Hey cat people! If you've owned a cat for more than about 1 hour, you know that they prefer literally anything to the expensive cat toys you buy for them.

Sure there are some exceptions, my cat loves the feather wand toy I bought her, but I have three catnip-filled kick toys that sit around unused, a scratching post that has never been scratched, and a bell ball that collects dust under the couch. Meanwhile, she has two favorite grocery bags, a paper hut, and a window she stalks bugs through. I did not have to pay for any of these things, and they seem to make her happiest.

So, I've compiled a list of DIY cat toys that your cat will actually care about, at no cost to you.

DIY Crinkle Mat

What you'll need: any fabric (from the fabric store or just an old t-shirt), needle and thread, and few plastic grocery bags.

This one's easy to make, and gives you a little practice in sewing!

First, turn your fabric inside out and sew the edges together in however big of a rectangle you want. These stitches don't have to be pretty- they'll be on the inside of the mat, and it's not like your cat knows any better! Sew almost all of it, but leave a couple inches open for stuffing it.

When you're done sewing, turn the whole thing inside out and shove in your plastic bags. It doesn't really matter how many you use, as long as the mat can be patted down flat when you're finished. You might also want to sprinkle some catnip in here at this step.

Sew that last couple inches shut. You may want to use an invisible stitch on this part. Here's a video tutorial on how to do that.

Now your mat is all sewn shut, but probably poofy. The plastic bags are probably getting bunched up in there, too. To fix that, make sure all the plastic bags are spread evenly, and then quilt the mat.

This is pretty easy too! I did it without any experience quilting. I just kind of sewed all the way through the mat in zig-zag lines. This held both pieces of fabric together and kept the plastic from sliding around.

Once that was done, I sprinkled some catnip on there and gave it to my kitty!

Yeah, I've got a thing for Moroccan tile print

You can also fill an old stuffed animal with grocery bags to make a crinkle toy like I did with this teddy bear

Uh... that straw wrapper on the floor is a toy too....

Literally, give your cat garbage.

Thistle's favorite thing is a paper grocery bag I gave her. She uses it as a hiding place and rolls around on it to enjoy the texture. Whenever I'm thinking about throwing something away (save like, rotten fruit, obviously), I present it to her first. Sometimes it's a miss, but usually, she'll play with it for a little while. I've noticed she likes paper, plastic, and the occasional cardboard box, if it's big enough for her to sit in.

Fort Thistle

I have friends who purposely eat Hershey's kisses so their cats can play with the foil wrappers. Hazelnuts are a popular cat toy in place of a ball. Really, whatever they can fit inside or bat around, your cat will probably love.

DIY puzzle toy

What you'll need: scissors, a toilet paper roll, and some treats.

Puzzle toys may seem too complicated to make on your own, but really most of them are pretty simple.

You're going to have to fold the edges of the paper roll down to close it, so keep that in mind.

Cut holes in the cardboard, just big enough for the treats to fall through, or at least be investigated. I only cut two holes big enough for the treats, and a couple smaller decoys.

Fold one half of the roll down, and put the treats in.

Fold down the other half and…

Voila!

She got one out after a couple minutes :)

This is a good mental workout for your cat, with the best possible reward- food!

Bugs

Yes, literally.

Your cat is a natural predator, and the fuzzy little guy just loves to murder things. If your cat spends a lot of time sitting at the window, they're probably scoping out prey. Bringing them a bug to chase can be quite a treat.

I didn't take pictures, but last night a moth got in the house and Thistle caught it in seconds flat. Eating it was another story, but it was good to see her use that predator instinct!

Depending on how grossed out you are by bugs, there are a few different ways to make this work.

Pretty much any bug that's safe for you to pick up is safe for your cat to eat. Kitties enjoy chasing your garden variety moths, flies, ants, spiders, and crickets. Just make sure whatever you bring into the house is something you're comfortable getting rid of if the cat decides it's not for them.

If you don't want to hunt down a bug yourself, you might want to pick up some crickets at a pet store and give those a try. Here's an article on why cats hunt bugs and which ones they might like LINK

Double-duty scratching post

Thistle refuses to use her scratching post, but she loves scratching our doormat. Since doormats are made to be worn, there's no harm in letting your cat use one. Mine was just $9 at Target, and we use it to wipe out feet every time we come inside, so it's not just hers.

You could also use a cheap doormat as a decoy near something you don't want your cat to scratch. If your kitty likes to ruin a particular armchair, you could use adhesive Velcro to attach a doormat to it.

Or, get some plywood and some creativity, and make a scratching post to set in front of the chair so the cat uses that instead. Instead of a doormat, you could always superglue rope onto a thrift store stool, or whatever you're willing to use.

Get Creative!

Observe what your kitty likes, and try to build off of that. If they like rubbing against a certain material, or attacking a certain type of object, try to make something for them with the same qualities. Thistle likes to attack my feet, so I'm going to stuff an orphaned sock and let her go to town on that.

I'm sure if you notice what your cat likes to do, and get a little adventurous with crafts, you can make your cat quite happy.

Thanks for reading!