It all started when Holly Tse adopted Furball, a tiny little bundle of energy who never slept but only wanted to play. To keep her sanity, Holly searched through pet stores for cat toys to entertain the crazy little guy. Finally she began to craft her own cat toys from recycled and discarded items. Holly points out that there over 60 million cats in US households and that reducing the resources and waste used to make toys for these cats would certainly have a positive impact on the environment. So she decided to compile her years of experience in making greener cat toys and share them in Make Your Own Cat Toys: Saving the Planet One Cat Toy at a Time.
All of the toy ideas in the book are classified into one or more of five different play categories:
- Catch – Toys that encourage kitty to leap straight into the air and pretend like she’s snaring a bird.
- Chase – These toys are meant to be thrown across the floor, like a mouse scurrying away.
- Stalk – Interactive toys designed for you to move, like a mouse rustling in the grass, so kitty can practice sneaking up on her prey.
- Wrestle – These allow kitty to test her strength as she grasps the toy in her paws and jaws and bunny kicks the stuffing out of it.
- Lazy Cat - After kitty has played good and hard, she may still want to take a lazy whack at these toys.
Each idea is marked with the difficulty level and estimated time to make the toy. You’ll find ideas for toys made out of everything including packaging, household objects, craft materials, office and school items, and even old clothing. With toys like the Candy Rocket, Tubular Tubes, the Whipper Snapper, and the Kitty Broomstick, you’ll have just as much fun making the toys as kitty will have playing with them. You’ll also enjoy Holly’s tips for greening your kitty’s lifestyle.
Make Your Own Cat Toys is available at Amazon
BONUS GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner is going to receive a copy of Make Your Own Cat Toys! To enter, please leave a comment on this post with your tips for making greener choices for your cat. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on Sunday, March 15.
We’ll also be giving away 20 rats from Cat Livin’ in the same drawing, so don’t miss out!
March 14th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
How cool!
March 14th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I feel bad that I can’t get my cats as many toys as I used to because of this economy. One of these wonderful books would be a very welcome addition to my home.
March 14th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
My cat is recycled…he was rescued twice! How’s THAT for green?
March 14th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
My cat would like to think I could make a toy.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Great idea! I would definitely use this…
March 14th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
This book sounds really fantastic, I would love to win a copy! My kitty’s current favorite toy is a small cardboard box which we call the “choo choo train”. She sits in it and I pull it around the floor, all the while saying “choo choooo”.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
What a great way to save the world and make kitty Cornelius happy at the same time!!
March 14th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Perfect for the crafter at heart!!!
March 14th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
My cats all love to play in empty cardboard boxes! This book looks great.
March 14th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Time to get crafty for kitty!
March 15th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Our cats prefer to sleep in boxes rather than luxury cat beds we’ve bought in the past. Now we re-use mid-size boxes for cat beds around the house. We put a little bit of fleece blanket inside, and when the box is worse for wear it can be recycled, we wash the blanket & move onto the next box.
March 15th, 2009 at 7:56 am
This is perfect for my “eco friendly” grand kitties! Their favorite toy to date is simply a crumpled paper ball…they go nuts!!
March 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Love it! We have two eco chic kitties who are crazy for any toy that is homemade…their favorite is a simple paper ball. Can’t wait to be inspired.
March 15th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Sounds cool – would love to make some toys for my cats. Thanks.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:37 am
What a cool book! I’d love to try some of these out for my cats
March 15th, 2009 at 9:31 am
oh perfect! i love recycling and am very crafty. and with 6 cats, i definitely need lots of toys. i also need to save money to get our newly adopted stray fixed after she weans her kittens.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:08 am
the book sounds great! my guy loves bottle tops and plastic bags that he plays with before i recycle them. he also loves aluminum foil that i roll into balls for him.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Looks great! Anything to help these cats have fun and stave off boredom (and get exercise via something other than rough-housing)!
March 15th, 2009 at 10:37 am
My cat loves playing with springs, so instead of buying them I make them out of the coils from outdated daily planners from the university. My other cat also loves playing in paper bags, which we often get from ordering out and bringing it home. <3
March 15th, 2009 at 11:16 am
My three kitties would love these!
March 15th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Not sure my kitties would let me finish making them toys, but would be fun to try.
Thanks for the giveaway >^..^<
March 15th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Great item! My 5 cats love playing with those milk caps off gallon jugs.
March 15th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I’m all for sustainable cat toys!
March 15th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
what a great way to spend your weekend
March 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
My cats go through their toys so quicly – being able to make replacements without going shopping would be awesome.
