Happy Fall!

Happy fall, cat lovers! Here are some simple cat toy ideas that cats absolutely LOVE! They're all easy-to-make and cheap.

If you have any old socks lying around the house, you can fill them with catnip and tie them at the end. Unfamiliar with catnip? Catnip is a plant, and most cats love the smell of the plant's leaves. You can get this at most pet supply stores. SAFETY ISSUE: We wouldn't suggest that you draw on the socks with markers or dye them in case your cats lick the sock while playing with it. The smell of the catnip should be enough to excite your cat(s).

Cats love yarn, and fishing-pole type toys are great for interactive play. Tying a long piece of yarn to the end of a wooden dowel works perfectly for this purpose. If you want, you can tie a catnip sock (above) or another small cat toy to the end of the yarn.


Crumpling up a piece of paper or tinfoil is lots of fun for your cats to chase around the house. But beware: when you decide to move furniture around you may find a bunch of these toys underneath couches and coffee tables!

Reduce, reuse, recycle! Believe it or not, cats like to play with stuff that you would normally throw away, or leave lying around your house! Bottle caps, wooden spools, ponytail holders, and arts-and-crafts pipecleaners all make fun toys for cats.

And when you want to buy some new toys for your cats, check to make sure that they don't have any parts that could easily come off while a cat is playing with it.

Here are just a couple precautions to take while giving toys to your cats...
Make sure nothing you give to them is small enough to be swallowed.
Don't leave any stray strands of yarn lying around the house! Cats can swallow these and choke! Supervise your cat when they play with small object or with yarn.

Good luck with your toy-making and have a great fall!

All of the ideas shown here have been tested with multiple cats. For more simple ideas, cardboard boxes are found very entertaining. Children can decorate the cardboard boxes with markers before they are given to the cats. Always supervise play with boxes-never give your cat a plastic bag for safety reasons! But paper bags are safe and work well for play.