Tin Foil Cat Toys

Despite all the stereotypes, cats are really not that picky. You do not have to fly to Alaska, find a gorgeous mountain stream, and catch a live salmon with your bare hands to get them to eat. And you do not have to spend $100 or even $10 on toys for them. Our kitties absolutely love the tin foil cat toys we made them, and they didn’t cost us a dime!

Make Your Own Tin Foil Cat Toys

I’m sure there are a million ways to make your own tin foil cat toys, but here are the two types that are our cats’ favorites.

Tin Foil Ball

When my hair was long, Puck and Finnegan would steal hair scrunchies out of the bathroom and bat them around like toys. In an effort to save my scrunchies from being lost under couches or COVERED in cat hair, I crumpled up some tin foil into a ball and gave that to them instead. And they loved it!

Make Your Own Tin Foil Cat Toys

Make Your Own Tin Foil Cat Toys

Tin foil balls are awesome because you can make them however big or small you’d like, they roll around SUPER well, and if (when!) they get lost under a couch you can just make another!

Tin Foil Ball On A String

This slight variation on the tin foil ball is another huge hit! Just crumple up a ball of tinfoil on the end of a shoelace or piece of yarn or string and swing it around in the air or drag it across the ground so that your cats can chase after it.

Make Your Own Tin Foil Cat Toys

Make Your Own Tin Foil Cat Toys

Finnegan especially loves to jump up in the air to catch this guy, and my cat (Puck) is a lazy bum, so he plays with it by laying on the ground and batting at it. 🙂

And that’s it! A bit of tin foil and your cats will be endlessly entertained! Have you made your own pet toys before? What have you used as a cat toy?

Caturday @ Practically Functional:

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Jessi Wohlwend

I believe that anyone can do crafts and DIY projects, regardless of skill or experience. I love sharing simple craft ideas, step by step DIY project tutorials, cleaning hacks, and other tips and tricks all with one goal in mind: giving you the tools you need to “do it yourself”, complete fun projects, and make awesome things!

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Reader Interactions

  1. Shannon says

    11 years ago

    Haha – I love that you called it Caturday 🙂 Simple and inexpensive toys. Love it!

    Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

  2. Alice says

    11 years ago

    Hi, OMG, I give tin foil balls to my cats too! They love them!!! 🙂 So great to see what else you can do with them. I have to try putting them on a string. 🙂 They also like straws, or shoelaces.

    I found you via the Pinworthy link up and will now go check out the rest of your blog. 🙂

    xx,
    Alice

  3. Rebecca says

    11 years ago

    Please check with your vet before going forward this with idea. I’ve been told my several vets that it is dangerous to use foil as a toy for cats because the cat can easily tear the foil with his teeth or it can flake off. If he swallows it, it can cut his throat.

    • Jessi says

      11 years ago

      Good point Rebecca! We did tell our vet about these toys just in passing and she thought it was a cute idea and didn’t say anything else. We don’t leave the tin foil toys out all the time, we just bring them out sometimes, so hopefully there’s less chance of that happening while we’re watching them, but it’s definitely good to be careful! Thanks so much for the warning!

  4. Barbara says

    11 years ago

    Waste of money to buy cat toys. Never tried tin foil, but mine have always loved a wadded up piece of paper, or the rings around milk & soda bottles. You know, from when you 1st unscrew the cap. Also, if you buy something out of the gomball machine, save the little plastic container. Stick a bean or a penny in it so that it makes noise. They love them! Roll good & they can pick them up by the lip of the lid.

    • Jessi says

      11 years ago

      What a brilliant idea to keep the little containers out of gumball machines for them! Our cats would TOTALLY love that!

  5. Marissa says

    11 years ago

    Love it. Our cat loved to bat around paper wads. Only notebook paper would do, and after a few days when they began to get a little limp he’d want new ones. He loved his wads way more than anything we ever bought him. Storebought toys? He would kick them a couple times and then go look for something to eat. 🙂

    • Jessi says

      11 years ago

      That’s awesome! In high school a friend of mine had a cat who would play fetch with balled up bits of notebook paper. You could throw it for her and she’d run after it, then bring it back to you in her mouth and drop it at your feet. 🙂

  6. Kim P says

    11 years ago

    Our cat preferred long thin items. Q-tips, pens, and pencils seemed to amuse her the most. My daughter actually found a stash of pens hidden under her bed once.
    She seemed most picky about what she used for a bed. She just loved the low-sided cardboard boxes that came as packaging for water bottles. She would sleep in them, use them as scratching pads, chew on them, and use them to horde her pens n’such. I always kept a stash of them in the closet so when she had one sufficiently ripped to shreds, I would toss it and put out a new one. She would immediately occupy it as if she expected us to try and take it back.

    • Jessi says

      11 years ago

      Haha! Our cats love cardboard boxes too. They chew on them and curl up and sleep in them. 🙂

  7. Winnie says

    11 years ago

    I will have to try this, although you have not idea how picky my cat is
    We have tons of toys for him, and he prefers the mouse-toys
    I’m gonna try this still tonight!

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