March 15th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
This is my favorite, as I’d love to be a crafty as all the wonderful people who created all the toys featured in this contest.
March 15th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Bleet & Moo Love my hair ties… Simple and cheap but they hide them from me too !
March 15th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I like the idea of making your own cat toys, as I often do! It’s amazing what simple things can be fascinating to your cat with a little bit of help from you.
March 15th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
There’s so many great ways to reuse items to entertain your cats, I just repurposed some lovely ribbons from a present I was given into cat toys. My friend loves that I’m (and my girls!) getting use out of her entire present!
March 15th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
We have three cats (all rescued) and all different ages. My older tabby always has a favorite fuzzy white mouse. He meows loudly and presents the mouse at my door or my feet as a gift. When one gets lost we buy another….it has to be white fuzzy or he doesn’t bond with it. All three will sometimes play alone with a small mouse or with my pulling one around on a string, but they all love chasing strings….shoe strings, yarn, thread, anything. Our Siamese loves dental floss and will play chase forever. I made a cat bed in an old suitcase with an old blanket and scraps of cloth inside. When they get tired of one thing I try another. They all love boxes and bags of all sorts. They are in-door/our-door cats and they will come to my bedroom and scratch when they want in, then run to meet me at the back door. Having a book with even more ideas to entertain them (and me) would be great.
March 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
My cats would love these toys, or at least I hope they would they tend to ignore most of the store-bought toys.
note to self: suggest title to local library.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
A great way in this high economy to spoli a pet without the High cost.
March 16th, 2009 at 5:35 am
wowee… i looked it up on amazon and there are some great ideas in this book!!
August 24th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Have four cats and all have their fav toys Baby will find any hair tie where ever you put them and collect them all during the night and in the a.m. they will all be by his dish he has also done this with cooked chicken legs left out on the stove to be put away later. Scoot and Pete like paper bags. Dry cat food does not have a chance in the bag on the counter for very long. Midnight is 15 yrs old and mostly looks for different sleeping arrangements. All of my kitties love carrots and mint .
September 20th, 2009 at 8:17 am
I have 4 cats (all rescue). It would be great to have ideas for making their toys myself!!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Natasha (my adopted kitten) and i love to make our own cat treats out of the hard for she alreay eats! it saves us money and we dont have to waste the cardboard box or the plastic bag it came in! we would love to get a book to show us how to make more earth friendly toys ^_^ right now we love to play with mommies hair ties and bring them all over the house ^_^
November 10th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Wonderful idea! Can’t wait to get started! And when I’ve made enough for my guys, I know several shelters who might like to have some for their charges.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I could really use that book. I have 7 indoor cats who need toys all the tme. They either tear up or get bored quickly with toys. De
November 10th, 2009 at 10:23 am
This is perfect for me. I have been looking for a book like this! My luke
will love it.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I might actually be able to pull off making my cats toys now that someone took the time to give me detailed instructions. So cool!
December 13th, 2009 at 2:16 am
great idea for a book! i make my own cardboard cat scratchers and beds instead of buying those awful carpeted things. when they’re finished, i just toss the used cardboard into the recycling bin!
December 16th, 2009 at 10:21 am
This would be a lot of fun. What cat doesn’t love to reuse and recycle those old boxes, bags, string… They’re just so eco-conscious.
December 19th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
What a wonderful idea!
March 5th, 2010 at 8:02 am
What a great idea! Recycle and make your cat happy, too!
March 5th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Oh I would love to make some recycled kitty toys! My kitties would love them, and since they’re made from recycled materials, I could make some to donate to the local shelter, too!
March 5th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
these would be perfect items for our next holiday boutique.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Oh my I would love to get my hot little hands on a copy of this book.
March 6th, 2010 at 12:42 am
With as quick as my girls loose their toys, making them would be a great money saver.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
While throwing a tennis ball for my dog to fetch, I noticed that my cats were quite interested in trying to retrieve it also, so I made them their ‘own’ tennis ball by cutting holes in it and stuffing a small bag of catnip, some ribbons sticking out another small hole. Now I throw one ball for the dog one way, and the ‘cat ball’ the other way and we all have fun playing fetch. One cat even learned to actually bring it back to me. Woot!
March 13th, 2010 at 3:04 am
i would truely love to learn to make cat toys. we have 5 and the amount of money spent on toys is redicula, but they love to have thingd they can cary around and put here or thereand go back and get them later, a couple when n the mood will innitiate a game of fetch by bringing their toy over and dropping it a our fet to thrw it and they run fter it and bring it back too or feet. so funny.