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10 DIY Feather Cat Toys You Can Make Today (With Pictures)

Written by: Ed Malaker

Last Updated on January 22, 2024 by Catster Editorial Team

cat playing with owner

10 DIY Feather Cat Toys You Can Make Today (With Pictures)

Feather toys are extremely popular with cats, and it’s easy to get your kitty into a playful mood with one. However, cats can tear them up quickly with rough play, which can cause them to get quite expensive if you keep buying them at the local pet store.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to build DIY feather toys using inexpensive items that you might already have around the house. If you enjoy doing simple crafts, keep reading for a list of several projects that you and your pet are sure to love.

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The 10 DIY Feather Cat Toys

1. DIY Feather Cat Toy

DIY Feather Cat Toy
Image Credit: scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom
Materials: Wooden dowel, feathers, small bells, string
Tools: Glue, tape
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Feather Cat Toy is an easy-to-build project that is also great fun. It only requires a few items, including feathers and string, and you can customize it in many ways. Bells can help make the project even more colorful and will help attract your pet when it’s playtime. The finished product is quite durable and will likely last several play sessions.


2. Easy Feather Cat Toy

DIY Feather Cat Toy
Image Credit: dreamalittlebigger
Materials: Feathers, feather boa, string
Tools: Glue, tape
Difficulty: Easy

The plan for Easy Feather Cat Toy uses an inexpensive feather boa to make it easy to find several feathers of similar quality and color. The plan walks you through bunching up the feathers to create your play toy and provides tips on using non-toxic materials.


3. DIY Wine Cork Cat Toy

DIY Feather Cat Toy
Image Credit: dreamalittlebigger
Materials: Feathers, cork, pipe cleaners
Tools: Glue, tape
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Wine Cork Cat Toy is a fun project that shows you how to create small mouse-like toys out of feathers and corks that your pet will love to chase around the house. You can customize them in many ways by using other items, like pipe cleaners, which can make these toys more colorful and more entertaining for your pet.


4. DIY Natural Feather Cat Toy

Materials: Chicken feathers, twine, ribbon
Tools: Paper clip, electrical tape
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Natural Feather Cat Toy is a great project for people with access to a chicken coop. It shows you how to take the natural feathers and turn them into a toy that your pet will enjoy chasing and playing with. The natural odor can also help your pet be more interested in it, and you won’t need to worry about harmful chemicals or dyes.


5. Kirsten’s Feather Cat Toys

Materials: Feathers, paper towel rolls
Tools: Glue, scissors
Difficulty: Easy

Kristen’s Feather Cat Toys is a wonderful project that uses common household items like paper towel rolls to create usable cat toys that your pet will enjoy, so you get to do a bit of recycling. You can also customize the toys to your liking with different colored feathers, and they are fun to build with children.


6. DIY Feather Wand Cat Toy

Materials: Wooden dowels, feathers, paper plate, bells
Tools: Non-toxic glue, scissors
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Feather Wand Cat Toy is a fun project that is sure to result in one of your pet’s favorite toys. Cats love to chase after it, and it doesn’t require much work on your end to get a reaction. This toy is customizable, colorful, and durable. The video instructions are easy to follow, but text-based instructions are in the description if you need them.


7. Feather Teaser

Materials: Feathers, cork, skewer, screw
Tools: Glue, tape, scissors
Difficulty: Easy

The Feather Teaser is similar to the previous project, but this one goes into more detail and helps you create a colorful and durable teaser for the end of the string. It uses cork to give it some weight, which can cause your cat to get more involved. We love the colorful appearance, and it doesn’t take too long to finish.


8. DIY Cork Cat Toy

Materials: Feathers, cork
Tools: Glue, scissors
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Cat Toy uses a cork to give your cat something with a bit of weight to chase after. You can build several toys quickly if you have a few wine corks, and they are easy enough for children to help out with supervision around the glue gun. The finished product is colorful and the instructions are easy to follow.


9. DIY Yarn Feather Wand

Materials: Yarn, dowel, thread, leather strap
Tools: Drill, scissors
Difficulty: Easy

The DIY Yarn Feather Wand project is unique in that the author shows you how to make an amazing yarn ball that your cat will love to chase and adds a feather to help create the illusion of a living animal. With a long piece of string, this toy can be quite effective at activating your cat’s natural hunting instincts, which helps increase the amount of mental stimulation that they receive while playing.


10. Feather Ball

Materials: Newspaper, feathers, string
Tools: Tape
Difficulty: Easy

The Feather Ball Project is one of the easiest on this list to build, and it’s well-suited for children. It’s essentially a balled-up piece of newspaper, but you can decorate it in many ways to improve the appearance. It’s also surprisingly durable, and your cat will enjoy batting it around your home. The best part is that you can easily rebuild it if you need to by adding more tape.

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Summary

It’s quite easy to build a feather cat toy for your pet without breaking the bank. Whether it’s a small toy that your cat can chase around or a feather wand that enables you to get in on the fun, each of these projects is worth considering. Our favorites include the DIY Feather Cat Toy that helps you produce a wand that will have your cat jumping in delight and the Feather Ball that you can build in minutes for almost no cost.


Featured Image Credit: Dora Zett, Shutterstock

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