Many cats love fleece. It’s also very easy to work with, making it a great option for new DIYers. There are many ways to refashion fleece into a cat toy and you don’t need many tools for most of these plans. Most only require scissors and a measuring tape.
If you have the materials lying around, you can also get it done very quickly. Many are even simple enough for children to do, making these plans a great potential family project. Here are some of our favorite DIY fleece toy plans.
The 7 DIY Fun Fleece Toys for Cats
1. Flower Fleece Toy from Oregon Humane
| Materials: | Fleece fabric |
| Tools: | Scissors, measuring tape |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This simple project shows you how to make a fleece toy that looks a bit like a flower. Making it is very straightforward and requires two types of fleece fabric (though you could technically just use one if you had enough of it).
This project involves plenty of measuring and cutting, but that’s about it. You don’t need a lot of previous DIY experience or anything of that sort. It’s easy enough for most children to do with a bit of adult help. It doesn’t even matter much if the measurements are off, as the project doesn’t require precise cuts.
2. Fleece Bundle from Placer SPCA
| Materials: | Bits of fleece |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This isn’t much of a plan, as this DIY project is incredibly easy. All you need to do is take several scraps of fleece and bunch them together. Then, you tie another piece of fleece around the bunch to keep it all together. This project is so easy that children can do it with minimal help. It works best if you have fleece scraps of many different colors, though this is only for aesthetic reasons.
This toy may not stay together for long, though. It’s designed so that the cat can pull the bits of fleece out as they play, which can create a mess around your house. Luckily, it’s very easy to repair the toy like new again.
3. Fleece Ring from Placer SPCA
| Materials: | Fleece, shower curtain ring |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
If you have a shower ring lying around, you can make another interesting toy by tying strips of fleece around it. The idea is to completely cover the shower ring in bits of fleece, with the loose ends hanging down for the cat to play with.
This cat toy also seems to hold up better to play than others. It’s much more durable, as the cat cannot just pull the pieces of fleece off. However, because fleece isn’t the most durable fabric out there, it will still become torn over time.
4. Catnip Fleece Toy from Catnip Kitty
| Materials: | Catnip, Fleece |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This quick video shows you how to make a catnip toy for your feline quickly. The design is extremely simple and doesn’t require any sewing. Despite this, it holds the catnip pretty well, making it a great choice for catnip-loving felines.
Of course, it does work best for cats that like catnip. Otherwise, one of the other plans may work better. We do recommend making these somewhere away from your cat. Otherwise, they may try to take over your project!
5. Braided Cat Toy form Instructables
| Materials: | Strips of fleece |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
If you have a few strips of fleece lying around, you can quickly and easily make this cat toy. You only need three different strips, which should preferably be different colors. However, if you only have one color, this plan still works.
You’re basically braiding these three strands together, as the name suggests. Leave the ends long enough to entice your feline, as that’s the part they’ll probably end up playing with the most. The braiding can be a bit more challenging than just cutting and tying. However, once you get the steps down, you can pop out these toys very quickly.
6. Fleece Kitty Sachet Toys from One Spunky Pup
| Materials: | Fleece, pom pom or cotton ball, yarn, catnip |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This plan is a bit more involved than many of the others. You’ll need to carefully measure everything and create a little “ball” using a pom pom or cotton ball. There may be more steps, but it isn’t significantly harder than the others. You don’t have to be very careful with your measuring, as your cat probably won’t care if the toy is a little lop-sided!
As long as the squares fit around the cotton ball, the plan should work out just fine.
For cats that love catnip, you can place some inside the toy. However, you don’t have to use the catnip if your cat doesn’t like it.
7. Ball Cat Toy from Idea Studio
| Materials: | Fleece, string, jingle bell, dowel rod |
| Tools: | Scissors, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
We labeled this DIY plan as “medium” only because there are several more steps, and a hot glue gun is involved. It isn’t that complicated, and the average cat owner could easily accomplish it. However, be sure to use non-toxic materials, including the glue!
The jingle bell should be well-attached, too. Otherwise, your cat may accidentally swallow it.
Conclusion
Fleece is a versatile fabric you can use to create some very easy cat toys. Most fleece DIY plans only require scissors and some basic measuring. These plans are great to do with DIY-minded kids with a little adult assistance. Most can be done without anything but fleece, but others may require some other materials, like cotton balls and string.
When making these plans, ensure everything is safe for your cat. Don’t cut the fleece so small that the cat may consume them. Don’t use toxic materials, especially if glue is called for.
Because fleece is so cheap and these plans are so straightforward, it’s easy to make several for your feline. Cats all have their own preferences, so they may not like every toy you make. However, the great thing about fleece is you won’t feel so bad if they don’t like it. Most of these toys take less than 5 minutes to make, after all.
Featured Image Credit: Darlow82, Shutterstock
The 7 DIY Fun Fleece Toys for Cats
