c/pet-craft-hours

A chat at the vet clinic made me ditch the store bought catnip toys

Last Tuesday I was waiting for my cat's checkup and got talking to this older lady who breeds rabbits. She said her bunnies ignore every fancy toy she buys, but they go nuts for a cardboard box stuffed with crumpled paper and a bit of dried oregano from her kitchen. I went home and made one for my cat with an old shipping box and some loose leaf tea, and she's been in it for three days straight. Made me wonder if I've been overthinking pet crafts this whole time. Has anyone else had a random stranger's tip totally change how you make stuff for your animals?

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park.troy•3d ago

My cat's cardboard castle collapsed, and the fix came from a stranger at the dog park

Last Saturday I spent 4 hours building a three-floor cardboard castle for my cat, complete with little windows and a ramp. I was so proud, but by Sunday evening the whole thing sagged and flopped over like a wet noodle. While walking my dog at Riverside Park, I complained to another owner about how my cat wouldn't even look at it now. She laughed and told me to stop using hot glue and start using duct tape wrapped around the cardboard edges, plus a few wooden dowels for support. I went home, redid it in about 45 minutes with her method, and my cat has been sleeping in it every night since. Has anyone else had a DIY project saved by a random tip from a stranger, or am I just bad at picking adhesives?

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lee.diana•3d ago

Sisal rope was a bust, but the old t-shirt trick won my cat over

I spent like 2 hours last Sunday wrapping a fresh sisal rope around a new scratching post for my tabby, Milo. Figured the rougher texture would be a win since he shredded the last carpet one in about 4 months. Nope, he sniffed it once and walked away, then went right back to clawing my couch armrest. Out of frustration I cut up an old grey t-shirt into strips and braided them into a loose hanging bundle, tied it to the post base. He went nuts within 10 minutes, batting and biting it like it was a live mouse. The texture thing totally flipped for me, my cat hates rough rope and loves soft fabric because it catches his claws differently. Anyone else find their cat ignores the fancy store stuff but goes wild for a random piece of clothing? What material does yours pick over everything else?

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jamieperez•6d ago

My mom told me my dog bed looked like a sad beanbag, so I redid the whole thing

She said the filling was clumping up and the cover was too thin, so I switched to shredded memory foam and double layered canvas. Anyone else get brutal honesty from family that actually made your craft better?

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laura211•6d ago

My cat's new scratcher took 2 months to break in...

I keep seeing everyone rave about those flat cardboard scratchers but my cat would barely touch them. So I built a tall sisal rope post from scratch out of a 2x4 and some leftover rope from a project. At first she ignored it completely for about 3 weeks, then she started sniffing around it. After a full 2 months of her occasionally clawing at it the rope finally loosened up and now she goes at it every morning. Has anyone else had a cat shun a new toy or furniture for weeks before suddenly liking it?

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david_henderson6•7d ago

Made my cat a cardboard castle from old Amazon boxes and she wont leave it

My neighbor saw me pulling tape off a box and laughed saying i was wasting my time, but i told her cats love cardboard more than fancy beds. She said her cat ignored every toy she ever bought and just played with the packaging instead, which got me thinking. Anyone else find their pet likes the stuff you make at home way more than the store bought stuff?

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michael895•7d ago

I was sure homemade catnip toys were a waste of time until my cat ignored the store bought ones for 2 weeks straight.

I always bought the $3 pack of mice from PetSmart, figured why bother sewing my own. Then I made one out of an old sock and some dried catnip from the farmers market last Saturday, and she carries it around like it's a trophy. Has anyone else's pet completely snubbed a store toy for a homemade one?

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troy_sanchez8•7d ago

That time my cat nearly choked on a felt mouse tail

I was in my living room last Tuesday watching my cat play with a DIY felt mouse I made, and she swallowed the whole tail in one gulp. I had to pry her mouth open and pull it out before she ran under the couch. Has anyone else had close calls with loose parts on homemade toys?

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tara_palmer•12d ago

My neighbor said I was over-engineering my cat's scratching post until his cat tore up his couch last week.

I built a six foot tall post with a heavy plywood base and sisal rope wrapped twice over, and he laughed saying a cardboard box works just fine, but now his couch has these long pulls in the fabric and he's texting me asking for the rope supplier I used - has anyone else had a DIY project prove someone wrong like that?

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margaret_singh1•13d ago

Tried making DIY catnip toys from old socks - thought it was gonna be a joke, but my cat went nuts for them

Honestly, I rolled my eyes when my friend suggested it, but after she showed me her cat tearing apart a store-bought mouse, I gave it a shot with a mismatched sock and some dried catnip. My kitty ignored her $8 toy and now sleeps with the sock thing every night - has anyone else had their pet totally pick a homemade item over a fancy one?

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eva_garcia56•13d ago

My dog's trainer tested my DIY treat pouch and it was a total fail

I made this cool treat pouch from an old jeans pocket for walks, but my trainer saw it and laughed. She said the open top lets treats fall out when my dog bumps into me. I had to add a velcro flap after losing half a bag of Zuke's mini naturals on a 20-minute walk around Golden Gate Park. Anyone else get called out by a pro for a silly mistake?

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jade885•13d ago

Tried making those braided fleece dog toys and my sewing machine ate my project at 2am

Was on my night off last Wednesday, got the bright idea to make my husky a new toy. Had all this fleece leftover from a baby blanket I never finished. Watched a youtube tutorial that said to just cut strips and braid them. Easy right? Well I got 3 braids done and decided to use the sewing machine to stitch the ends. Big mistake. Machine jammed so bad I had to cut the whole thing apart. Now I have a pile of fleece strips and a husky staring at me like I broke a promise. Anyone else have better luck hand sewing these things?

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