20 DIY Cat Toys Your Cats WILL Go CRAZY For! (& How To Make Them!)

[@rhondahuggins9542]

Loved all these!! We had a kitten "bloom" with two stray girlz this Spring. They are standoffish but the kittens are socializing REALLY well...but FULL of kitten energy! When it gets cold, they will be in and will need to play. I love the fact you are creating and not soending LOTS of money. Just like human kids, if you buy expensive toys, before long they will prefer the box it came in. 🤦‍♀️ Really love the mat!! Ive contemplated how to make that and now I have your video.🤓😇 I have been sewing much of my life and was excited to see you give it a go. Your beautiful furbabies dont care. Make no mistake, they are judging you, always, but treats help😉😅😻

[@Pepperprojectz]

The mat is a really interesting one, right? Wolf is obsessed with the Trixie version which costs c£30 and we couldn't find any DIY ones online. Depending on how much you need to buy, the DIY one costs approx £0-8. We could have bought a larger mat but we figured that a DIY version needs to be significantly cheaper to make the time investment worth while, at least to show in a KZbin video. Two things we'd consider changing to make it more 'pro', would be... 1. Larger door mat (more square) 2. Carpet top, vs. recyclable bag (I suspect an offcut from a carpet shop would be perfect) Lastly, we considered a 'carpet' bottom but you really need something to grip the floor. If someone is laying carpet or if you have some laying about, I suspect a large offcut with some anti-slip rug attachments would do the job (as long as velcro sticks to the carpet). Either way, these carpet 'activity rugs' are easily DIY'able and, as we said in the video, work just as well as the paid version. (Maybe if there's a carpet fitter who comes across this comment they could advise everyone in the future!) haha omg kittens are a handful but really good to hear they are socialising well. There's something incredibly beautiful about kitten energy. I'm looking forward to hearing how they get on with the mat! :)

[@rhondahuggins9542]

🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️'spending' NOT 'soending'! And I call myself a Grammer Snob😏

[@Pepperprojectz]

loooool!

[@ElleDone]

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE PIPE CLEANER...even if you fold the tip over. My cat managed to eat the pipe cleaner and that was an expensive vet appointment to have it removed. Our vet told us even with the tip bent over the tips are sharp and can cut gums easily or scratch eyes.

[@Pepperprojectz]

Oh no, we’re so sorry to hear that. We scored down the pipe cleaners for this very reason, in fact the pipe cleaner comes in at 45 (second to last) on our toy comparison score chart (shown at the end of the video). We always recommend supervising cats with any toy but it really comes down to knowing your cat, their environment and assessing the risks. We don’t want to tell the community what they should or shouldn’t be doing. As owners, we are all ultimately responsible and in the best position to judge what is right or wrong. That being said, we’re incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful community of cat parents here, and it’s great to see everyone sharing their experiences, just like you’ve done, to help raise awareness and help us all be the best cat parents. While we haven’t had any issues ourselves, we appreciate you sharing your experience. For us, for example, we’d never leave out a cat wand with feathers because they’d try to eat them, but with supervision, we think they’re fine. But I’m sure that’s not the same for everybody. @ElleDone, thank you for taking the time to both watch and comment on our video. You’d be amazed at the positive impact it can have and we really appreciate you.

[@catstravaganza564]

@@Pepperprojectz even the commercial hard plastic springs can be iffy, I have had cats chew them and they twist and break and can be swallowed. Recently tho one of the cats managed to get one of the springs caught in his mouth the spring was out of shape however, convinced me to put them away. Pretty much all toys here are supervised, unless I know its a really safe toy and one toy I just started using that is safe is the plastic bottle top from sparkling wine. Cats LOVE it, because its plastic and I took all the metal tie downs off it, the shape us great since its almost like a top in a way. Can't swallow it, can't get anything caught in it, can't break it plastic is soft not rigdid and the cats play with those tops for hours...or if not for hours they fight over ONE when we have more than that, just like kids, can't share things. Cats are assholes, I love my cats but there are days when I think geez they have me so wrapped I am just another human servant...some reward me with cuddles but mostly I get shouted at for food.

