Everything that flutters in the air seems to gain a cat’s interest. Be it a window’s curtain, the loose end of the toilet roll, ribbons, laser lights, and other such things around them. Felines have an instinct to hunt, therefore they relate to such things in the air as their prey.
Pet parents invest in a wand toy to keep their furry ones entertained and help them fulfill their instinct to hunt. But, felines get bored playing or chasing the same wand toy every day. Pet parents love showering their furry babies with gifts and surprises all the time. However, it is not possible for you to bring him or her a new wand toy every time they get bored playing with the old one.
Nonetheless, you can recycle the homemade wand toy by adding a new element to the toy. Making a wand toy for your cat is not a difficult task. But, it can be a little tricky. All you need to do is pay attention to the smaller details. You need to have all the required materials ready and start assembling them.
These are the materials you need -
- Wooden dowel
- Laces or ribbons
- Colourful pompons
- Feathers
- Colourful felt
- Bells
- Barrel swivel (connector)
- Fishing line
- Knife
- Scissors
- Needle and thread
- Drill (use a small bit)
Let’s first work on creating the wand –
The height of the dowel wholly depends on the height of your furry baby. The dowel must be around 2 to 3 feet taller than your furry baby.
Leave around 1 inch of space on one end of the dowel and drill a small hole.
Take the barrel swivel and tie it to one end of the fishing line. Thread the other length of the fishing line through the drilled hole and tie a knot.
You must leave around 6 to 12 inches of fishing line between the dowel’s tip and the barrels swivel.
This method will keep the clip away and out of your furry baby’s reach.
Trim any excess fishing line.
Moving forward to the toy –
Outline a mouse, rodent, or a fish on the colourful felt. Trim the felt. You can create and attach multiple such elements to the wand.
To create a tail of the mouse, cut a small piece of lace or ribbon. If you have a paper punch, make a hole near the tail part of the mouse. Put the ribbon or lace through the hole and tie a knot. If you don’t have a paper punch, make a small hole using the scissor's tip.
Attach a barrel swivel neat the head of the mouse element. The swivel must be placed on the toy in a way where it acts as the eye.
Place another mouse element on the other side and stitch them together. This will hide the barrel swivel inside the toy. However, ensure you place the other side in alignment with the first one. Stitch both the parts together.
Make some extra stitches around the borders of the toy. The extra stitches will help in maintaining the position of the swivel. This will also make it difficult for your furry baby to rip it.
Take a 24-inch fishing line and attach another barrel swivel to one end. The other end of the fishing line has to be attached to the toy’s swivel. Tie a knot by pushing the fishing line through the swivel inside the toy. Trim any excess fishing line.
Similarly, you can add feathers, bells, colourful pompoms to your toy. You can put your creativity and artwork to the test while creating these toys. Then all you have to do is attach it to the wand. Like this, you will have another version of the wand toy ready.
Place the wand around him or her and wait for their reaction. Your furry baby will be on cloud nine after receiving a new toy. Now all you have to do is sit and watch them play. Their adorable antics will surely give you a hearty laugh.
