My Wanton Pussycat (DIY Cat Toys)

Member Name: Elli

Product:	DIY Cat Toys
Date:	14/07/01 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, and cats love it!

Disadvantages: Can be messy


Any cat lover will know that all cats love catnip. Certainly a toy containing catnip will retain a cat’s interest for longer than one without. But bought toys usually contain a tiny amount.

The cat toy my cats have enjoyed the most has been a catnip “beanbag” I made myself. You need a packet of catnip leaves (available from most pet stores - cost about £1.50 - Good Girl was the make I bought) and a piece of closely woven material (I used an old tee shirt - double thickness). Make a bag, about 3" x 4" in size, insert plenty of catnip, and sew up the end. You should be able to make about three of these bags from one box of catnip.

Give the catnip beanbag to your cat and watch the strange effects!

My black cat, Barney, a large, majestic, 11 year old neutered tom, usually has one or more of these reactions:


~~ Rubs each cheek rapturously along the bean bag and purrs loudly

~~ Does roly-poly over the bean bag, first one way and then the other

~~ Hooks the bag onto a claw and uses the beanbag like a flannel wiping it round and round his face

~~ Kneads the beanbag with his two front paws

~~ Lies stretched out with his head on the beanbag, eyes slightly closed in ecstasy, purring and dribbling at the same time

~~ Lies tightly curled, protectively round the beanbag, slightly cross-eyed, and making little miaowing sounds


I tend to allow Barney to have the beanbag only for about an hour or so. It gets very wet and messy where he’s dribbled on it and, to be honest, I’m not sure that it’s healthy for an elderly cat to behave in such an wanton, abandoned manner! It’s a very strange thing to watch.

If you buy one of these boxes of catnip, make sure you store it away carefully. I bought some once intending to make Christmas presents for all the family cats, and left it in my shopping bag in
the hall. Next thing I knew, Barney had managed to extract the catnip from several layers of cardboard box and plastic bag. The stuff was all over the floor, together with all my shopping, which had been chewed and clawed in an effort to get at the catnip!

Oh, and it doesn’t have the same effect on dogs. Deefa, my dog, just sits there in amazement, head slightly cocked, looking at Barney playing with his catnip beanbag. She is not at all tempted.

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