DIY toy guide
Paper Cupcake-Liner Treat Hunt
A scatter of paper cups turns a floor into a search game
Baking cups dotted around a room, some baited and some empty, give your cat a nose-led treasure hunt that costs almost nothing to set up.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 5 min
- Cost
- Free
🧺 You will need
- 8–12 paper cupcake or muffin liners
- A handful of your cat's treats or a portion of kibble
- An open patch of floor
🔧 How to make it
- Open out the cupcake liners and space them around a room your cat feels safe in.
- Drop a treat into only some of the cups, leaving the rest empty so your cat has to search.
- For a beginner, fold the tops of a few cups loosely so treats peek out and the game starts easily.
- Let your cat wander, sniff and paw each cup to discover which ones hold a reward.
- Move the baited cups to new spots each time so the hunt is different on every round.
💡 Tips
- Use scent to your advantage — a strong-smelling treat makes early rounds more rewarding.
- Spread the cups over a wider area as your cat gets the hang of it to add gentle exercise.
- Swap crushed liners for fresh ones whenever they get grubby — they cost pennies.
Safety: Supervise and clear away the paper afterwards, as some cats will chew or swallow soggy paper. Skip this game for any cat with a habit of eating non-food items.
📝 Notes
Nose-work like this taps a cat's strongest sense and turns a portion of everyday food into several minutes of calm, satisfying searching — ideal for a rainy day or a bored indoor cat. Setup and clean-up take under a minute.