DIY Cat Toys

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Do your cats love Christmas? Mine sure do. Wrapping paper, boxes to jump into, what’s not to love? My cats even have a Christmas stocking that hangs with the rest of the family that says “Cats Love Christmas Too”. What better way to show your cats a happy holiday than with some TEMPTATIONS® Treats, a TEMPTATIONS® Snacky Mouse, and DIY Cat Toys.

I’m making my cats three different simple DIY Cat Toys: No-sew toy knots, cardboard ring balls, and yarn pom-poms.

You’ll need:
An old jersey t-shirt to cut up
Empty toilet paper rolls
Yarn
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil

No-Sew Toy Knots

T-shirt yarn is one of my favorite craft supplies. This ball was made from one of my husbands old work shirts. The only other supply you need for these toys is some scissors.

If’ve you’ve never made t-shirt yarn before don’t worry, it’s really easy. Fold an old jersey knit t-shirt in half and cut off the hem. Then cut 1 inch wide strips, starting on the folded side. Don’t cut all the way through. To make a continuous ball of t-shirt yarn don’t cut one of the side seams when you are making your strips. Once the strips are made you can make diagonal cuts along that edge to create a continuous strand of t-shirt yarn. Pull the t-shirt yarn tight and it will curl in on itself.

I made a few different knot toys, some with more strands than others. My standard pattern was to cut several 6 inch long strips. Then I cut a smaller number of 12 inch long strips. Knot the longer strips around the shorts strips. Pull the knot as tight as you can. With one ball of t-shirt yarn you can make knot toys for all your cat loving friends!

Yarn Pom-Poms

Use a pom-pom maker, or just your own fingers work great. I wrapped yarn around 4 fingers about 100 times. Cut a length of yarn to tie around the middle of your wrapped yarn, pull it tight and knot. Cut the loops on your yarn and trim to make a ball shape. My cats love yarn and get really excited when I share and make them their own pom-poms.

Cardboard Ring Ball

My cats love cardboard. And balls. This combines both. And you just need an empty toilet paper roll and a pair of scissors. Make 1/2-inch marks along one side of your toilet paper roll. Cut each ring. I used four rings to make each ball. Start with ring 1 and insert ring 2. Insert ring 3 inside ring 2 and ring 4 inside ring 3. Ta-da, you’ve formed a ball.

My cats got Christmas a little early this year and are already playing with all of their new toys. Ranger is partial to the cardboard ring ball. Another idea? Put a couple TEMTATIONS® Treats down with all the toys.

I picked up some TEMTATIONS® Treats for my cats, as well as the TEMPTATIONS® Snacky Mouse and a new stocking, at Walmart. If you don’t already have a stocking for you cat it was really easy to make this one. I grabbed a simple felt red and green stocking and added the white polka dots to the top. Then I painted the white yarn ball on the front and added a “Meowy Christmas”.

I’d love to hear about a favorite pet you will be gifting treats to this holiday season!