Handmade toys that make cats happy
There are tons of toys on the market that seem like cats would love them, but many cat owners have probably experienced this: you head home all excited thinking, “This looks fun! My cat will love it!” only to be met with complete indifference and no play at all.
And then there’s the opposite: your cat ends up playing with some trash lying around the house or a scrap you were about to throw away, making you think, “You’re playing with that?”
So, how about making your own cat toys tailored to your cat’s preferences?
The toys introduced in this article are mainly simple to make using items you already have at home.
When your cat plays with your handmade toys, it’s so delightful that you’ll want to make even more!
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Handmade toys that make cats happy (1–10)
Shaka-shaka cat teaser
This classic cat teaser is recommended even for those who think, “I’m clumsy, so handmade isn’t for me.” The materials you’ll need are grocery or convenience store bags, a straw, wire, and masking tape.
Cut off the handles of the grocery bag, open up the main body so it’s flat, then cut it into long, thin strips about 1 cm wide.
Gather the strips into a bundle, secure the center with wire, thread the wire through a straw, wrap any excess wire around the outside of the straw, and then wrap the entire straw with masking tape.
Cats love the crinkly sound it makes! Since wire can be dangerous, make sure it doesn’t stick out and wrap the masking tape securely.
Newspaper Tunnel
The cat tunnels you often see in pet stores are popular toys made mostly of vinyl, but you might worry whether your own cat will actually play with one… What if you buy it and they don’t use it? In that case, why not make one out of newspaper? It’s very easy: fold newspaper into triangles, align them, and secure with cellophane tape.
The support pieces that form the triangles are just long, tightly rolled newspaper tubes.
It’s safe because you only use newspaper and tape.
And if it gets destroyed, you can quickly make a new one!
T-shirt yarn ball with a cord
Let’s try making a cat teaser toy using T-shirt yarn! As the name suggests, T-shirt yarn is a stretchy knitting yarn made from T-shirt fabric, so you can knit it loosely.
You can make it from old T-shirts, which makes it eco-friendly, too.
Make a ball like you would a pom-pom, then tie on a four-strand braided cord, and you’re done.
The cord stretches and contracts, so your cats are sure to have fun! If you don’t have any old T-shirts at home, you can also buy T-shirt yarn at 100-yen shops.
Handmade toys that make cats happy (11–20)
Knit ball with a bell
For those who don’t knit or have never tried it, a hand‑knit yarn ball might look intimidating at first—but it’s actually quite easy to make.
All you need are yarn, a crochet hook, stuffing, and a bell—everything you can pick up at a 100-yen shop.
Basically, it’s just single crochet; you’ll increase or decrease stitches depending on the round.
That might sound tricky, but you’ll be fine if you follow along with a video while you make it.
Cats love the jingle of a bell, but since loose stitches can unravel and the bell could slip out and be swallowed, thread the bell onto the yarn before you start crocheting.
Even if you make a few mistakes and the shape turns out a bit wonky, your cats will still have a great time playing with it!
A ball in an empty tissue box
Cats are the kind of creatures that ignore the toys you buy thinking “They’ll love this!” and instead play with scraps lying around the house—trash you were about to throw away.
For cats that adore such scraps, there’s a perfect “toy,” if you can even call it that: just put a ball in an empty tissue box.
All you have to do is pop a super ball, a felt ball, or a tightly crumpled ball of aluminum foil from around the house into an empty tissue box.
It’s so simple, but they’ll go all out trying to stick their paws in and fish the ball out—and that determined little act is just so cute!
aluminum ball with a string
You know those balls that are basically just crumpled aluminum foil—whatever you want to call them? Don’t cats absolutely love them and go crazy for them? Maybe it’s the lightness, but when you throw one, they’ll dash off in total excitement.
This is a toy where I attached a string to that beloved aluminum ball.
All I did was tuck the string into the foil and scrunch it up tight—it’s something you can make with things you have at home, and probably the fastest toy you can make! (lol) You can use a short string so it looks like a tail coming out of the ball and throw it like that, or use a long string so a human can control it—that works great too.
catnip pouch
These are handmade toys that use matatabi, which cats love.
You might think, “Sewing? But I don’t have a sewing machine,” but it’s fine to sew by hand since you’re only making a small pouch.
Stitch together a few leftover fabric scraps, or sew your favorite shapes like stars or mice, and stuff them with cotton.
Sprinkle a little matatabi powder onto the cotton inside, add more cotton on top, then sew the opening closed.
If you have some matatabi that came with a scratching post and is lying around, why not try it? You could also put matatabi fruit inside.