Other Crunchy Materials – Get Creative!.Here are a few toys your family can make at home in minutes. Making your own DIY cat craft projects can be an excellent activity for a rainy day. A bored cat may act out with destructive behaviors (think: Chloe from Secret Life of Pets). Toys can provide enrichment for your cat while you are home and while you are away.
Cat toys are a great way to keep your cat mentally and physically active. This means more than just basic care such as providing food and water, but also includes taking care of your pets’ mental wellbeing. Catnip also repels fleas and lice so it’s a good herb to keep around your pet.Now that summer is winding down, it’s a great time to get your kids involved with helping care for your pets. After just 2 exposures to the catnip mouse the ice was broken, and she now calmly comes for petting instead of hiding under the furniture when we are in the room.Ĭatnip won’t harm a cat. I used this DIY cat toy to entice our shy and timid kitten to come out and play. If you have a lot of cats on your Christmas list or you are making this for a market item in your herb booth, you can save time by batching each step. These are so quick to make you can do several in an hour. Now you’ve got a gift for the cat in your family. Using a satin stitch, define the mouse’s nose. Push the needle through the eye socket again but bring it out through the snout. Do the same on the other side of the mouse’s face. Place the needle back through the mouse between the “eye” placements two more times to pinch in the face and define the eye socket.Ĭreate a French knot for the eye on one side of the mouse’s face. Pull the thread all the way through, so that the end is hidden in the stuffing of the mouse. Push the needle through the mouse to the other side, to pinch in the face. Using embroidery thread and an embroidery needle, push the needle into the face of the mouse about ¾ of an inch from the nose and about 1 inch from the seam line. Machine stitch the tail closed, being sure to lock at least a half-inch of the tail into the mouse body. Close the tail opening and pin the seam in place. Slip a piece of candle wicking in the top of the tail opening. Continue stuffing the mouse with catnip until the mouse is firmly stuffed.įold over the edge of the fabric around the tail opening. Place a bell in the center of the stuffing if you are using the optional bell. With the seam in the center of the bottom and the nose of the mouse in the place, stuff the mouse firmly with dried catnip, through its tail end. Use a pin to pull the nose of the mouse to a point, on the right side of the fabric. Open up the tube and turn it right side out. You are creating the mouse’s nose and ears. Stitch along the two sides of the triangle moving from the seam to the edge. Mark a triangle from the end of the seam to one inch on the edge of the fold line.
Open the tube so that the seam line is lying in the center on one side. Sew a straight ¼ inch seam along the longest edge of the fabric. Sewing thread in matching OR contrasting colourįold the square of fabric in half with the right sides together.6 to 8-inch piece of candle wicking or other braided cord.5 x 5-inch cotton square or cotton precut.And it will give your kitten pleasure for several months before the catnip in the mouse is exhausted. You can make this catnip mouse in just 15 minutes.
While not all cats respond to catnip in the same way, it’s worth trying it out with your cat, to see how they respond.
It helps relieve boredom and gives them pleasure without putting them in danger. Kittens under the age of 3 months sometimes seem immune to the effects of catnip, so if your kitten is young and doesn’t respond right away, try again in a few weeks.Ī catnip mouse makes a good toy for indoor cats. So if a cat has the response it’s very likely her kittens will have the same response to catnip. About 70% of all cats, including some wild cats, have this response to catnip. The chemical in catnip that is believed to stimulate a cat’s behaviour is nepetalactone. The effect is immediate, and then the cat becomes immune to the drug-like effects for 30 minutes before its brain will allow them to react again. When they eat catnip it relaxes them too and helps them sleep. When a cat smells catnip it stimulates its pleasure sensors, relieves boredom, and makes them a little crazy for a few minutes. A mere 4 ounces of catnip will be enough to stuff several catnip mouse toys.Ĭatnip is a euphoric herb for cats. If you don’t have any catnip from your summer garden you can purchase catnip from Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs, or Starwest Botanical, for this project. You can make one in 15 minutes using dried catnip from last summer’s garden. These easy to make DIY cat toys are the perfect gift for a new kitten or older cat.
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