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I hear that most cats love feathers. Maybe it’s a repressed urge to hunt birds, or something, but my indoor cats go one up over love into an obsession. The other day I was digging through my craft stash to find some things to make some homemade cat toys and lo and behold I found a decent stash of feathers that I’ve accumulated over the years. It seems that I typically need 1 or 2 for a project but I buy new bags of them for almost every project. I just don’t know what’s going on with that :)
As I’ve got basket of hot towels to contend with I hear this strange scratching sound. Upon investigation it turns out that Maybelline, kitty #3 in our clowder, was dragging the entire tub across the desk until BANG, it hits the floor. On it in an an instant, Maybe is nothing but a puff of feathers belching up into the air. Both frustrating and entertaining me at the same time, I sighed with another mess to take care of ! At least I knew in advance that the new feather toys were going to be a hit with 1 of my kitties!
nd bad come out of something so little and sometimes really nice?”
Ready to make some awesome cat toys that won’t break the bank? I’ve got 2 options for you, both cats love, but hopefully help you’ll have everything on hand to make a fun toy AND tackle that ever-growing craft stash, you know what I mean? Let’s get it!
For this first feather cat toy project you will need:
- Loose craft feathers
- String
- Wood dowel
- Hot glue gun (hot glue is non-toxic and a good choice for DIY cat toys)
- Feather boa
Taking care not to burn your fingers glue together the quill ends of about 10 feathers together to make a little bunch.
Use string to bind the bunch together with a dab of glue here and there to hold the string in place.
Make a total of 4 bunches and trim up the excess string. At this point they look and feel an awful lot like shuttlecocks or birdies for badminton :)
Glue the bunches onto a dowel (thinner is better because it will kind of bend and sway as you play with it but I had this thicker guy on hand and used it instead). Remember that the glue will easily seep through feathers so protect your fingers as you work!
If the bottom of where your feathers are affixed to the dowel looks messy you can cover it up by attaching a few inches of feather boa to the base to cover it up. You can also add individual feathers to the toy to help fill it out in any empty spaces.
Boom! Lovely, right? Now let’s tackle the next toy, a bouncy creation that will drive your kitties nuts (in a good way!)
For this project you will need:
- Loose feathers
- Mesh braids
- String and needle
- Elastic
- Ring
Cut a dozen 2 foot pieces of mesh tubing.
Fold the tubing in half and run a threaded needle though leaving a tail of about 6 inches.
String on all of your tubes through the center and firmly knot to keep together in a tight cluster.
Taking the end of your mesh tubes, twist and fold the end inward. Place a feather on top of the folded mesh.
Using matching thread sew the quill of the feather into the mesh. Finish by wrapping the thread around several times to hide your stitches. Knot tightly and trim off excess thread. Continue for each mesh end, cutting and 1-3 inches off of each of the tubes for varying lengths as you go.
This toy is a bouncy thing because it is on an elastic cord. When kitty pulls down and then lets go it springs way up into the air. It’s quite fun! To attach the elastic simply stitch it around the area that you bound all of your tubes together in the center. Go crazy with the stitches because a lot of pressure will be placed on this joining when the toy is in use.
Sew a ring onto the other end of the elastic, again taking care to stitch well for maximum strength.
Fold all the tubes down and together and wrap with string to keep bound together.
It looks crazy, right? Cats LOVE these toys. This isn’t their first feather toy like this and won’t be the last because it really is such a crowd pleaser!
Place your finger in the ring and bounce it around in front of your cat and before long you’ve got one happy kitty!
Now it’s terribly difficult to get action shots of cats playing with toys that drive them up the wall (in a good way :) so please excuse these blurry pics! We were having too much fun to notice at the time!
My kitties just adore their new toys inspired by New LightWeight with Glade Tough Odor Solutions Clean Blossoms and I know that yours will too. Plus I bet you they’d love that litter, also.
Remember to leave a comment below with the name of your cat (or a friend or family member’s cat, I’m sure they’d wig out if you handed them 2 coupons for free litter, I know I would!) The winner will be selected randomly and will receive their coupons in the mail. You can’t win if you don’t enter so be sure to do that!
New and first kitty to our home, his name is Mystery. My 5 and 6 year old kids decided that because he was a stray that we don’t know where his momma is
I have a new foster, a beautiful little girl named Daisy. I have gathered the supplies to make her, her own feather tether. Now, if I could just wake her up (4wks old) 😼
Circe will love these!!!!
Loki, Thor, Parker, Snow Man, Dora, Abby, Gizmo, and Pudgie.
