Have you ever spent a lot of cash on a toy for your cat, only to have the cat ignore it and play with the box? This writer certainly has, and the phenomenon has also been noted by Jacquelyn Mansfield, a Maine-based cat lover, who turned to 3D printing to make safe cat toys that mimic the litter cats throw at them. They love to play.
He has created a line of innovative 3D printed cat toys based on everyday objects that felines find fascinating. His first product is a shiny, biodegradable version of a cat’s favorite unofficial toy: the milk jug ring (as seen in the image above). The Mansfield version is bigger, softer, and has been tested and approved by many cats at the shelter, as well as your own cats at home.
He runs a thriving online business called Proxima Design Cat Toys, named after his own cat. Good toys are important to a house cat’s mental and physical health, and without stimulation, cats can become bored, destructive, or develop poor eating habits that can lead to health problems.
Felt and cotton toys, including toasties, watermelons, carrots, mice, rainbow flags, hamburgers, French fries, avocados, bats, stars, and half-peeled bananas, have become rapidly popular.
“Everyone knows that cats like to play with litter,” Mansfield said. “Rings are a big favorite in my household. He wanted to make something that he knew was non-toxic and safe for cats to chew on.”
The toy designer got the idea to branch out into 3D-printed toys after meeting a man with such a printer at a craft fair last year. Even with business booming, Mansfield continues her day job at a grocery store for now, while she makes cat toys at night and volunteers at the shelter.
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