[@n-dub3811]

i have 3 Siamese cats that LOVE pipe cleaners. they do not eat them. they chew on them, toss them around.maybe it depends on if your cat tends to eat inappropriate things- which mine do not do -ever.

[@Pepperprojectz]

@@n-dub3811 Yeah agreed. One of our cats was fine with toys but spent most of her time chewing PC cables... #fun haha

[@wudgee]

I’ve made the catnip sock and also the mouse which I tied to a stick and cord for the cat to chase. I also wrapped a ‘mouse’ onto the end of a stick to poke through holes in a box, from the inside, like whackamole. All successful.

[@Pepperprojectz]

Oh that’s awesome! Glad the video was useful and I hope you had fun creating them. Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment on the video.

[@laurelbay2894]

Thanks for posting this! I have a 9 month old kitty - her love language is PLAY!!! Lots of great ideas here! 🐾

[@Pepperprojectz]

Awe, congratulations on welcoming your baby to the family! It sounds like you’ve got your work cut out haha. Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment on the video. 😻😸

[@laurelbay2894]

@ 😻

[@fionaedmonds389]

Great! Now I know what to do with those odd socks🤣

[@Pepperprojectz]

Hahaha! 🤣 it’s perfect way to use old socks lol

[@Stella-bu3sj]

These are great! My cat is really fickle with toys, so I especially appreciate you guys splitting the options into different engagement categories. I definitely want to try a few of these!

[@Pepperprojectz]

Don't worry you're not alone in that,, our eldest Cookie is increadibly selective! If you haven't seen it already, we posted a video about how to make older toys interesting again. In there we talked about different categories and how to reset that interest. Otherwise if you don't it ends up feeling like one endless treadmill of a toy search, ha! Anyway, enough of my ramble. Thank you for watching and let us know how the DIY toy making goes! :)

[@Stella-bu3sj]

@@Pepperprojectz That's actually the first video of yours that I saw! It definitely inspired me to spice things up for my cat. :) And I can officially report that the tube towers at 8:44 were a success! Instead of a wood piece, I used a $1 side plate from Dollar General as the base, and it was just enough weight to hold up to some pawing. It was lots of fun! I'm looking forward to bringing it out occasionally for some added enrichment.

[@Pepperprojectz]

Oh that's sooo cool and really good to hear!

[@blahglklsk3051]

Big No No to the aluminum foil balls. You don't want your cat eating that do you? Because they will.

[@Pepperprojectz]

Thank you for adding your feedback and comments. It’s important to keep an eye on cats when they’re playing with toys and make your best judgement on what’s safe for them. That being said, I’ve seen our cats try to eat all sorts of things but not foil. But appreciate your perspective and time to watch the video. I hope there’s one in here you and your cats will enjoy. ☺️

[@dorrafendri2138]

Your cats plays with everything, not mine😕, she is so difficult to satisfy

[@laurelbay2894]

Hmm … is she an older cat? 🐾

[@Pepperprojectz]

They’re still very much babies (the 2 boys are coming up to 18 months). If you can, try a few different toys, different times (early / late) and before feeding them. Don’t give up! Play looks different in all cats, I’m sure you’ll find something that works. Even 2-3 minute can make a massive difference. Let us know how you get on. Oh and thank you for taking the time to comment / watch the video. 😻

[@ilsehattingh1976]

My cat isn't interested in most treats so it's difficult to teach him about puzzles. If he doesn't get treat immediately, he loses interest .

[@Pepperprojectz]

If you haven’t already, check out freeze dry chicken breast cat treats, like these. amzn.to/3YP9WQi they’re expensive but at least a healthy option that our 3 seem to like. Aside from that the catit sense food maze tower thingy is pretty easy for cats to usr (we did a video on it a while back). P.s. thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on the video ❤️🐈😻

[@Pepperprojectz]

What did you think of the video, are there any toys we missed off? Sorry this dropped a few hours later than normal. The video has between 500-600 clips/animations and one was causing our editing tool to crash and we had to go clip by clip to find the culprit! 😅😅😅. We hope you find this video useful! ❤ A&K

[@JanetH.215]

A string tied to the end of a stick and waved about on the floor gets my cats super excited. Shoestring works well.