I have 7 kitties and I can’t wait to make both these feathery tease toys for them with my custodial granddaughter. Purrfect rainy day crafts for this weekend. Thank you. PS: We also love Tidy Cats cat litter. 🐈🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛
This looks really fun! Can’t wait to try it out for our boy, Rusty😁. He’s about due for a new toy!
I think my kitten, Raider, will love these DIY feather toys!
what a super idea for all the feathers ihave collected over the years….ty!
I just bought the materials to make both of these. I went a little overboard but we have 7 cats, ( Jinx, Luna, Gabriel, Sawyer, Muffin, Simon and Zeus) so we will definitely use multiples of every toy I make!
What can you use instead of the mesh tubing I’m having a lot of trouble getting it and it’s a little expensive for a homemade toy
Right now you can get black and orange mesh tubing from Hobby Lobby for $2.39 in the Halloween section. And I found a set of 3 in Christmas colors for around $3 per package, currently. Part of the reason cats love this stuff is that it is springy and has lots of bounce back. I cannot think of anything comparable right now, but I’ll comment again if I can think of something.
Your cats are beautiful & know how to have a ball..i have many cats over the years & will love each one always..I use to dabble I a little crafting for them……catnip pillows & small toys to bat around & feather sticks, just not as fancy as yours…I am older now & can have only one cat where I live….my partner now is a gentle & friendly…he likes to greet anyone who walks by & they ask about him when they see me!!!!!!! His name is big boy which doesn’t need explained!!!!! I love them all& like best friends says. Save them all!!!!!thank for the fun photos…..enjoyed!!!!!!! Patricia
I am very happy with the lightweight litter. It works well and is so much easier to carry, especially when you get the big box. Our cat, Buddy, prefers it to the paper litter. I am anxious to try the Glade variety.
I wrote a lengthy comment earlier this afternoon – but I forgot to ask 2 questions:
#1- Where can I purchase mesh tubing?
#2 – About how long are your feathers?
Thanks so much! Kitties will LOVE THESE!!
1 – I got mine on Etsy!
2 – About 3-4 inches!
Hi!
LOVE the DIY toys and your beautiful array of colored feathers. I have several bag of feathers, too – not sure why I got them – but at the time, oh it was absolutely necessary. Well, I’ve had them for 4+ years and my little babies LOVE playing with anything (as long as feathers are involved!)
I’ve been looking for some DIY toys to use up this invaluable (!?!) stash and I bumped along into your site. Actually the first words to hit me were “Tidy Cats” then I saw feathers – LOL. I’ve been so lucky to have just about 48 paws cross my life so far. All were rescued and everyone (except one) was ready for a “furrever” home! The one not appropriate was incredibly ferrule any my vet and the shelter all agreed that she should live her life outside – she still visits, but she’s so happy to be in “her” setting – I couldn’t take that from her.
But enough of the sadness – on to MY GO-TO Kitty Litter – TIDY CATS! I have never CONSCIOUSLY used another. The one time I grabbed the wrong one … well, let’s just say it was not a happy day in “catdumb” – that’s the pretend city in which my cats live AND it’s located right in my home. All over my home. Oh, heck, it’s taken over my home. I live in “catdumb” – only at the invitation of my babies.
I currently have 2 furry babies. The little one, Zacquie (rhymes with ‘hockey’) is a tortie w/mackerel pattern. She was rescued by 2 police officers in my home town walking in the middle of a 4-lane road – yikes! At only 2 weeks old, the shelter immediately transferred her to an intensive care foster home where Mom did a super job raising her to the age of 5 months and 3 1/2 pounds.
After about 4 months Zacquie needed a little sister to play with. I adopted little Smokie – a Korat breed who appeared to be the perfect little one for Zacquie to nurture. Smokie’s name was immediately changed to a Hebrew name – Briellanna – since I got lost on the way to her shelter and it seemed like it took enough time to have was crossed a desert. They are best of friends – but Brie IS NOT Zacquie’s little sister. Zacq weighs in at 7 pounds and Brie tips the scales at 14!
They are healthy and happy and are so thoughtful with each other at the litter box. I have 3 boxes, but they like one the best and will gladly wait in line ’til one is finished. I have tried every type of Tidy Cat and every cat I’ve had has loved them all. I have a broken arm – so right now I’m into the “lightweight” – but whenever there’s a man around (not nearly enough LOL) then it’s Glade all the way!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and if I can find a place to post their pix – I will. But, no photos of them in the litter box!
Greetings from University Heights, OH
Barb