If you’re looking for ways to support your local Dallas/Fort Worth area animal shelter, the answer might be in your own home.

Whether you’re a crafty person who loves making DIY items or looking for ways to involve little ones in community service, homemade pet toys are an easy, low-effort donation you can contribute to HSNT or your local animal shelter.

Toys, homemade or store-bought, are a great tool for stimulating shelter pets. Not only do homemade toys provide enrichment and fun, but they can also be used to train shelter animals.

Something as easy to make as a T-shirt rope toy can keep the pets at HSNT distracted for hours. Homemade toys are also a great way to get children involved in volunteer work if they are not old enough to participate in on-site volunteer activities at a shelter.

Here are 4 easy homemade pet toys you can donate to your nearest HSNT facility or your local pet shelter.

1. T-Shirt Rope Toy

In the area of homemade toys, it can’t get easier or more direct than this. All you will need is an old T-shirt you don’t wear and a good pair of scissors to cut through the fabric.

To make the most out of one T-shirt, you’ll want to section it off.

1. Cut off each sleeve, making sure to remove the seam.

2. Then you’ll use the sleeve and cut it in half so it is no longer attached, leaving a long rectangle.

3. From there, you can start cutting long strips of fabric (2-3 inches wide is recommended; the wider the strip of fabric, the thicker the rope will be),

4. Once you’ve cut the entire shirt into long strips of fabric, you can take 3, 6, 9, or any number of strips to tie into a knot at the top and to begin braiding the rope. Here is where you can get creative; you can use double or triple the amount of strips per section to make a thicker rope. If you want a longer rope, you can cut longer pieces. If you have different-colored shirts, you can mix and match to create different patterns. If you know different types of braids, you can experiment with making different styles of topes.

5. Once you’re done, tie another knot at the bottom of the braid to prevent the toy from coming apart.

If you’re more of a visual learner, check out this video for a step-by-step guide.

2. Catnip-filled Sock Toy

For this next idea, you will need a sock you don’t wear (make sure it has no holes), yarn or fabric scraps, and catnip (if you don’t have any, you can find it at most grocery and drug stores).

1. Add as much catnip as you’d like to the inside of the sock

2. Fill the sock with fabric scraps or leftover yarn to fluff it.

3. Use another piece of yarn to tie the sock at the top so the catnip does not fall out. If you want, you can leave the ends of the yarn loose.

With just three steps, you’ll be able to make a homemade, stimulating cat toy for our shelter cats. Take the extra socks that have no pair and get to DIY-ing!

3. Octopus Dog Toy

If you have an old tennis ball sitting around, you can turn it into a dog toy that will provide many hours of playtime.

All you need is a T-shirt, a tennis ball, and scissors.

1. Cut the shirt horizontally from one armpit to the other.

2. Once you have a rectangle of fabric, you’ll cut it horizontally into three tubes. One thin tube of around 2 inches and two tubes of 6 inches.

3. Cut through each fabric tube to make three long strips of fabric. (You can save the extra pieces of fabric for another toy)

4. Then you’ll take the two 6” strips and place them out to make an “X,” and then place the tennis ball in the middle and wrap the fabric around the ball.

5. Using the 2” strip of fabric, you’ll tie a knot to secure the wrap.

6. At this point, the craft will vaguely look like an octopus with four “tentacles.” You will cut three strips from each tentacle, braid them together, and tie a knot at the end.

If you can, have someone help you hold the ball while you braid, or vice versa, to make it easier. Now have an octopus dog toy ready for one of our shelter pets to use!

4. DIY T-Shirt Cat Toy

For this idea, you’ll also need an old T-shirt or the scraps from the homemade toys above.

1. You’ll simply want to cut off all the seams around the shirt (sleeves, neck, and hem).

2. Next, you’ll start cutting strips around 1-2 inches wide and 10 inches long (the toy's length will loosely match the length of each strip, so you can play around with different measurements).

3. Once you’ve cut them all, take six strips and stack them together. Pull the fabric strips to stretch them out, and then tie a knot with all of them in the center.

Here is where you can get creative: if you want smaller toys (easier for cat paws), you can cut the fabric ends shorter, but if you want a spider-like toy, you can use larger strips!

The SPCA of Nevada has a great, easy-to-follow

visual tutorial.

Other Ways to Support HSNT

If you’re not the crafty type, but you still want to donate to HSNT, check out other ways you can support us. 

At the Humane Society of North Texas, we value and appreciate the time and effort that volunteers like you put into supporting our local community in North Texas. Every donation or volunteer hour helps save lives.

Humane Society of North Texas - Pets and People, Saving Each Other®

HSNT’s mission is to save, shelter, protect, and advocate for all animals in need in North Texas. www.hsnt.org