DIY: Rabbit Toys

June 7, 2012

DIY: Rabbit Toys

(courtesy Margaret Duclos who takes amazing pics of her dogs, including the gorgeous Royal)

Today’s post is in honor of the little girl bunny pictured above who recently showed up in a friend’s garden. After several days, they were able to trap her and, though they put out ads for her, her owners haven’t claimed her. I wonder if she was someone’s Easter bunny who got dumped. Boo! She’s has a wonderful home now though—Margaret has already started clicker-training her. Yea!

It’s really important to provide your rabbits with physical and mental stimulation. They like to explore & play and providing toys is a great way to keep them occupied & happy. It gives your bunny appropriate outlets for chewing, digging, shredding, etc. and helps prevent destructive behavior.

Check out this totally kickass post on making your own rabbit toys! There are a bazillion ideas for entertaining & safe toys for your bunnies—most DIY and low-cost. (Note: it looks like the links to Amazon are affiliate links, but the author did put a lot of effort into gathering good info.)

Want even more toy ideas? The House Rabbit Society also has tons of suggestions for rabbit toys.

Be sure to check out my podcast on Rethinking the Easter Rabbit and these posts on house rabbits:

April 20, 2012June 5, 2013

Earth Day!

Hey, Earth Day snuck up on me—it’s this Sunday! Be sure to check out the multitude of DIY projects on the DIY archive pages and last year’s post on Earth Day.

December 22, 2011November 28, 2012

DIY: Cat Toys To Sew, Knit, Or Crochet

Fun toys for the kitties you know. Mice, olives, & owls—Oh my! Just add some catnip to their stuffing and you’ve got some sweet gifts!

Very dapper mice to sew for the discerning feline. And a great way to upcycle out-of-date menswear hanging in the back of a closet or at your favorite thrift store. You can hand stitch these or use a machine. I wouldn’t use beads for eyes—just embroidery floss. You’ll need:

Assorted menswear fabrics (such as wool suiting, cotton shirting, corduroy, and cotton velvet)
Iron
Fusible webbing
Sewing machine and sewing supplies
Loop turner
Fill
Catnip
Embroidery floss
Embroidery needle

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Festive stuffed green olive to knit for the martini loving cat. (via i-like-lemons) These are super cute. These can be left as-is or you can lightly felt them. You will need:

2yds (1.8m) sport weight or baby weight wool. Mary Jane used Jamieson and Smith 2ply jumper weight #83 dk olive, FC11 bright olive, and #9436 Dale of Norway Baby Ull pale olive (Baby Ull, a superwash yarn, won’t felt much, but it will get fluffier)
1.5 yds (1.4m) Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper weight #125 pimento
1 set dp needles size 2 (3.0mm)
catnip
1 crewel embroidery needle

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Soulful owls to crochet for the serious cat. You can make him just the size you want. If your cat might eat off the eyes, use yarn instead of safety eyes. You’ll need:

< 25g of scraps of wool, in at least two colors
17mm color safety eyes (x 2)
catnip
A 3.5mm crochet hook, a little stuffing and a needle and thread

December 9, 2011June 5, 2013

DIY: Rope Dog Toys Round-Up

Rope toys can make great tug toys for dogs who are heavy chewers. Since they have some heft to them, rope toys make good toss toys too. They’re durable and can be pretty colorful. To make these rope toys, you can buy new rope, use scrap rope, or you can upcycle retired climbing rope—ask at climbing gyms or climbing stores for retired rope. Let the knotting begin!

The first group of toys uses the Basic Crown Knot. (How To Video I, Video II)

Rope Ring