DIY toy guide
Draught-Excluder Kick Snake
A long, weighty fabric tube a cat can grab with all four paws and bunny-kick
Most kicker toys are palm-sized; this one is deliberately long — an arm's-length stuffed tube, like a draught excluder, that a cat can wrap around, grip with its front paws and rake with the back legs. That full-body bunny-kick is how cats burn off predatory energy, and a big soft target satisfies it far better than a small toy.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- £0 (upcycled)
🧺 You will need
- 1 long fabric tube — an old jumper sleeve, a leg cut from thick tights, or a pillowcase rolled and stitched
- Clean fabric scraps, worn socks or polyester stuffing to fill it
- 1–2 tsp dried catnip or a pinch of silvervine (optional)
- Needle and strong thread, or a no-sew alternative of tight knots
🔧 How to make it
- Knot or stitch one end of the tube closed so nothing can escape.
- Pack it firmly with fabric scraps or stuffing until it holds a satisfying, sausage-like shape about 30–40 cm long.
- Sprinkle the catnip through the filling as you go if you are using it.
- Close the open end with a tight double knot or a firm line of stitching, leaving no gap.
- Tug it gently from both ends to check the seams hold, then toss it down for your cat to grab and kick.
💡 Tips
The magic is the length — a cat clutches it with the front paws and rabbit-kicks with the back, the same move it would use on prey. Keep it away from your daily wardrobe scent by using fabric you no longer wear, and refresh the catnip every few weeks by working a little more in through a reopened end.
📝 Notes
This is a brilliant way to redirect a cat that ambushes ankles or play-bites hands: give it a legal, arm-length target to wrestle instead. Two or three made from an old jumper cost nothing and can be rotated so one always feels new.
