Easy DIY Catnip Toy
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Do you have a cat with lots of energy? Help them use some of it with this easy to make DIY catnip toy!
DIY Catnip Toy
A few weeks ago we were getting ready to leave for vacation. I love to travel, but I hate having to leave my cats. When we’re gone I try to leave lots of toys out for them to play with.
I’ve struggled with toys for our younger cat named Storm. He is a bit destructive and has a habit of ripping toys apart and chewing plastic pieces until he’s breaking little pieces off.
Knowing how Storm is I didn’t want to leave out any toys I would worry about. While I was in Dollar General buying 9Lives Daily Essentials® 20 lb bag of food to leave for our cat sitter I saw a bag of catnip and had an idea.
The one toy that Storm loves, and hasn’t destroyed, is a simple handmade catnip toy that I had bought for our older cat years ago when he was a kitten. After years and years of play it’s very worn out but it’s been able to hold up for Storm, and he loves playing with it.
I grabbed the bag of catnip intending to recreate the DIY catnip toy on my own. I don’t own a sewing machine, but I knew this was a craft that I could easily sew by hand.
DIY Catnip Toy Supplies
- Catnip
- Fabric – You can easily grab some leftover fabric swatches at Jo-Ann for really cheap. Look for a durable fabric and not something that claws will easily rip up.
- Yarn
- Cotton balls
- Thread
- Needle
- Scissors
- Toy trace pattern
- Pencil
How to Make an Easy Catnip Toy
As I mentioned I don’t own a sewing machine, so I did sew this by hand. If you have a sewing machine though go ahead and use it. This cat toy doesn’t take long to make, but you’ll have it done in no time if you sew it on a machine.
The first thing to do is to print off this toy trace pattern. I like to print mine on card stock so it’s a bit thicker for tracing then just a regular piece of paper is. Also, I cut my tracer inside of the lines to create the exact size that I wanted.
Once you’ve printed the tracer and cut it out you can use it to trace the pattern onto your material. I was able to trace my patterns with a pencil, but you might need a pen or maker if your material is dark or hard to draw on.
Before you draw your second pattern make sure that you place it properly! If you don’t turn it the correct way then when you go to sew the pieces together they won’t line up correctly. You can see the correct way to place them in the picture above.
Once you’ve traced your pieces you can cut each one out. Don’t worry about making perfect cuts. With the way you’ll sew the toy all of the imperfections will disappear.
The first thing you want to do once your fabric pieces are cut is to fold the top of each piece over and sew it into that position. This will keep the material from unraveling when your cat plays with it. There is no specific amount you need to fold over. Just have enough so there is a little space between where you’re tacking the material down and the top. When doing this to the second piece I do measure them up so the amount folded is about the same on each piece, but it does not need to be perfect.
When that is done it’s time to start assembling the toy. To do this you’ll put the fabric pieces back to back. The back of the material should be showing out on each piece. Then sew them together. Start at the top corner on one side, sew down, and continue to sew until you reach the top corner of the other side. Just make sure to not sew the top area closed.
Now you’ll want to turn the material inside out. At this point you can start to stuff the inside of the toy with cotton and catnip. Take the cotton balls and pull them apart so they are no longer tight balls. Then stuff it in. I put a full cotton ball worth in the bottom, and then I would switch between about a teaspoon of catnip and half a cotton ball. I did that until I got to about the sewed over seam near the top of the toy.
You’re almost done! To finish all you need to do is add the yarn and sew the toy shut. For the yarn cut 3 strips of yarn that are about 4 inches each. Then knot them together. I like to knot them twice to create a good size knot. Stick the knot of the yarn into the toy, and then sew the toy closed by following the stitches you had made when you folded the top of the toy over at the start.
That’s all there is to it! Now you have a new and fun toy for you cat to play with!
After making the DIY catnip toy I was so glad to see that I had a lot of supplies left to make more catnip toys because with the 9Lives Daily Essentials® 20 lb bag that I picked up at Dollar General the cats are going to have a lot of energy to burn off.
9Lives Cat Food
Dollar General has so many 9Lives products that you can get for a great price. My cats prefer the dry food, but I am always amazed by how many different flavors of 9Lives wet cat food that Dollar General has as well. Plus with this 9Lives dry food coupon you can save even more on their great prices!
I really shouldn’t be surprised by all of the flavor options because 9Lives has been dedicated to the health and happiness of cats everywhere for over 50 years now! For all of that time 9Lives has been assuring cat parents that they are making the responsible choice, because their food provides taste, nutrition and variety while at the same time providing practical knowledge and advice.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years since Morris the Cat was discovered at the Humane Society in Hinsdale, IL. Now he’s the greatest Celebri-cat out there and he does so much good. He has visited countless schools to promote kindness to animals. Plus, in 2007, he launched Morris’ Million Cat Rescue® to save those animals in need of a forever home.
One thing is for sure, 9Lives cat food and Morris the Cat are doing a great job of celebrating and championing all cats! Be sure to sure to find out more about Morris the 9Lives Cat and his 50th adopt-i-versary!