[@laurelbay2894]

Great video! My 9 month old cat is happy to pounce endlessly looking for the stick end of a wand toy that I move and tap under a duvet! 😂

[@sharondaly6776]

Thanks. Some great ideas. Maybe just add that certain toys should only be used under supervision, especially for first time kitty owners.

[@Pepperprojectz]

Great point. Some cats are little devils and can’t be trusted, ha!

[@Nightmare-mf5so]

Such a smart idea for a video 👍

[@Pepperprojectz]

Awe thank you for the positive vibes, glad you found it useful. 😻

[@catstravaganza564]

HOLY CATS you guys are just getting better every video, dunno why, I think its because I was one of the first subscribers makes me feel proud everytime I see a new drop and seeing you DO this. I often find that a lot of people start off and then just quit because its not easy to become a KZbin partner but your doing it. I believe its because your FRESH taking old and finding better relating to your follower and giving them even better. Makes it much easier to relate to the people who are watching, because its the owners of cats, hard market to target, cat owners are as weird as their cats, not kitten. I honestly feel honored because I remember suggesting this and I think its BRILLIANT...especially since I cannot believe that there are ideas in here I haven't used or seen before that intrigues me, genuinely. On toys, I can't be bothered to waste money on toys anymore but hey I always have toilet paper rolls...when you run a cat sanctuary you don't waste money but you do have to have toys and play time scheduled for rehab and stimulation. As a matter of fact, btw I'm not so green or an environmentalist, I am a FREEcycler and so by making your own toys and not ordering or buying them ironically substantially decreases your carbon footprint (you aren't taxing anything using things that you use all the time anyway) and in some stretch of the imagination your lowering your recycling impact since lots of the cardboard ends up being turned into a different kind of organic waste...🤣 This video is GENIUS. So pleased that your subscriber base is almost at the KZbin partnership numbers only 196 subscribers to go WOOHOO!

[@Pepperprojectz]

@catstravganza564, thank you so much, as ever, for the support. You're right, the DIY one is a big and an important one to cover! If not just for cats but as you said for the environment as well. It's amazing how many everyday objects our cats find fun and exciting! :) Glad you found this interesting, hopefully we can keep it going!

[@catstravaganza564]

@@Pepperprojectz I should send you some pictures of the easiest cat toy I make. I collected the insides of puppy poo bags, they are either plastic or a thick cardboard. You can just toss the tube or you can do what I do and use old pieces of rope you knot on each end and boom you just repurposed a tube into a toy, and there's a lot toys you can make with them. From just a toss toy to making a wand toy, boy are they easy to use to make toys since they are like using beads and all you need to make them secure without any additional glue or whatever is to learn to tie macrame knots! Just keeps getting better, I am also interested in comparing the chart between the purchased toys and the DIY's. I think your cats were very engaged by the ice and other DIY's but man other than that's messy I want to try that lol.

[@victoriao1828]

Excellent ideas. Bravo for creativity 👏👏👏

[@Pepperprojectz]

Awe, thank you for the positive feedback, really means a lot and makes a massive difference!

[@alexzperry9522]

Thanks for the video! VERY helpful! Are the 2 gray cats Maine Coons?

[@Pepperprojectz]

They are! Still very much babies though haha 😂😂😂 Thank you for taking the time to comment and watch the video, it really helps us out😻😸

[@JanetH.215]

Great ideas! Will try the pipe-cleaner coils, box swing, and adventure mat. The old sock kicking pillow is a great idea and will save me from buying them! My cats favorite toy is an old shoestring tied to a stick and they chase it when swirled around the floor. One of my cats actually loves water and I might set up a floating puzzle toy outside for him.

[@Nukaria]

just pls make sure you supervise and don't leave them lying around as they can be dangerous to a cat unsupervised 😢

[@PlanetC64]

You showed up in my feed & already saved us HUNDREDS. Re-using is KING. Gift ideas! Catnip Kicker is my fave!! (Our home is a millipede of single socks) Liked (loved actually) and subbed

[@Pepperprojectz]

Whoop that’s awesome! Thank you so much for watching! We're thrilled it was helpful and that you enjoyed it ❤️🥰. How do we always end up with so many odd socks?!, haha! Thanks for subscribing, and see you again soon!

