Homemade Cat Play Mat

I got a new sewing machine a couple of weeks ago and I have loved it. I came up with the idea for this great new cat toy. My cats love pouncing on anything that moves underneath a blanket, so I thought they might enjoy this little mat. I know that you probably aren't a crazy, overindulgent cat mom like myself, but I will tell you how to make this thing anyway. It only took me like 5 minutes and I just used scrap material and old cat toys, so it was practically free.

To make this toy, I got two pretty large pieces of fabric that were about the same size. Then I cut a little slit about two inches long near one corner.

Next I tucked a catnip mouse under one of the slits and used a zig zag stitch to sew over its little tail a few times. The idea is that the cats can barely see the mouse and can have fun digging around for it through the slit, but it won't come out.

I flipped the fabric over and did the same thing on the other side with a little fish toy. This toy has an elastic string attached to it and I thought it might be fun for the cats to pull on.

Next, I sewed two wiggly parallel lines down the fabric to make a kind of track. I placed a jingle ball in there and then sewed up all the sides. The cats can pounce on the ball and move it around, but they can't actually get to it.

So that's it. Pretty simple. And ugly, unfortunately. Next time I'll probably purchase some more attractive fabric. Here's a picture of little Brother playing with his new toy.