Cat Toys for Free

Catnip as a cat toy

Much has been made about the general effectiveness of catnip on cats. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a pretty common herb plant of the mint family Labiatae. The chemical that is responsible for the reaction is something called Nepetalactone, though no one really knows what about it produces the effect in cats. While people usually buy catnip, it has become widely prevalent as something of a weed in the Northern Central United States and in Canada so you may have some catnip growing in your backyard and not know about it! In that case, you might as well try and take advantage of this potential cat toy pleaser. (As always, make sure that it is indeed catnip and not some other plant because many other plants are harmful or even fatal to cats.)

One important thing to note is that not all cats are affected by catnip. Reactions really do vary. Some cats will revel in it, first rolling around in it and then going generally bonkers and running all over the place. The catnip effect seems to be temporary lasting between 5 and 20 minutes after which it goes away and cannot be evoked for another couple hours. Younger cats and kittens in particular seem not to be affected by it at all. Other older cats will show no interest in catnip toys or even pointedly avoid them.

Catnip can be used alone or in conjunction with any number of homemade cat toys. A popular one seems to be the cat toy sock. If you have the dried kind of catnip you can just stuff it in the sock, like those cat mouse toys that are sold.

Warning: If you cat is one of those that go nuts with catnip and in general take to tearing about the house, try not to overdo it. That is try not to give them catnip more than a few times a day since they might get exhausted or fatigued from running around. One good thing is that after a cat is satiated with catnip it tends to lose interest for a few hours, thus providing ample time for rest. Also if you are using catnip from your backyard, MAKE SURE that it is indeed catnip and not some other plant because many other plants are harmful or even fatal to cats.

Here are some ideas for some fun cat toys that can be made for free or from basic materials:

Paper ball cat toy

Ping pong cat toy

String cat toy

Fishing cat toys

Cat toy socks

Cylinder cat toys

Cat bag toys

Cat toys on Ebay

Light cat toys

Cat toy "mouse"

Catnip as cat toy

Cat toy dangers

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