DIY Kitten stuff??

[starrmar006]

I'm getting a kitten and want to be prepared for it but don't want to spend very much money of the extras like toys, scratching post, etc. and was wondering if anyone has some ideas, i made a cat tent and a ball out of TP roll.

 

[starrmar006]

and was thinking of making this

 

[cassie]

You really ought to spend the money for a good scratching post to save the furniture. A good one will last for years. Get one covered in sisal rather than carpet. If you go to youtube you can find information on how to make a top entry litterbox (the top entry is good because the litter doesn't get spread around and the dogs can't get into it) and cat trees. Cats love cat trees. Ping pong balls make a good toy.

 

[MochaDuck]

Two DIYs my family has done for years are: (1) the ring from a milk jug and (2) normal sized hair elastics. But NOT rubber bands. It's easier for them to choke on rubber bands, I'm not quite sure why. But we've used milk rings and hair elastics for years and our cats play with them more than they do cat toys.

 

[ChickenRelatedUserName]

If money is an issue, you can get away with spending $0 on a cat beyond food and litter. They are just like kids. People bankrupt themselves buying them stuff they don't need, or even want.

 

[cassie]

Another thing cats and kittens get a lot of enjoyment out of are paper bags. Any paper bag that is on its side on the floor soon has my kitten in it. Cardboard boxes that they can jump in and out of and hide in are a big hit also.

 

[PirateGirl]

My cats' favorite toy is a foam earplug. My husband works construction, they fall out of every pocket when we do laundry, the cat will play with an earplug for days! I agree with the paper bags and cardboard boxes. Every bag and box goes to the cats until recycling day. You could make a sock ball that they are allowed to have. Anything they are allowed to climb on is fun, find something you can stack and then stack in a different way. I found both my cats in a standoff around the laundry basket last night, any sort of basket is fun. Catnip is easy to grow in a small pot indoors. If you have some rope/twine you can wrap a railing post to be an acceptable scratching spot. You can make a ball out of tinfoil.

 

[ChikenChik]

Ha I have bought many toys and beds and scatching posts in the past. My cats don't use them. My daughter spent $100 on a princess cat tree. Guess what? The cat is scared to death of the thing lol. My cats scratch on the homemade Sisal rope pole I made them and a piece of plywood. My husband left it leaning on the wall after some project years ago and they love the thing so it stays. We even moved it with us to the new house! It is ugly but saves the furninture. And they play with whatever they find. Especially if it rolls or dangles. Make your own toys. And scratching post! My kids love to tie little toys or feathers to a string and drag it around the house. Or just tie it to a bannister or chair or something. Just make sure it is tight so the cat can't get it down. I have one cat that eats string or ribbon or anything like that!

 

[PirateGirl]

Oh, and for a bed, my cats like anything fuzzy, if I leave a fleece hoodie laying around that's where they want to sleep. They like to sneak in the closet and try and make a bed out of my sweaters. The softer and fuzzier the better. We usually pile/curl some sort of fleece hoodie or blanket on a lounge chair for them to sleep on. It generally keeps them from stealing the dogs' bed.

 

[Birdsong 82]

In my opinion a scratching post no matter how good or how many will not prevent them from scratching your furniture. Cat scratcher furniture because you know they don’t want you to. That’s how they roll. LOL I recently saw something pretty awesome it was how to make a cat tower all DIY. I think what they used cost probably less than $15 and it was a good size cat towers and they usually cost over hundred dollars. But my cats love the cat towers. There’s things for them to crawl inside And they can scratch the sides like a scratching post and you can even hang things from them for them to swat around