All Natural Cat

I know what the greatest cat toy is. It is made of recycled materials that are produced from renewable resources and the toy itself is recyclable (even compostable!) after use. The materials are free and the toy can be made by anyone. My cat Emily by far prefers it over any other toy, and while we have to make “fresh” ones for her fairly regularly, she has yet to tire of the basic concept. I am willing to sell you these plans for a small fee… okay, I’ll give it away for free. Are you ready? This is mind-blowing.

It’s a crumpled-up paper ball.

Seriously, as far as Emily is concerned, this is the best thing ever. It’s lightweight enough to bat around and go skittering across the floor, and it moves in an irregular, prey-like manner that cats really go nuts for. I like to use the blow-in subscription cards from magazines, or something of a similar weight, like index cards, which seems to have the right amount of heft and density. Smaller balls (a subscription card torn in half or in thirds) are more exciting than larger balls, at least for Emily. I read a lot of magazines, so we have a lot of subscription cards in piles around the apartment, and we end up making a fresh paper ball for her maybe once or twice a day. They all go in the recycling whenever we vacuum.

I wanted to get a picture for this entry, but it’s tough getting a good action shot. But here is Emily in the process of savaging a paper ball (to her right).

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