[@LynnFleming-d5c]

I like all the cat 😸🐈 toys you make very very cute for cats to play with thank you for sharing this video be blessed Amen 🙏💯

[@Pepperprojectz]

Awe thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on our video. Any time, I hope your cats enjoy the toys!😻😸

[@juliahill7732]

Great video! I love your cats faces while playing with the ice cubes! 😍 I'm going to try the sock kicker and the catnip toys, floating lids looks fun too. Some brilliant ideas to try, I'll tag my daughter in it too she's a bit more craft orientated than me! She'll love the fort . Have you any experience with growing cat grass indoors? Was wondering about the Catit kit. It looks really good and has good reviews but I tried growing it some years ago and it was a disaster. It went mouldy. Our cat kept pulling up the roots too, and then scattered it all over the place. I want them to experience grass as an indoor cat too, but don't want to waste my money if it's rubbish! Thanks for your reviews and ideas, very much appreciated.

[@catstravaganza564]

Don't do what I did and try to grow cat nip indoors, its a suicide mission! 😂

[@Pepperprojectz]

Ooo what a good question. It sounds like we've had a similar experience! A few years back we grew some indoors. It took, what, 2-3 weeks to grow(?) and took a surprising amount of time/effort to water/ensure the soil didn't get trampled. Then one morning Cookie mowed/destroyed the entire thing. (Maybe she should work for a golf course based on how close to the soil she got,, she'd do an amazing job keeping a putting green nice and short... lol!) I'm not sure whether the Catit version solves any of these problems but we'll add it to our list and aim to cover it sometime in the future. I must say, it would be interesting to review. I dunno what it is about ice cubes, they're obsessed with them. If we open the freezer they come running in the hope we get one out? (They're so weird...) I hope your daughter finds it useful and I'm sure she'll do a better job at crafting than us! haha! Thank you so much for the positive feedback, we've seen you commenting on all our videos and really appreciate the support (you'd be amazed at how much impact it has)!

[@Pepperprojectz]

hahahahaha

[@juliahill7732]

@@catstravaganza564 I'll bare that in mind! 😆

[@AdelinaEcaterina]

the aluminum foil balls is a major hit here

[@Pepperprojectz]

Whoop that’s awesome! Sorry in advance for how many are going to end up under furniture lol 😂

[@AdelinaEcaterina]

⁠@@Pepperprojectzthey have! but we' re used to crawl like in the army for cat toys under furniture 😅 great ideas

[@Pepperprojectz]

@@AdelinaEcaterina hahahahahaha good exercise that! Thank you

[@Maddy_4321]

This is brilliant ! My cat is not playful , hopefully these will work !

[@Pepperprojectz]

That's great to hear, thank you for taking the time to comment on the video. If these don't get them moving, try play time first thing in the morning or right before bed at night (i.e. around the zoomies) and/or before you feed them. Let us know how you get on and fingers crossed one of these toys gets your cat moving.

[@Maddy_4321]

@Pepperprojectz aww thanks for reply ! Keep making such easy to make DIYS cat toys very helpful for our cats .

[@christinelindsey8061]

my cats like zip ties

[@Pepperprojectz]

It’s wild how many people say that. We’ll have to add that to a DIY cat toy 2 video! Thank you for sharing and watching the video! ❤️

[@jameseverett5140]

Cable ties are the favourite here. My cat loses his mind hunting them haha

[@Pepperprojectz]

Wow, cats are so strange, haha! Thanks so much for sharing what your cat loves-a hunting cat is a happy cat 😸

[@CanDoit-y3x]

🎉😊❤

[@Pepperprojectz]

🎉😻❤️

[@cassandraandrew1812]

noooo make jijjler your cat sure will love that *rules ( find leftover cartbot make it into a ball put it to the side grab a cain and warp it around the ball that how you make it

[@Pepperprojectz]

Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on the video. :)

[@imananonymoususer]

These ideas are awesome! I love the adventure mat. Those carpets can be pricey. My cats favorite budget toy is... hairballs. Similar to wool or felt balls. They really enjoy after I brush them and then roll up their fur in a really tight ball. I have 6 cats, so one brushing session can produce a fairly nice hairball. Sometimes I will roll a ball in catnip and wrap a new layer of freshly brushed fur over it. This holds the catnip in. They go bonkers for those ones!

