13 DIY toilet paper roll toys you can make for your cat

Toilet paper roll toys are easy to make and fun for your cat.

Cats love cardboard because they are made from trees. Trees are the cat’s natural scratching post.

You can make food puzzles, wand toys, cat mobile, and treat-release toys using empty toilet paper rolls.

These toys will keep your cat busy for hours.

Here are 13 different toilet paper roll toys you can make today:

1. Toilet paper wand toy
2. TP roll ball
3. TP roll catnip kicker toy
4. Slide strips of TP roll under the door
5. DIY food puzzle activity center
6. Fray the ends of the TP roll
7. Toilet paper rings
8. DIY treat digger
9. Put the toilet paper roll on a wand toy
10. TP roll bug
11. DIY treat-release toy
12. Scratcher toy
13. Toilet paper roll mobile toy

Note: Do not let your cat play with toys unsupervised. Most include string and other materials cats should not eat.

Disclaimer: I earn a commission if you purchase through affiliate links below. No additional cost to you.

1. DIY toilet paper wand toy

Cats love wand toys and strings so this DIY cat toy is a winner. Some wand toys can get pricey. But you can make this one easily.

Materials:

• Toilet paper roll
• Scissor
• Organic cotton string
• Wooden dowel with a hole (optional)

Instructions:

• Cut vertical strips in your toilet paper roll
• Fold the top part down and cut a slit on the fold
• Push the string through the slit
• Knot the end
• Repeat with as many strips as you want
• Tie the string on a wooden dowel for more playing control (optional)

Fun ways to use this toy: You can dangle this for your cat to hop up and catch.

Slide it around your home to make your cat run.

Or tease this toy around the Ripple Rug, Cat Box Classics cardboard scratcher house (use code caticles10 for 10% off!), or other cat furniture.

2. TP roll ball

Cats love to bat things around, especially when they are lightweight. This toilet paper roll ball is great for that. And you can hide treats inside to engage your cat even more.

Instructions

• Cut your toilet paper roll horizontally to create circular rings
• Fit the rings inside of each other making a ball
• Put healthy treats inside
• You can also use the strips from the toy above and fasten them together using string to make a wand toy ball
• Put catnip inside and knot an old piece of clothing around the ball

Buy healthy cat treats:

Fun ways to use this toy: Slide the ball across the floor to engage hunt mode.

You can use this toilet paper roll toy as a treat-release toy too.

Put your cat’s favorite treats inside to make your cat work for his food.

3. TP roll catnip kicker toy

Does your cat do bunny kicks on his toys? Jericho does this all the time. You can make your kicker toy with multiple toilet paper rolls and some fabric.

You can use an old long-sleeved shirt, pants, leggings, or a sock.

Instructions

• Cut the leg or sleeve off of the piece of clothing. Skip this step if using a sock.
• Knot the end, and put a toilet paper roll through the fabric to the knot
• Knot the fabric at the end of the roll and add another roll through the fabric
• Keep knotting the ends and add more TP rolls until you’re done
• Knot the end so it all stays together

Fun ways to use this toy: Put organic catnip inside to entice your cat to play.

Shake it around to enhance the scents.

Try some catnip alternatives if your cat doesn’t fancy catnip.

4. Slide strips of TP roll under the door

Cats are attracted to movement and go crazy when they see something move in and out of their sight. They are natural-born hunters!

Instructions

• Cut slits of toilet paper roll
• Slide the slits under doors, furniture, on the floor, etc.

Fun ways to use this toy: Slide strips of toilet paper roll under doors, furniture, blankets, around the wall corner.

5. DIY food puzzle activity center

Mental stimulation is a great way to provide environmental enrichment to your indoor cat.

Food puzzle activity centers stimulate your cat because there’s problem-solving and a yummy reward after hard work.

Instructions

• Cut toilet paper rolls in different shapes and sizes
• Arrange them in the box or on the food mat
• Put treats inside and around the puzzle

Fun ways to use this toy: You can use a box to contain the activity center.

Or buy a large food mat on Chewy or Amazon. I also added a cardboard egg carton.

Cut the toilet paper rolls into different shapes and sizes for more stimulation.

6. Fray the ends of the TP roll

This frayed toilet paper roll toy will make your cat run around and do bunny kicks. All you need is a toilet paper roll and a scissor.

Instructions

• Cut slits about half an inch along each end of the toilet paper roll
• Slide the toy across the room or toss it in the air

Fun ways to use this toy: Roll this toy around on the floor.

The unpredictable movements are attractive to cats.

You can also use this toy as a treat digger.

7. Toilet paper rings

Cats enjoy chasing things, and exercise is great for them. These rings are a lot of fun because you can slide them across the floor.

