Difficulty: Easy, under 30 minutes, but with parent supervision
I loved the Peek-a-Prize toy - ever since I saw it online, I wanted it. But it is a little expensive for the parents, an average of $25-30 anywhere you look. Here is a Peek-a-Prize from Amazon and it is about $31 including the shipping. I think it is probably very sturdy of wood construction. It has many good reviewsI will describe how to make the Homemade Peek-a-Prize, which I am going to call Peek-a-Treat because you can adjust the sizes of the holes for treats.
Things you need:
- A box from a food item. This can include many things, for example a cereal box, Little Debbie snacks box, you get the picture. Use a box from something that is already eaten - don't buy cereal special to make this, or it won't be under $1! I like it to be from a food item because if it is for example, from a dishwasher detergent box it might be toxic if ingested. The best food item box is one where inside the box the stuff in there was in plastic. This is why Little Debbie is a good choice. Make sure it is not from chocolate because this is very bad for kitties! We used a Taco Bell Hard Shell Taco box, because Mom had it laying around.
- Duct Tape (or regular tape, if you aren't worried about the toy lasting long. Kitties like to chew on stuff!
- Something flat and heavy, like an old cutting board you are not using anymore. Or some old magazines that are about the size of the large end of the box (when the box is laying down.) We used an old catalogue.
- Scissors, anything that will cut your box
Steps:
1. Decide what you will be putting in it. We use Petrodex Dental Treats for Cats. We like these, plus they are healthy and roll around quite a bit. (Check our our review of it here.) The holes should be larger than your kitty's paw, but small enough that the kitty can't reach both paws in one hole. If you are going to be putting toys in it instead, make sure the holes are big enough for the toy to come back out.
2. Cut holes on the front of the box. If it is a box more like the Debbie Snacks size, you can cut about 4 holes. If it is the size of a cereal box, 8 or 9 holes will be best. Make the holes variable sizes, and put them wherever you want on the box. It is good to cluster a few next to each other. Also, it is better to add holes later if you need to, so don't cut too many!
3. Now cut holes in the sides of the box. Our Peek-a-Treat has only 1 hole on each short side, plus 2 holes each on each long side. Here is the important part. Make sure the holes on the sides are closer to the bottom of the box than the top. You want the treat to roll out when batted into the hole, otherwise your kitty will be mad at you and will never be able to get it out! Here you can make the holes a little larger than a paw size, but for extra "challenge" holes we suggest a few that are just a bit larger than the treat. Otherwise the game will be too easy!
4. (Optional) Now reinforce the holes. If your kitties are very playful and have sharp claws, you have to do this part. If you just want to keep the box for a while, you don't need to do it. To reinfoce the holes, take a piece of duct tape that will be long enough to circle the hole. Make a circle with the duct tape with the sticky side out, that is about the size of the hole, slide it into the hole and press it down on top of the box and on the inside of the box. That way the holes are protected from getting torn. We didn't do this part, because when we are done playing with this box, mom will just recycle it and make us a new one. It can't be recycled if it has too much duct tape!
5. Set the box down on top of the heavy flat object, and use duct tape to tape it down on all sides. The flat object is to keep your kitty from picking up the box and turning it over. In the store-bought Peek-a-Prize, the box is wooden and heavy. Ours is very light.
How to Play!Only take out the Peek-a-Treat sometimes. You don't want kitty to get bored. Make sure the kitty sees you put treats and toys in it. I promise your kitty will love it. We love ours, especially Figaro loves it.
How to Recycle
After you are done playing with it, if it isn't dirty you can recycle it. I love to recycle because I am a kitty who is the caring about the environment. Just remove the duct tape and recycle the catalogue and the box if you have that kind of recycling available.
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Nice work....Try using Pizza boxes next time. I made one using 4 pizza boxes and my cats love it. It's much better than the ones we get in stores.