For pet owners who love their pets (Shouldn’t they all?) and want to show them, there are lots of DIY projects to make our pets happy. And, of course, there is nothing that says I love you quite like making something from the heart.

These are not those projects for pets that make their human counterparts’ lives easier, stuff like muddy paw mittens or pet hair removers. Those are pet-related items that our furry friends couldn’t care less about.

These projects are stuff they’ll love. They are ways to keep our pets feeling safe, entertained, healthy, and—most of all—spoiled. What we get out of it is making our pets happy and repaying for all those times they put joy into our lives.

1. Homemade Scooby Snacks

Forget buying those same old dog snacks from the store, likely made from lackluster ingredients and containing unsavory additives. Instead, it’s easy to make homemade Scooby snacks full of nutritious and delicious ingredients your dog will love. With a simple base, DIY dog treats can have healthy components like fruits and vegetables, as well as puppy favorites like peanut butter.

2. Catnip Cat Toys

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs/Youtube

Cats love catnip, so a good first step to this DIY project is growing some fresh catnip in the herb garden. The second step is to harvest a few leaves every now and again to add to a simple cat toy. Take an old sock, mismatched and lonely, fill it with stuffing of some sort (shredded paper, packaging peanuts, cut-up cloth), and add a few sprigs of catnip. Crudely sew it shut.

3. Magical Play Wand

Cats and kittens get all the press when it comes to playing the magic wands, but lots of puppies and energetic dogs like them too. Just take a short stick or something similarly shaped, tie a string on the end of it, and some sort of enticing toy—a tassel, a piece of felt, etc–on the other end of the string. It’s like magic.

4. Old Sweater Bed

Source: HGTV/Youtube

Pets love the smell of their human partners, so they often snuggle up with socks or shoes or pillows that belong to those humans. Why not go the extra mile and provide an old sweater or T-shirt bed? It’s as easy as covering an old pillow or thrift store cushion with an article of your clothing.

5. Sock Ball

Dogs love socks. Dogs love tennis balls. Put a tennis ball in a sock and that’s revolutionary. It can be thrown like a ball. It can be used for tug of war like a sock. It’s so much fun that cats will gladly get in on the action as well.

6. Personal Pet Space

Source: PetSmart/Youtube

A pet space can be as simple as a large cardboard box filled with comfy cushions and comforting things, or it can become an elaborate pallet project with attached self-catering options (water and food bowls), scratching areas, and so on. Cats can get really get into multiple stories with secret passageways to crawl through.

7. Scratch Pad/Post

Source: Cat Lady Fitness/Youtube

Cats, kittens, and even puppies might enjoy a scratch (or chew) pad or post. It’s easy to make one with any corrugated cardboard box. Just cut the box into strips, exposing the corrugated interior. Then, glue cardboard strips together with the corrugated part exposed, or squeeze them together and fix them in place with some old pallet boards.

8. Aquarium Hiding Places

Not to leave those quietest of pets out of the mix, for those with fish and aquariums, it might be time to spruce the place up a bit. Stack slate stones with plenty of pockets, nooks, and crannies will provide those fishes with great places to hide out when they just need a few moments to themselves. You try living in a glass house!

9. Homemade Flea Powder

Source: Veterinary Secrets/Youtube

Fleas make pets very unhappy, so technically, even if they don’t love being treated for fleas, preventing a flea infestation is one of those situations where it hurts so good. Unfortunately, most flea products come with undesirable ingredients, so making a flea powder at home with safe stuff is a much more loving option.

Spoiling those lovely critters that so often spoil us with loyalty, affection, entertainment, and companionship is a wonderful feeling. It feels great, and it can be a lot of fun for everyone.

Animals Are My Favorite People Sweatshirt By Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

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