Your cat will bat and slide them around.

Instructions

• Cut horizontal rings in the toilet paper roll
• Toss the rings into the air or slide them across the floor

Fun ways to use this toy: Slide the rings across the floor or use them as treat diggers in a DIY food puzzle toy.

You can make different sizes of rings for more advanced play.

8. DIY treat digger

A great way to keep your cat entertained is to make him work for his food. You can create tunnel diggers with toilet paper rolls and a box.

Your cat will get plenty of mental stimulation trying to figure this one out.

Instructions

• Wedge toilet paper rolls vertically inside a box
• Put treats inside the toilet paper rolls

Fun ways to use this toy: Put healthy treats inside some of the tunnels and watch your cat paw around for hours.

9. Put the toilet paper roll on a wand toy

Wand toys are a big hit for cats. They mimic prey behavior. But, cats are finicky and get bored easily. Use a toilet paper roll to freshen things up.

Instructions

• Push the wand toy attachment through the toilet paper roll
• Larger attachments work best because it keeps the roll on the toy
• Wave the wand toy around as you normally would

Fun ways to use this toy: I used one of the RompiCatz (previously called Neko Flies) attachments for this. The bug on the end helps keep the toilet paper roll in place.

Attach the whole toilet paper roll to a piece of string if you don’t have a wand toy.

10. TP roll bug

Cats love to hunt bugs because of their unpredictable and quick movements. My cat, Jericho, is from the streets and loves hunting bugs.

This DIY toilet paper roll bug will remind your cat of his wild side.

Instructions

• Fold the toilet paper roll down so it is flat
• Cut slits on both sides to create small holes for legs
• Put pipe cleaners through the holes to make bug legs

Fun ways to use this toy: Cut three or four holes on each side to add more legs. Be careful of cats trying to chew and eat the pipe cleaners.

11. DIY treat-release toy

Again, cats can benefit from mental stimulation when you make them work for food. Treat-release toys are a great choice for cats that need to keep busy while you work.

Instructions

• Fold one end of the toilet paper roll to close it off
• Cut a small hole on one side of the roll
• Put a few treats inside
• Fold the other end to close it off

Fun ways to use this toy: You can make multiple treat-release toys and hide them around your home before you leave for the day.

TP treat-release toys may not be best for unsupervised play.

You can also buy feeder mice treat-release toys on Amazon or Chewy.

12. Scratcher toy

Scratching is a natural stress relief for cats. The urge to scratch is ingrained in all cats. Even if the cat has never lived outside.

Cats scratch when they are excited, and they also do it to shed old layers of their nails.

Instructions

• Fill toilet paper rolls with paper
• Wrap toilet paper rolls with sisal rope
• Knot the ends to hold it together
• You can put catnip inside to engage your cat

Fun ways to use this toy: You can use one toilet paper roll or as many as you like for this DIY scratcher toy.

Hang this from condos, scratching posts, or the side of the couch.

13. Toilet paper roll mobile toy

Do you know the baby mobile toys that hang from cribs? Well, you can make one for your cat too using toilet paper rolls, a string, and a few feathers.

Instructions

• Cut a few holes along the bottom of the toilet paper roll for the mobile toys
• Push the toys you want to use through the holes
• Push the string through the TP roll and through each toy
• Hang string, feathers, or slits of toilet paper rolls from the mobile toy

Fun ways to use this toy: You can hang this from the window, your cat’s condo, the scratching post, or the table.

I used a few attachments from this wand toy.

You could use any of your cat’s favorite toys.

Why make toilet paper roll toys?

Pros

• Easy to make. You can make all of these toilet paper roll toys with household items.
• Cheap. You already buy toilet paper so just save the rolls instead of tossing them. You can also use paper towel rolls.
• Cats love them. Trees are the cat’s natural scratching posts. This is why cats love boxes so much.
• DIY toys are safer. Making your toys at home can be safer for your cats because you have control over the materials used.

Cons

• Need to be replaced regularly. You will have to replace tp roll toys regularly since you cannot clean them. This is often the case with DIY toys.
• Need to watch for eating. Some cats might be so attracted to the toilet paper roll that they eat it.
• Could contain glue. Be mindful that some toilet paper roll toys have glue on them which could be dangerous.

Toilet paper roll toys attract cats automatically, and they are very easy to make at home.

These 13 DIY toilet paper roll cat toys will keep your cat busy for hours.

Just remember to play safe!

Final thoughts on DIY toilet paper roll toys

For the most part, toys should not be left for playtime unsupervised.

If you use string or small pieces, put them away when you cannot supervise playtime.

Cats swallow things and get tangled very easily.

Always practice a safe playtime, please.

Need more help making your cat happy indoors? Check out my single cat household tips next!