Here is one of the quickest, easiest, and most clever craft projects ever—a free pet maze, courtesy of my sister. Many readers will remember her tutorial for creating a cat condo, which was the most popular pet post of 2014.
A very sweet reader named Janetta saw that post and emailed me, asking if I knew of a free craft that both cats and dogs would enjoy. Since I’m really not crafty, I definitely didn’t, so I turned to my sis for ideas.
Her solution was this incredible pet maze! While the primary user is her cat, Fury, it’s also enjoyed by Oscar the Chihuahua. The entire project can be completed in 30 minutes or less and only has 5 simple steps.
1. Start with any size cardboard box. This works especially well with leftover packages.
2. Trace circles onto the box, either free hand or with a stencil. The circles should be various sizes for best results.
3. Check over the circles to make sure there are no sharp edges.
4. Inside the holes, attach any toys your pet likes, such as rattling balls, fake mice, yarn, feathers, stuffed balls, or ribbon. For an extra kick, try a catnip sachet (to be used only with cats).
5. Place the maze on a safe surface and let pets go wild, enjoying hours of playtime, for very little cost.
While I knew cats would love it, I was a bit skeptical about dogs. Oscar loved using it so much, he tired himself out to the point of exhaustion! Check out his yawn of exhausted bliss. He and Fury adore their new toy.
I can’t wait to make this for my cat, Pumpkin. I’ve had a dozen boxes—no joke–sitting in the hall closet since Hanukkah and now I can finally use them for something productive. (Plus, I know have the necessary inspiration.)
Isn’t it awesome to turn trash into treasures? Love it!
Have you ever made pet crafts?
I’m hopeless with crafts, but I can cut holes in a box. I have 3 yorkies. Is it good for little dogs?
I don’t have any experience with Yorkies personally, but I think it’s worth a try.
Cute! My neighbor has two cats. She would go bonkers for this idea. Thanks for sharing.
Hope she loves it.
My dog would tear that to shreds, but then again, maybe that would be good for him. It would keep him busy and out of trouble for 45 seconds 🙂
My big dogs love playing rough – my little guy plays with them – but I so want a cat and this would be the ‘thing’! 🙂
This is awesome! My cat and even my bird would have a hay day with this! I need to get on making one asap! What fun!
This looks like fun but I’m pretty sure my fat cats would get stuck in it somehow!! LOL
wau.What an amaing DIY… i dnt have pets but soon am thing to have some so definatly i save this idea and use it soon.thanx for sharing
This is the perfect idea for any cat owner. Cats are always getting into everything!
Oh cool! I’ll tell my daughter about this since she has a couple cats. Her cats would spend hours playing around with it.
Such an awesome idea for your pets! But I’m laughing at your dog yawning in the picture – looks like the epitome of bordem for him, poor fella haha.
I’m not good at crafts… I hope I can just buy something like this hehe!
This is great for cats! But once my dog got frustrated, she would just eat it. LOL
This is a great idea, if I had cats I would totally do this. I have kids, maybe I can do a larger one for kids, LOL.
This is such a cute idea, this is something cats will surely get lost in!
How creative! I would have never thought of something like this. 🙂
That is cute! Never seen that kind of toy before. Such a very creative toy.
My cats would love this. I will have to get my son to help me build one. I have never tried to make them anything before.
It is fun to turn trash into treasure! This is a cute idea. 🙂
Great idea. My cat loves the homemade ones too. Her favorite is my hair bands. She will sniff one of those out of my purse, dresser, sink. Anywhere, she loves them and always finds them.
I don’t currently have any pets so have never made a pet craft myself. This sounds pretty fun, will share with friends that have pets.
My cat would love this! This is such a cool and easy project for kitties (or puppies)
lol the crazy things you find on the internet- what a great idea and who would have thought! Good post lady- and props to you for thinking outside (or of using) the box!
I think, if I made one of these, my toddlers would end up playing with it more than our dog but, hey, so long as someone’s having fun 😛
I didn’t even think of using it for kids, but that’s a great idea.
I feel like my kitten and my cat would absolutely love this maze. And you can never beat free.
Awesome! Looks like they are enjoying. This is perfect to our pregnant cat.
A pet maze? Who would have known. I find that cats adore anything that makes them think.
Any box is a toy to cats, but we really like this idea. You can purchase similar things, but this looks so easy to make. Thanks for sharing and thanks bunches for joining our blog hop. We love making new friends. Hope you come back often. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
That looks like a fun game. When I make the holes bigger, Granny can play too 😀 Pawkisses for a Good Night 🙂 <3
I love this! Must make one for our family cats! Thank you for linking up with the fugal family linky this week!