Make Your Own Self-propelled Toy; Your Pet Cat Will Love It!
Posted On Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 By Rob Tyrrell
Our pet cats love to play, and it’s easy to spend a lot of money on toys to keep them amused. Some of the best toys are those that are self-propelled, these trigger those hunting instincts within our cats. The trouble is, just like kids, they will still get bored with them after a while.
This is how you can make your own self-propelled toy that will cost you nothing but a few household items!
The items you’ll need are:
Cotton reel (wooden or plastic)
One candle
A common matchstick
A 6 cm rubber band
A pencil cut to roughly 10 cms
This toy is based on the traditional “toy tank”. Firstly, if you have a wooden cotton reel, use a sharp penknife to cut notches into the lip at both ends of the reel. Space them evenly, about one centimetre apart, these will give it grip as it moves around the floor. If you have a plastic reel, you can use a file to make the notches.
After this, pass the rubber band through the hole in the centre of the reel, leave the band so that it sticks out of each end. Place the matchstick it through a loop at one of the rubber band and pull the other end so that it presses tightly against face of the reel, you’ll need to cut it so it is slightly narrower than the reel. Secure it with some sticky tape.
Take the candle and cut off a 15 mm piece, bore a hole where the wick is with the blade of a pair of scissors, make it large enough for the rubber band. Pull the unused loop of the rubber band through the candle and fasten it off with a knot.
To finish, push the pencil between the knot and candle, through the rubber band loop.
Job done. All you need to do is wind up the rubber band using the pencil (approximately 20 times should do). Position it near your pet and watch the fun begin.
Ring the changes:
For added interest you can tape a piece of leather to the barrel of the cotton reel so it makes a “slapping’ sound as it moves. Or, even better, if you have some cat mint in the garden, tape this to the barrel of the cotton reel, this will provide extra cat pulling power!
Learn more about pet portraits. Stop by Rob Tyrrell’s site where you can find out all about pet portraits from photos and what it can do for you.
