DIY toy guide
Cup-and-Peg Fishing Game
Wooden pegs in a cup make a batting, fishing and scattering game
A sturdy cup or tub filled with a few wooden clothes pegs becomes a simple “fishing” game — your cat reaches in to hook out the pegs one by one, batting and chasing them across the floor.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 2 minutes
- Cost
- Free
🧺 You will need
- A short, wide, stable cup, tub or mug that will not tip easily
- A handful of plain wooden clothes pegs (spring type removed, or one-piece dolly pegs)
- An optional treat dropped in the bottom
🔧 How to make it
- Choose a heavy-based cup or tub wide enough for a paw but stable enough not to topple.
- Drop three or four smooth wooden pegs into the cup so they stick up invitingly.
- Set it on the floor and let your cat reach in to hook out and bat the pegs.
- Toss the fished-out pegs a little way so the game becomes a chase as well.
- Reset the cup and play again, or leave it out as a self-serve puzzle.
💡 Tips
Fishing objects out of a container taps straight into a cat’s natural dab-and-scoop hunting move, the same one they use at a mouse hole. Prefer smooth one-piece wooden pegs, and if you use spring pegs, remove the metal spring first so there is nothing sharp or pinching.
📝 Notes
Everything comes from the kitchen drawer, so it costs nothing and reassembles in seconds. Make it easier by using taller pegs that poke well out of the cup, or harder by using a deeper tub so your cat has to really fish.