They don't have to wait for us to pick the cord up and play with them.

Anything Tied to the End of Fishing Line on a Rod and Reel:

My brother did this when we were kids and our son also did it when he was home with us. They would attach a popular cat toy to the end of the fishing line on their rod and reel. Then they would cast the toy out into a room the same way they would a fishing lure. Then they would reel the toy back in as the cats would madly dash after this huge fun. Just one note of caution; Be careful that you cast in an area that is open and uncluttered with breakables. Because the cats will literally be flying through the air to catch this. It's great exercise for your kitties.

These next three items aren't really being recommended as toys, but are being given as
warnings when you consider furnishing your home and having cats:

Chairs with Rolling Casters:

When we built our new home in 2002, we were given several pieces of furniture. One of them was a pretty chair on casters. We had no clue what we were about be in for until we heard that chair rolling around in the middle of the night, on the hard floor and across the rug. We find that chair in the middle of the living-room floor, against
the sofa, down the hallway or in the dining-room. The cats will run along the floor as fast they can, fly through the air and land stiff-legged on that chair just to cause it to speed across the living-room and have it crash into something.

Rugs in Long Hallways:

When we first moved into our newly built home, we had a rug in our 25 foot hallway. That rug now lives in our shed, permanently. Why? Because the cats delighted in dashing from the front door, down the hallway as fast as they could until they landed on that rug where they would stop dead and surf all the way to the end of the hallway.
They did this until that rug was an two foot pile in front of our son's bedroom door. They did this every night, crashing into that door and leaving a difficult pile for our son to climb over every morning.

Plants:

I no longer have my plants in rooms where the cats are at. I keep them behind closed doors where the cats aren't allowed. I even tried putting the plants up on high shelves or hanging them. However, some of our present population are very determined salad eaters or very talented bowlers. Some plants can also be very hazardous to your cat's health.

It doesn't take much to entertain a cat. They're very good at doing that themselves. All you need to do is provide the opportunities for them to have fun and to be occupied with exercising themselves. It also doesn't cost very much to provide a very popular toy for your favorite feline companion.

Sources:

It's harder to get banana boxes these days. However, if you get any item such as a TV, microwave or stereo components those boxes would work.

A lot of the craft items we got at Walmart or Michael's.

The cord can be acquired from Joann's.

The jingle bells can be found in the seasonal section of many stores in this season or from Walmart or Michael's.

We got the laces from Walmart. But they can also be bought at a shoe store.

All of the balls and the marbles can be found in the sporting section of Walmart, or the toy section of Dollar Tree.