TikToker Mother of Cats (@mother_of_catz4), who describes herself as "just a girl and her four cats," has found a way to not only please these four cats but also to reuse an old item.

The scoop

One of her "DIY enrichment ideas," it could not be simpler: flatten an empty napkin cardboard roll, cut it into several rings of about one centimeter wide, and interlock them by placing them inside each other in a cross shape to form a stable, rounded ball.

@mother_of_catz4 DIY enrichment ideas! #catenrichment #catsoftiktok #happycat #indoorcats #cattok ♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim

You may even feel like hiding a small treat inside the ball for your cats — or dogs!

How it's helping

Given the price of toys sold in pet stores, reusing discarded or waste materials to create something new is an obvious financial win, but there is much more to it.

While recycling is the first thing to have in mind when throwing away an old item — be it clothing, electronics, or, in this case, cardboard pieces. We also know that our recycling system is not 100% efficient. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over half of the 150 million tons of waste reported in the United States in 2018 was disposed of in landfills.

More recently, the Global Waste Index 2025 found that waste made up about 951 kilograms per person annually. And so, the best way to preserve nature and its residents is to repurpose these items with this type of hack in an effort to generate less waste, which means less crowded landfills in countries such as Ghana, which has seen its protected wetlands become dumping grounds for fast-fashion garments shipped from European nations.

On a larger scale, some companies are now looking at reducing textile waste. In Australia, for example, supermarket chain 7-Eleven is turning old employee uniforms into stretch beanies and donating the finished pieces to people in need.

What everyone's saying

TikTokers on the lookout for such ideas are thrilled by Mother of Cats' trick.

"Great idea!" one of them commented. "Need to try this," another wrote.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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