Did you know that cats in the wild spend 40% of their time hunting? This is why it is so important to dedicate hours of play and fun to our furry companion , since it is the only way they have of expressing their natural behavior. Thus, toys allow us to keep the animal entertained and busy for hours, reducing the chances of suffering stress or anxiety, as well as avoiding the dreaded overweight.
Today there is a whole variety of cat toys available on the market, but why not recycle materials we no longer use to make our own? In addition to favoring the environment, we will be able to save a good sum of money. Read on and discover on our site how to make cat toys with cardboard, we share 6 homemade cat toys that are very easy to make.
Cat toys with cardboard boxes
It's no secret to anyone that cats love cardboard boxes So much so, that the simplest and most cheap we can offer you is an empty box. However, it is not the only one and, therefore, below we show simple homemade toys for cats with cardboard boxes.
Cardboard Maze
To make this toy, you will only need to gather the following materials:
- Cardboard boxes
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
Ideally, use boxes of the same size to make a simple and fun cardboard maze for cats. Once achieved, follow these steps:
- Cuts off the tops of all boxes.
- Join the boxes by sticking the walls together with glue or tape. The shape of the maze is your choice, so let your imagination run wild and allow your cat to jump from box to box.
Cardboard tunnel
As you know, cats love to hide Although a tunnel made from cardboard boxes has the disadvantage of being stiff compared to tunnels of fabric that we can buy, has a great advantage, and that is that it does not cost any money. To make this toy you only have to get hold of these materials:
- Scissors
- Scotch tape
- Three or four medium boxes
Now, follow the instructions to build the homemade tunnel:
- All the boxes must have an entrance opening and an exit opening, so make sure to cut off the excess sides.
- Join the boxes to form the tunnel with tape.
- If the tunnel is too long, cut one or two circular holes in randomly chosen areas. You can make one on top of a box and another on the side of another, for example, the goal is to offer the cat different stimuli that make it want to explore all the parts of the toy.
Cardboard Cave
This toy for cats with cardboard boxes is extremely interesting because promotes their natural hunting instinct. To do so, you will need:
- Two shoe boxes
- Rolls of toilet paper
- Scissors
- Ping-pong or rubber ball
Once you have obtained the materials, follow these simple steps:
- Take one of the boxes and cut several strips to form various obstacles inside the cave.
- Insert the strips inside the second box creating a maze.
- In the maze, you can also place toilet paper rolls.
- Take the lid of the box and cut holes matching the holes in the maze so that the cat can easily catch its "prey".
- Close the box and drop the ball for the cat to search for and catch.
To see the step by step of this last toy, which is the most elaborate of all, check out our YouTube video in which we show how to make this cat toy with cardboard.
Cat toys with toilet paper rolls
Do you always throw away the cardboard toilet paper rolls? Well, stop doing it! With these simple paper roll cat toys you can give them a second chance and save some money at the same time.
Cardboard ball
In general, cats prefer smaller toys but do you know why? Very simple, because they resemble the size of their prey. Felines that are not used to leaving the house much do not have the possibility of hunting and, therefore, we must be the ones who cover this need through play. To make this toy, get:
- A roll of cardboard
- Scissors
Now, follow these instructions:
- Cut five rings from the cardboard roll.
- Take one ring and insert it into another.
- Take a third ring and insert the other two inside it, and repeat this process until you finish all the rings and get a ball.
- Do you want to give the toy more excitement? Place treats inside.
Surprise toy
This toy is very simple and will allow us to obtain a very, very basic but effective homemade kong To achieve this, all you need is a roll cardboard, nothing more! Once achieved, take one of the ends and close it by pressing your finger inward on one of the sides and then the other, placing it on top. Then put various treats inside, or even homemade cat biscuits, and close the other end in the same way. Offer the toy to your feline and watch him have fun as he tries to figure out how to get his reward.
Cardboard pyramid
If you have managed to accumulate a good number of cardboard rolls, this toy is perfect! Gather:
- Various cardboard rolls
- Tail
- Sheet of paper or cardboard (optional)
- Candies
Now, follow these steps:
- Prepare the base of the pyramid with four rolls, sticking them together with the glue.
- On the base, glue three rolls and, on top of them, another two.
- Finally, place the last roll to form the top of the pyramid and let the glue dry.
- Once dry, insert various treats into the rolls and let your cat have fun trying to get them out.
Other homemade toys for cats with recycled material
The above toys are just some of the many toys for cats with recycled material that we can make at home. As you have seen, with a simple cardboard box, or a simple cardboard tube obtained from a roll of toilet paper, we have the option of preparing a large number of toys that will keep our cat entertained for a long time. However, as we say, they are not the only ones, so we recommend you check out the following video with three toys for cats with other recycled materials, or check out our YouTube channel, with many more crafts.
