Atwater Vitki Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Like human kids, our pets often become one of the family. They also mimic children in that a toy, or gift, sits besides the toy box while they play with the box or bag it came in. Here's few really cool, not to mention cheap, toy ideas for your kitten and even adult cats. Round swimming pool exercise "spaghetti floats" are an item available for $1 at almost any discount or "Dollar Store" type outlet. There are dozens of items available at these outlets than can keep kitty entertained for hours with very little out of pocket expense. These "floats" come in a variety of shapes and all are approximately 48" long so you can make quite a few toys out of one "float". These are made of a soft poly-styrene plastic so it will "shed" a bit when clawed, but vacuums easily. Other products and items that are usually available at these "Dollar Stores" are: Plastic bins, bowls and storage containers for kitty's food (any people food container), sand (under bed sweater/shoe storage boxes) and toy boxes (tool boxes and shoes storage boxes). Shower curtains and liners for protecting areas until potty trained completely, or if kitty is sick sometimes protection as to not spread germs/viruses to other pets. You can also find window curtain and shower curtain "spring rods" there. String and Clothes Line; packaging string and cotton clothes line cord comes in 50, 100 and 250 foot packages and is used for many toys. I saw a 25' roll of "Mailing Twine" at Post Office for $6.95! No need for expensive rope or twine for cat toys. All types of balls; those "Water Splat" fabric/fiber filled for throwing water balls, when kept dry make excellent play toys as kitty can claw and carry without damage to teeth or claws, plus they're very light weight and easy for smaller kittens to toss around. Smaller tennis balls and rubber balls for a good chase and bounce! Utensils like spaghetti spoons and shifters for cat-box cleaning, spoons so you don't have to use the good silverware, tongs for getting hard to reach toys under couch/chairs and all sorts of other things you can dedicate to kitty's needs. Squirt guns for training purposes. We get the plain 5 packs and usually one or two don't work so well or aim is way off. You can correct aim by using a sewing needle in tip and push/pull it to a straight aim with barrel. This normally corrects the "hard right", "too high" or "way under" water stream. Cleaning products; while your name brand stuff is best for most household cleaning jobs, the cheap off label brands are just fine for daily little mishaps and continuous use. "Fabric ReFresh", a "Fabreeze™" type solution is something we use gallons of and the gallon refill of "ReFresh" is $1 compared to $5 for a 12 oz bottle of name brand. It has the same "hydra-poly-chloro-whatever" ingredient as the name brand, just less of it by 2%. The off-brand oven cleaner, which usually doesn't work on oven grease, works great on the once a month cat box cleaning/sand changing and foams out any scratches or nicks in the plastic tub. Spray on, let sit 2-3 minutes, rinse out thoroughly in bathtub. Tissue wrapping paper; a small 12x12x10" cardboard box, 8-10 sheets of crumpled tissue paper, toss in a "Disk Toss" and watch the fun begin! This one is hilarious to watch even adult cats get involved in the fun and games of hide 'n seek, stalker and pounce! Take up at night for kittens as confusion between tissue and sandbox may be not so much fun. Towels and Washcloths; Use the "cheapies" for chair covers, mess clean ups and various other needs, toss out instead of mucking up washing machine. Hand towels are great for lap blankets to keep fur off clothing and can be easily stored under end table or beside chair. All of our cats, including kittens, are "trained" to wait for "bain-kie" before snuggling into lap. They will sit on arm of recliner until towel is in lap, then curl up and get comfy. While you're at the "Dollar Store", just keep your eyes open for ideas, I could list more and even more! We also buy incense and scented candles*(see below), anti-bacterial soap which helps keeps hands clean and home free of "box smell" - though cleaning box 2-3x's daily does the trick and always use good sand- the clumping type has been angelic in keeping foul odors away. "Scoop Away®"and "Exquisite®" (PetsMart brand) are excellent! The non-scented is best for the pet, but if you have a sensitive nose the scented is also very good. Sometimes they even have name brand cat food in stock, but use quickly as when they do it's usually ready to expire. Check out the accompanied "Cat Toy Examples" topic for diagrams of toys you can make for hours of fun for kitty and belly aches of laughs!*if you use incense and scented candles in your home, please do so with caution. Many pets, and humans, can have mild to severe breathing issues if incense and scented candles are used withOUT plenty of fresh air exchange. We're lucky to have a separate room for the "kids" litter box and there is always an open window for air exchange. We also have several ivy plants in there to help absorb odors, but be sure to research which ivy's do NOT have a toxic effect on your pets. Edited June 3, 2011 by Reverend Al inserted link, added precaution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Michael Sky Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 We also buy incense and scented candles, might wanna read up a little on these... we removed both when my son was due... due to research... ( except for soy candles... )they are equally bad for pets lungs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atwater Vitki Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) I've read that so we make sure plenny open windows and "box room" is separate from rest of areas we and kids hang out. Wife HATES any hint of box smell...guess I should have made ref to open windows, but those in the know should know, ya know? But anyway, yes, thank you for the caution, I'll edit that with a caution about lungs...but then what do a billions Indians do with tons of Nagchampa??Blessings, Edited June 3, 2011 by Reverend Al should have: have made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Michael Sky Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I've read that so we make sure plenny open windows and "box room" is separate from rest of areas we and kids hang out. Wife HATES any hint of box smell...guess I should have made ref to open windows, but those in the know should know, ya know? But anyway, yes, thank you for the caution, I'll edit that with a caution about lungs...but then what do a billions Indians do with tons of Nagchampa??Blessings,sell it to Americans.... cheap.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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