Pet Accessories

Crafting can be an enjoyable hobby and there's nothing easier than constructing pet toys. Although pet stores will try to convince you that your cat needs a remote control light up mouse and your fish needs a scale model pirate ship complete with stylized aquarium lighting, the reality is that you can create toys and habitat accessories for your pets out of scrap materials you find lying around the house. Here are some simple projects that your animals will love:

Bouncy Cat Tree - if you have any old guitar strings or similar wound or braided wire, you can fashion it into a fun toy your cat will go crazy for. Simply unwind the string to create a floppy, bouncy end. Place masking tape on the ends for safety and visibility. Now tie it to a doorknob, screw it to a wooden base, or wave it around yourself and watch your cat leap after the bouncing ends.

Hamster Habitrail - for hours of hamster fun save paper towel and toilet paper tubes and tape them together into fun tunnel shapes. Attach the ends of the tunnel to your hamster's cage and watch them go! Also works for other small animals like rats and mice, though supervision should be used in case they chew through the cardboard.

Puppy Pull - Dogs need little else besides your affection to have a happy playtime. For a fun activity you can do together, scrounge around out in the garage for any short lengths of rope a few feet long. Tie loops in either end so that it looks like a figure eight. Your dog will clamp onto one loop with his mouth, and with you pulling on the other end, it's a fun doggy tug-of-war!