Tomato Stalk and Cotton - Untied

The realistic spider made from a tomato stalk is something my Dad taught me. Many cats and kittens will happily hunt butterflies, flies and house spiders. However, by making your own reaslitic-looking spider, you don’t need to worry about damaging nature’s insect population.

I actually had to re-make this toy as Leia ate the last one! I wasn’t looking and she managed to find the toy on my desk and eat it!

Tomato Stalk and Cotton - Tied

All you need to do is to cut off the top of a tomato stalk, and tie a length of cotton thread around the stalk. If you drag the stalk along the carpet, you’ll notice it crawls just like a spider. The dark thread just makes the thread a little harder to see, making it more realistic for the kitten to play with.

Tomato Stalk and Cotton - with Leia

I warn you now, this toy will not last very long! You’ll get about 10 to 15 minutes play before your kitten shreds it. However, they will love you for it, so keep some spare tomato stalks and cotton ready to make some more.

Old Broken Shoe Laces - Untied

If you think about it, both cats and kittens just love shoe laces, wires or anything that vaguely resembles string. I break shoe laces pretty often (probably because I like my shoes nice and tight), so I thought that Leia might appreciate having her own laces to play with. So rather than have Leia attack my foot when I’m on my way out, I turned some old broken shoe laces into a toy.

Old Shoe Laces Tied

As simple as it may be, just tying some old shoe laces into a T or X shape will keep the kittens amused for a while. Leia got bored of a single shoe lace pretty quickly, but seems fascinated with the T shaped spider thing I created, perhaps because of the way it moves when she flings it into the air.

As an added bonus, if you ensure you have a long end on the shoe lace toy, you can dangle the lace in front of your kitten so that your kitten plays with you rather than on their own. As your kitten gets older, you’ll find they appreciate playing with you more than they do playing on their own.