11 DIY Felt Cat Toys That Are the Cat’s Meow!
If you’re like me, you like to spoil your fur babies. I have three beautiful, goofy cats who like to play and frolic with their favorite toys. Lately, however, I’ve thought about how fun it would be to make my own felt cat toys DIY style.
In this entry of my Felt Crafts series, I have gathered 11 patterns and tutorials for felt cat toys to share with you and hopefully inspire you to make some for your fur friends too.
Do Cats Like Felt?
Before we go any further, we must address this crucial question: Do cats even like felt? If you go to Petsmart or another pet store, chances are in the cat toy section; you will see some felt mouse toys, usually with catnip inside. So do they like the felt, or is it just the catnip?
From my research and personal experience, it depends on what the felt is made from. For example, if you use wool felt, cats LOVE that stuff. Since wool is an animal byproduct, cats really enjoy the smell.
I speak from experience because I have a wool pressing mat, and I have to hide it when I’m not using it because my cats want to rub, scratch, and drool all over it. Which you know…is less than ideal.
I also have an extensive collection of acrylic crafting felt that my cats could care less about. I’ve made stuffed animal plushies from it, and I can’t remember ever seeing them show any interest in them.Â
So yes, cats like felt. It just needs to be wool so they can let their inner wildcats out.
Is Felt Safe For Cats?
This is another excellent question, and I want to reiterate the importance of the type of felt. I am not a veterinarian, but common sense tells me wool is better for cats than acrylic.
Think about it, if the little fibers from the felt come off and they swallow it, wool is just animal hair and will pass through as their hair. However, acrylic is plastic, and who knows what kind of damage that could cause long-term.
My answer to the question is: Yes, wool felt is safe for cats. Make sure you know what type of felt you are purchasing and that it is from a reputable source if you want to make DIY felt cat toys.
Can You Make Cat Toys Out of Felt?
You sure can! I would recommend always using wool felt. I would also discourage using tiny pieces on the toys, such as beads or safety eyes, just in case they come loose while the kitties play. That could potentially be a horrifying choking hazard.
Other than that, making cat toys out of felt should be a straightforward and fun project.
11 DIY Felt Toys For Your Kitty Babies
I have scoured the interwebs for the best tutorials and felt cat toy patterns to share with you. I hope you enjoy these adorable cat toy ideas as much as I do.
Here is a super simple no-sew cat toy that features felt, ribbon, and feathers. What cat wouldn’t love this? You could literally make a dozen of these in 30 minutes, and you will be your kitty’s favorite parent forever. The only downside to this toy is that you can’t stuff it and add catnip.
Oh my goodness, these are SO cute! If you like to decorate for the different seasons, why not make some festive Halloween/Fall cat toys to go along with your decor? I’m sure your cat will appreciate it too. If you signup for Dream a Little Bigger’s newsletter, you can get the SVG files for this project for free. A free tutorial will also show you how to make these step-by-step.
I found this adorable cat toy sewing pattern on Etsy in the shop TaraHandmade. The only tweak I would personally make is I would not use buttons for the eyes, just in case. Instead, you could make felt eyes, stitch eyes using thread, or draw eyes using a fabric pen. The pattern includes templates for the pieces and instructions on how to stitch together these cute cats.
Here is a free tutorial + free pattern to make a felt mouse, fish, and bird for your cat. The tutorial is simple without many images, so it might take a couple of tries to put these together perfectly. The pattern is excellent, though, and the construction of each animal should be self-explanatory.
Here is an in-depth free tutorial on making this sweet watermelon toy. The designer used her Cricut machine to cut out the pieces and gave instructions on how to do that, but if you don’t have a Cricut machine, you can easily cut them out by hand. She provides detailed images to show you how to do each step. This would be a fun craft project for kids too.
Here is another excellent free tutorial from Allison at Dream a Little Bigger. She has created one of the cutest cat toys I have ever seen with these fortune cookies, and now I want to make a bunch of my kitties. For each step, she has written easy-to-understand instructions and provided photos for us visual learners.
Lia Griffith is well-known in the felt crafting community for her adorable patterns and easy-to-follow tutorials. This sushi cat toy she has created is one of my favorite designs. Unlike most sites where you pay per pattern, you pay for a monthly or annual membership on Lia’s website. With that membership, you can access her entire library of craft projects.
Here is a great tutorial that shows you how to make these fun fish and dinosaur cat toys. When looking for felt cat toys DIY ideas, sometimes you just have to come up with something on your own, which is precisely what the designer of this tutorial did. You can follow her tutorial and make your dinosaur and fish toys for your cats.
Imagine attaching this to a string and dangling it above your cat’s head. Wouldn’t they go crazy for that? This free tutorial and pattern will show you how to create this cute little rainbow cloud cat toy in a few short steps. You can stuff it with poly-fil or catnip, whichever you think your cat will prefer.
So this cat sewing pattern isn’t technically made for cats, but come on. Those long dangly arms and legs would be so much for a kitty to play with. That’s the great thing about these small felt toy patterns. They may not be meant specifically for cats, but you can make them, add a little catnip inside, and give it to your cat for hours of playtime. I found this in the Etsy shop LittleThingsToShare.
This cat mouse toy tutorial is so adorable, and the mouse is the classic choice for our furry felines. This tutorial includes a free printable pattern that you can use to trace out the mouse shapes onto your felt. I want to make a few of these for my kitties. Stuff them with catnip for an added treat for your cat.
These tutorials and patterns were so much fun to check out and gather for you guys. I hope they help you create some fun, one-of-a-kind goodies for your cats that they can enjoy for a long time.
Which one was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!
2 Comments