06 Feb 2006 11:12 PM

Homemade Cat Toy

by Laura Torres | More from this Blogger

     

I was in the Sharper Image in San Francisco with my kids this weekend, and we saw many amazing things, like a small, round robot that goes around and vacuums your floors and then puts itself back in its own charger. My daughter wondered what the cat would think of it. We laughed about it being an expensive cat toy and moved on.

The we saw...drumroll please...an expensive cat toy. Attached to a base was a springy rope with a fuzzy pouf on the end. The automated base moved the toy around in random motions so your cat could be entertained all day long without you being home.

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It made us sad think about the cat playing with a robot all day, but when we looked at the price we couldn't believe someone would pay that kind of money for a cat toy, even for a lonely cat. At least the other thing vacuums your floors AND entertains Fluffy.

So what do I have to offer you? A homemade cat toy that is not automated, but your cat will love it so much she won't mind that it's got a human attached to it. This is easy enough for your kids to make, so get the kids and the cat and have a fun afternoon.

Pom Pom Cat Toy

You will need:

Yarn Cardboard Scissors

1. Cut a piece of cardboard 3 inches wide and at least 4 inches long. The length doesn't matter so much.

2. Wrap yarn loosely around the width of the cardboard until you've got a thick bundle.

3. Leave a long tail, about a yard, and cut the yarn.

4. Cut another piece of yarn about 6 inches long.

5. Remove the bundle of yarn carefully from the cardboard. Lay it on the 6-inch piece of yarn like so:

6. Tie the piece of yarn around the bundle as tightly as you can. It helps to have one person hold their finger on the first knot while you tie the second, like when you wrap a present.

7. Cut through all the loops of the pom-pom. Trim so it's an even ball.

Now grab the end of the yarn and run around the house as fast as you can. Your cat will either chase it or watch you make a fool of yourself. Either way is quality cat entertainment.

Learn more about Laura Torres

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Laura Torres is the best-selling author of many books for kids and teens, and a party planner. Check out her website at lauratorres.com.

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2 comments so far

Aimee Amodio (11161) 13 Feb 2006 03:14 AM

So cute! (And great pics, too!)

The pom-poms remind me of the "warm fuzzy" game we played in high school -- do you know about this? Basically a couple of people get a yarn pom-pom on a string necklace. If somebody does something nice, makes you smile, makes you happy, you give them the warm fuzzy! They pass the warm fuzzy on to somebody else, and so on.

Laura Torres (3958) 13 Feb 2006 03:06 PM

What a cute idea! I've never heard of that game.

My kids like to make pom poms and then glue on wiggly eyes and felt feet to give to friends.

The cat in the picture is very fat and lazy. She will stick her arm out for this toy is it gets close enough, though!

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