Cheap Pet Insurance

July 11th, 2010 by Rob Tyrrell

Pet cats, particularly young ones, have an innate desire to play. There are many ‘toys’ on the market that are designed specifically with your pet in mind but, like children, all toys lose their fascination after a while, and your cat will be looking for the next new thing to play with. Some of the most effective toys are the ones that move independently, these spark the hunting instinct, the reason your pet wants to play in the first place!

Here’s a classic children’s toy that can be made very simply, from common household items, that will do just that!

The items you’ll need are:

Empty cotton reel

A standard candle

A simple matchstick

Rubber Band (approx. 6 cm long)

Old Pencil, cut to about 10 cm long

Firstly, cut notches into the lip at both ends of a wooden reel with a sharp knife. Space them one centimetre apart around the reel, this give the toy grip. For plastic reels, use a file to make the notches.

Second, push the rubber band through the middle of the reel, leaving the band to sticking out of both ends. Trim the matchstick so it is just slightly shorter than the width of the reel, place this through a loop at one of the rubber band and pull the other end so that it is tight against face of the reel. Fix it in place with 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.

Lastly, pass the pencil through the rubber band loop, between the knot and candle.

It’s ready! All you need to do now is wind up the rubber band, using the pencil, about 20 times. Hold the pencil whilst you place the “tank” on the floor near your pet, let it go and it will trundle off on it’s own, making it the perfect target for your cats attention.

Optional:

To increase the interest, glue the edge of a small piece of leather to the barrel of the cotton reel, it’ll make a “slapping’ sound on hard floors as it trundles about. Or, if you’ve got some cat mint, glue some to the barrel of the cotton reel – irresistable (to cats).

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.