Make Your Own Cat Toys is a fun and playful book that features instructions to make over 50 homemade cat toys from everyday things around your home. Learn how to make the "Wrestle Sausage", which is one of Furball's favorite homemade cat toys. Remember to always supervise your cat when playing with cat toys and put the toys safely away after playtime.

Wrestle Sausage, as its name implies, is for cats who love to wrestle. It's the size of a small rodent, but it makes a Kitty-satisfying crinkly crackle sound when she attacks it. As an added bonus, Wrestle Sausage does not leave a bloody mess on your doorstep.

Ideally, you should make Wrestle Sausage from one of your old T-shirts so that Kitty can enjoy that lived-in smell, giving Wrestle Sausage the added "scents" of realism. Soft jersey cotton is also an excellent texture for Kitty to sink her claws into. And, you'll have fun recycling your T-shirt into something other than a garage rag.

What you'll need:

• Old cotton T-shirt
• 1 crunchy plastic bag, grocery store style
• 1 Tbsp organic catnip (optional)
• 1 sturdy shoelace
• Needle and thread
• Scissors
• Chopstick or pencil
• Threaded sewing machine (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut two 9" x 5" rectangles from the old T-shirt.


2. Place the rectangles one on top of the other. The material is being doubled up for durability. Fold in half lengthwise. See Figure 1.


3. Using either a needle and thread or a sewing machine, stitch the rectangles together. Start from the folded end on the short side and continue down the long side, leaving a 3/8" seam allowance. When you reach the end of the long side, finish off the stitching if you are using a sewing machine. If you are sewing by hand, go back and sew a reinforcing seam along the inside of the first line of stitching. See Figure 2.


4. Turn the sausage inside out. Use a chopstick or pencil to help you. See Figure 3.


5. Cut a 7.5" wide section from the plastic bag lengthwise. See Figure 4.


6. Lay the section of plastic bag flat and sprinkle catnip evenly across its surface. Begin loosely rolling the bag so that it will be the right width to fit inside the sausage. See Figure 5.


7. Insert the rolled up plastic bag into the sausage. See Figure 6.


8. Tuck in the unfinished ends at the open side of the sausage. Use the needle and thread to sew it closed.


9. Tie a slip knot in the shoelace. Secure the loop over the Wrestle Sausage about 1.5" from the end. Now you're ready to wrestle with Kitty from a safe distance.

SAFETY TIP: When using old clothes, always check the fabric for colorfastness.