Cat wands are fun, easy ways to satisfy your cat’s need to hunt and play. They provide enrichment by encouraging your cat to stalk and pounce, fending off boredom and forcing your cat to be active. These simple toys are readily available for purchase, but you can also make them using items that you probably already have around the house.
Crafting a cat wand to your cat’s specific preferences can give your cat a unique playing experience. Here are cat wand plans featuring various materials, including feathers, bells, and ribbons. Make them all to give your cat a variety of toys to keep them busy!
10 DIY Cat Wand Plans
1. Cat Ribbon Wand
| Materials: | Different colored ribbons between 15 and 24 inches long, twine, bells, wooden dowel, craft glue |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The best thing about this Cat Ribbon Wand is how easy it is to make. By using just a few pieces of the ribbon of your choice, you can make a cat wand toy with your favorite colors and textures. Decorative and multicolored ribbons are encouraged!
Add the ribbon to your wooden dowel wand with the twine of your choice, and you can make a completely customized ribbon toy that your cat will love. Weaving a few bells on the ribbon will entice your cat to play. (The bells are optional if you’d prefer to leave them out.)
2. Recycled Clothing Cat Wand
| Materials: | Old t-shirts or other pieces of thin clothing |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Instead of donating that old shirt, you can use it to make a unique and fun Recycled Clothing Cat Wand! All you need is the article of clothing that you’d like to use and a trusty pair of scissors.
You begin by cutting the shirt into strips. You choose how big the toy will be by making these strips as long or wide as you’d like. These strips are then combined in a weaving motion until the wand is completed.
This toy can be used for pouncing, chasing, and kicking. By making a few of them in different colors and sizes from your old clothes, you’ll get space back in your closet and your cat can have a variety of toys.
3. Fabric Scrap Cat Wand
| Materials: | One wooden dowel, jingle bells (if desired), fabric scraps, twine, glue |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This Fabric Scrap Cat Wand plan enables you to use any fabric that you choose. Ribbons, shoelaces, bits of old clothing, strips of felt, or even your favorite patterned fabric will work for this toy.
After gathering your strips of material together, attach them to the dowel using twine. If you’d like the toy to jingle, weave bells onto the strips for added fun.
4. Yarn Cat Wand
| Materials: | Yarn, ribbon, or crochet thread of your choice (50–60 feet), 1-foot wooden dowel or steel rod, toothpicks |
| Tools: | Scissors, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This Yarn Cat Wand is made using yarn, crochet thread, or ribbon. If you have leftover craft supplies, this is the perfect way to use them up instead of throwing them away. Mix and match your materials for a textured look.
If you’re handy with a hot glue gun, your materials may stick better on this project. If you don’t have a hot glue gun or would prefer not to use one, craft glue can be used instead. However, this may make the project take longer to make and the materials may not adhere as well.
5. Cat Wand With Fun Shapes
| Materials: | Wooden dowel with cap, Washi tape, ribbon, cardboard, felt, bells, glue |
| Tools: | Scissors, hole punch |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
The construction of this Cat Wand With Fun Shapes is similar to most others on this list, but you can add shapes to the bottom of the ribbons. Using cardboard, cut out the shapes that you’d like and cover them with felt to give your cat something to claw, bat, and chew as they play.
- Clouds
- Fish
- Hearts
- Stars
- Mice
- Bees
- Flowers
6. Felt Cat Wand
| Materials: | One 9” x 12” felt sheet or several in different colors, wooden dowel, fabric tape |
| Tools: | Scissors, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This Felt Cat Wand is easy to make and can be constructed using your favorite color felt. A hot glue gun is used to secure the felt strips to the end of the dowel. If you don’t feel comfortable using a hot glue gun, craft glue can be used instead (note that this may take longer to dry and may not stick as well).
The fabric tape in the materials is optional. This is used to wrap completely around the dowel once the toy is complete. It’s another way to customize the toy, but this step can be skipped.
You may also like: 10 Best Cat Toys for Bored Cats – Reviews & Top Picks
7. Double-Sided Cat Wand
| Materials: | Fleece fabric, ribbon, wooden dowel or plastic wand, electric or duct tape, spray paint (optional) |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This Double-Sided Cat Wand can be used for single cats or two cats at once. The dowel can be spray painted the color of your choice, if desired. If you choose to do this, let the dowel dry completely before following the rest of the steps.
Pieces of fleece fabric are attached to one end of the dowel or wand using electrical tape. On the opposite end, pieces of ribbon are attached to give your cat a different feel to their toy. No glue or hot glue guns are involved. Since the material is attached with tape, it’s easy to swap out the pieces for different colors in the future or replace them if they become damaged.
8. Cat Charmer Ribbon Wand
| Materials: | Wooden dowel, screw eye hook, Washi tape, shoelaces |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The plan for this Cat Charmer Ribbon Wand couldn’t be simpler. Screw an eye hook into one end of the wooden dowel, and thread the shoelaces of your choice through the hook opening. You can choose any color or style of laces to make your cat wand unique and fun.
Washi tape is used to wrap around the dowel and add personal style. If you don’t want to use the tape, this step can be skipped.
9. Pompom Cat Wand
| Materials: | Two of each color felt sheets, yarn, cotton balls, pompom balls, catnip, nylon thread, feathers (optional) |
| Tools: | Needles, hot glue gun, scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
The Pompom Cat Wand is a more complicated toy to make, but the result is a fun wand dangling with handmade catnip toys, pompom balls, and feathers. It should be a breeze for seasoned DIYers to construct. This is a handmade cat wand that looks professionally constructed. The different shapes, textures, and catnip are sure to make any cat eager to play.
You’ll need to be handy with a needle and thread to close the felt pockets of catnip according to the directions. If this isn’t your strong suit, you can try using the hot glue to form and close the catnip toys.
Feathers are included in the directions, but you have the chance to get as creative as you want with this wand. Use anything that your cat might like, such as pieces of tinsel, ribbon, or bells.
10. Feather Cat Wand
| Materials: | Wire hanger, feathers, 2 feet of fishing line, hair tie |
| Tools: | Pliers |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The plan for this Feather Cat Wand combines fishing line and feathers to trigger your cat’s desire to hunt. Since the string holding the feather clump is nearly invisible, your cat will only see it as it flips around, mimicking the movements of prey.
You can use any feathers that you’d like. Many options are available at craft stores. It’s worth mentioning that dyed feathers can bleed onto carpets and furniture if they get wet, so natural feathers are best. If you’d still prefer to use feathers that are different colors, a solution would be to take the cat toy away when playtime is over so your cat can’t continue to lick the feathers.
Final Thoughts
Making your own cat wand is a fun and easy way to provide new toys for your cat without having to go out shopping. With these plans, you can give your cat a variety of wands so they never get bored! We hope that you enjoyed this list and found a plan or two that you can get started on today.
Featured Image Credit: Dora Zett, Shutterstock
