Cat owner shows off genius hack she uses to repurpose old toilet paper tubes: 'Love it'

A TikToker shared a clever idea to help give toilet paper rolls new life after they've been used. This hack can help you give your cats a fun and unique toy to play with, too.

The scoop

On an account named after their cats, TikTok user and parent of Mochi and Cheddar (@mochiandcheddar1) shared a unique hack to encourage your cats to play with toilet paper tubes. 

@mochiandcheddar1 Please try this one and tell me if it was hard for your cats - mochi & cheddar were struggling to figure this one out at first 😂 day 11 enrichment idea coming tomorrow! . . . #catenrichment #cattips #healthycat #happycat#catsoftiktok ♬ som original - DM Songs

In the video, the TikTok user tapes one side of the tubes closed and punches a hole in the other end. They then thread a string through the punched holes of three different tubes and attach the string to two chairs (they note table legs will work as well). Finally, they pour a few crunchy treats into each of the tubes before turning their cats loose on the newly created toy. 

The rest of the video shows Mochi and Cheddar enjoying their new enrichment.

How it's helping

The toy is a fantastic way to provide enrichment to your feline friends. It gives them an incentive to play and burn off energy, and it challenges them by making them work to get the treats out. 

And cardboard is a safe option for cat toys. It can be shredded without creating microplastics or other things that could be a major risk for cats if they're eaten. 

Since many people have a plethora of toilet paper tubes, you'll likely have a steady, plentiful supply of refreshed toys as things get damaged. As a result, there are plenty of fantastic, clever hacks to turn toilet paper and paper towel tubes into toys sure to give your cats hours of fun. 

But using toilet paper rolls goes beyond just saving money on cat toys. It also helps the environment. By repurposing toilet paper rolls, you're keeping them out of landfills, which helps reduce carbon and methane emissions and slows the spread of landfills. 

What everyone's saying

Commenters loved this hack. 

"Love it!" said one.

"Our kitties are really enjoying all of the ideas I get from you!" said another.

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