How to Make a Cat Tube

This is a short post about how I accidentally invented a surprisingly great cat toy which I call the cat tube. When I made this I was trying to find a way to quickly dry a slightly damp sheet so I could go to bed. I took my sheets out of the dryer and didn’t realize that the center of the ball of sheets wasn’t quite dry and once I did find out the dryer was already in use again.

Here’s a video of what I came up with.

My solution was to fold the sheet over so it kind of forms a tube and then put a box fan on one end to blow air through it. This worked pretty well and the sheet started to dry out but the noise of the fan attracted the attention of cats and they soon took up residence in the tube. Suddenly I was more interested in watching my cats enjoy this tube than in going to sleep.

If you want to make your own cat tube you will need:

• A Sheet
• A Box Fan
• Some sort of clamp or tape
• At lease one cat

In order to make the best cat tube you can it is important to slightly constrain the end of the tube opposite the fan. This constriction of airflow helps keep the tube full. I used a pair of lockjaw pliers attatched to the top part of the sheet tube to weigh it down and constrain the end. I also used a binder clip to attatch the sheet to the top of the fan so the tube couldn’t collapse.

I thought it was really fun watching my cats explore this strange inflatable tube. If you make one I hope your cats like it too!