One of our cats’ natural, everyday needs is play. Cats are born hunters, in nature they replace play with hunting. Playing with a cat is also very important for its proper development and behavior. Today I would like to show you how to make a cat toy?
Playing with a cat
Before I present ideas for making your own cat toys, a few words about the very essence of play in a cat’s life. Everything has its source in nature and the hunting instinct of our cat. The main activities of a cat in nature are: searching for prey, hunting, eating, sleeping. By playing with a cat, we satisfy its need to look for prey and hunt. This imitation of hunting provides the cat with appropriate mental peace. Let’s also remember that we have to let the cat win, e.g. by playing with a fishing rod, we let it catch the toy. It is best to give the cat something to eat after playing, which additionally satisfies its behavioral needs. The cat hunts for a toy, manages to catch it, then eats it, which translates into a hunted prey in nature.
Therefore, the very popular laser, often used to play with cats, is not so ideal. When a cat hunts for a red light, it may become frustrated that it can’t actually catch it.
Playing with a cat also has a very good effect on the cat’s fitness and prevents a quite popular ailment, which is obesity in cats. You can read about the problem of obesity in cats in the article “How to make a cat lose weight?”
How long to play with a cat?
We often wonder how much time a day we should play with our cat. In fact, until it gets tired, but we should not let the cat overheat too much.
A good practice is to play with your cat 20-30 minutes before bedtime, and then eat. Thanks to this rule, we can be sure that the cat will sleep through the night and will not wake us up at 3 am :).
We need to watch our cat, sometimes playing once a day is not enough, especially if it is a young cat. Then we try to play with the cat as often as possible, if it expresses such a desire.
Ideas on how to make a cat toy?
Before making your own cat toy, it is worth looking around the house to see if you have any unnecessary things that can be used.
Cat fishing rod
This is an ideal toy for a cat, because cats in nature usually hunt birds. A toy imitating the appearance and movement of a bird will perfectly meet the hunting needs of a cat.
To make such a fishing rod we will need:
- wooden or bamboo rod – approx. 50 cm
- 3 mm round eraser
- textile tape
- 5 – 7 feathers, 10 – 15 cm long
- scissors
How to make a fishing rod for a cat?
- We need to tie a knot at the end of the elastic band
- Cut off 15 cm of textile tape, then place it on a smooth surface with a non-adhesive layer
- We glue the eraser to the outer end of the tape and then glue the feathers at small intervals.
- Roll up the tape, first from the elastic side.
- We take a new piece of textile tape and use it to connect the rubber band to the rod
- Finally, we check whether everything is stable and if so, we can start playing.
Cardboard box for a cat
How many times do we come across when we order a parcel from the Internet, unpack it, and our cat is just waiting to jump in and go crazy in the box. Why not use it to make a cool toy for your cat 🙂
We will need:
- a box lid or a low box
- scissors
How to make a cardboard box for a cat?
- Cut out holes the size of a cat’s paw in the lid or cardboard
- Place the cardboard with the outer side facing the cat
- We sit behind the holes and with efficient movements we extend and retract the fishing rod or some interesting object for the cat through the holes. Such play has a very positive effect on the cat’s intuition, because it never knows from which hole the “prey” will come out.
A cat toy made from toilet paper rolls
One of the everyday things that we can use to make a toy for a cat is toilet paper rolls. One of the ways is the so-called pyramid.
We will need:
- 10 rolls of toilet paper or kitchen towels
- non-toxic glue
- kitchen towel
How to make a cat toy from toilet paper rolls?
- First, in 7 rolls, we cut out one hole about the size of a cat’s paw.
- We glue the rolls together, creating something resembling a pyramid. We start by placing 4 rolls next to each other. We must remember that the rollers with holes are on the outside.
- Press the gluing places firmly
- We leave it to dry overnight, as the fresh smell of glue may repel the cat.
Playing with your cat involves hiding treats in the rolls. The cat’s fun will be even more fascinating if we hide the treats only in some of the rolls, or we can cover some of them with paper. Such play has a very positive effect on the cat’s intelligence.
Healthy delicacies in the form of dried meat are perfect for this pyramid of rolls. You can read in the article how to make healthy treats that are also suitable for cats “How to prepare dog treats?”
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