[@Pepperprojectz]

Our cats absolutely love these mats! Homemade cat fur balls-how fun! haha! Also, rolling catnip in them is such a clever idea. Thanks so much for watching and sharing what your cats enjoy! :)

[@nachtmalerin8832]

Actually a cool idea. I also always thought cats like boxes the most so why not build a cat tree out of boxes

[@Pepperprojectz]

Ooh, great idea! Our cats are obsessed with boxes, no matter the size. A box tree might just be the perfect playtime setup! Thanks so much for watching! 😊

[@scattypetty]

Instead of straws, make rings out of pipe cleaners as well. That way, the ends won't be a problem. My cat used to play fetch with them. I had to throw them into the cat tree so he could launch himself after them, and he was disappointed if I threw them anywhere else. He doesn't like them as much these days for whatever reason. ^^

[@Pepperprojectz]

ooo that's an interesting idea and quite a funny image. Have you tried putting them away for 2-3 weeks or switching them with something like a plastic spring or those plastic cat tubes? You'd have to try but maybe that would rekindle the love for the toy (fingers crossed anyway).

[@athenawilson4019]

Anything that is fragile enough that a cat can bite off pieces, and cannot be digested, can and *will* become a vet visit and/or deadly for some cats. String is particularly dangerous, as cats cannot "spit", and once they get a piece in their mouth have no choice but to start swallowing, and swallow the whole string. Once in the intestines, the "pulling" action of the gut will cause the string to saw through the intestinal wall. Result: emergency vet visit, usually surgery, and/or a dead cat. Cardboard and felt can become impacted into a mass that the cat can't pass on further. Same result. For this reason, the ONLY string like material I will use for DIY cat toys is "strapping tape", that flat, non-sticky "tape" that shipping companies use to bind boxes to pallets. Cats can shred the ends, but I've never known one that can bite a piece *off* and swallow. Hard to get hold of, so when I get a piece, I treat it like the gold that it is.

[@athenawilson4019]

Wand toys can be dangerous on their own, and should probably be put away when a human isn't holding one end. This is as true of the commercial toys as anything home-made. I mimic my cat's favorite wand toy by buying thin, flexible plastic wands and adding a rubber skirt for fishing lures to one end. I make my own because I can rarely find them for sale...anywhere. Again, should be kept away from the cat when a human isn't around, as they can and *will* chew pieces of the rubber off and swallow them.

[@athenawilson4019]

Also, remember the "Lego test". Drop any toy on the ground and step on it, hard, with a bare foot. If you don't want to step on it again, in the dark on the way to the bathroom, either keep it locked up, or get rid of it. (I'm very fortunate that my Cleopatra's favorite toy is foam rubber balls. I highly recommend them, even though they aren't DIY.)

[@Pepperprojectz]

Thank you so much for sharing these valuable insights! 🐾 And the ‘Lego test’-what a brilliant rule of thumb! 😂 I’m definitely going to remember that one. Cleopatra is lucky to have you looking out for her, and those foam rubber balls sound like a hit! If you have any more tips, feel free to drop them, I’m sure other cat parents would love to hear them!

[@thatonellamawhoissoobsesse8138]

​@@athenawilson4019 A wand toy is easier and cheaper to get out than aluminum foil

[@susanshew2373]

How about those of us who have carpet???

[@Pepperprojectz]

Thanks for commenting, Susan! I totally understand, carpets are a whole different challenge when it comes to cat toys and cleanup! But there are some great carpet-friendly options out there. Hope you found the video helpful! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on our video!

[@bolu472]

My cat dont even look at it😭

[@Pepperprojectz]

Haha, classic cat move! They really know how to keep us guessing, don’t they?