Neysa Zurkammer of Oregon submitted the winning entry for PAWS' Cruelty-free Pet Toy Contest in the PAWS magazine (read about the contest) with her synthetic wool yarn ball.

Neysa wrote, "My entry is the Yarn Ball. Simple to make. I use synthetic yarns for these balls, so they are definitely 'cruelty-free.' Kittens love them to cuddle and play. My older cat loves his when it is covered with dry catnip. One former cat of ours loved to carry them around the house as if they were her babies. It was not unusual to step out of bed in the morning into a pile of yarn balls where she had left her 'babies' for safe keeping."

Make your own yarn ball

1.		Start with two rounds of lightweight, flexible cardboard (or plastic), about 4 1/4" across, with a hole in the center about 1 1/2" across. (You can use any size round, but the proportions of round to hole should be approximately 1/3 the diameter of the round.) Wind a ball of synthetic wool yarn that just fits into the inner hole, then wind six more balls, each a little smaller than the previous ball. You can use different colored yarns for a multi-colored ball.
2.		Holding the rings together, wind the yarn tightly around them; continue until all seven balls of yarn have been wound around the rings.
3.		The color pattern of the ball is determined by the order in which you use the colors of yarn. You can experiment with different color combinations—and the cats don't care! A majority of light colored yarn in each ball is best for visual impact to the cat.
4.		Push the blades of a pair of scissors between the two rings, and cut the yarn around the outer edges, keeping the blades of the scissors between the rings so that you cut the yarn evenly.
5.		Or, use a craft knife to complete the cut, which can be easier than scissors. Make sure the cardboard rings stay in place.
6.		Slip a length of yarn between the rings and tie it tightly around the cut yarn. Pull the yarn to the opposite side of the ball and tie tightly again, then repeat on the first side, tying 2-3 times to make the ball as secure as possible.
7.		Pull off the card rings and fluff out the ball. Trim off any straggly ends on the yarn and cut the tie strings to match the length of the ball yarn.
8.		It is that easy! Just add cats for endless, and cruelty-free, fun.