The best inexpensive cat toys you can make yourself are those will appeal to your cat’s natural instincts. For starters, they’re natural born hunters so things they can pounce on will usually be popular. They also need to scratch and flex their claws to keep them in good shape so things they can really sink their paws into will usually be appreciated. As cat’s can only see the colour red (besides black and white), using the red materials will make your toys a lot more attractive to a cat than any other colour.

PAPER TOYS

For all your cat cares, you can rip a page out of a magazine and newspaper to scrunch up and toss on the floor for them. They really don’t mind that it cost you nothing to make! A fun variation is to tie a scrunched-up piece of paper to the end of a length of red wool or string so you can drag it about while your cat practises pouncing. Paper tied to wool or string can be hung from a door handle for “batting practice” too. Brown paper bags are often well received too as they make all those great scrunching noises as fluffy noses around inside.

CARDBOARD BOX TOYS

I don’t actually give my cats cardboard boxes; they just sort of repossess them from me. If a box is big enough for my cats to fit in, in they’ll get. One of my cats used to eat the sides as a kitten which was a nightmare but he eventually grew out of this. Similarly his Brother obviously found it amusing to wait until a cat was in a box then sit on the lid. Cats aren’t daft creatures; mine can certainly always find something to do with a cardboard box.

SEW-YOUR-OWN TOYS

Ideally you need to use a durable fabric like cotton or polyester for home-sewn cat toys so they can cope with all the clawing. The best toys to make are little pouches filled with a mixture of cat nip (available from pet stores) and toy stuffing. If you’re feeling adventurous you can sew your pouches into little mice but in all honesty your cat won’t tell the difference between a mouse and a lump of material so long as it’s got catnip in it! Little bells tightly stitched inside appeal to some cats but not all so do check your own cats’ reaction.

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