Wobbly Weeblefly Cat Toy

The Wobbly Weeblefly combines a spinning, rocking, and rolling egg shape with a butterfly that bounces along on a spring of sorts. The combination drives kitties wild!

The egg's motion comes from a weight attached to the bottom of the inside of the egg. Because of that weight, the egg will always right itself. The bouncy spring takes the egg's motion and uses it to bounce the butterfly all over the place, with an almost realistic flying motion!

[Please note: Though the zig-zag stem worked OK for me, some have had trouble getting it to hold up the weight of the butterfly. I have posted a more sturdy version, which is labeled “VERSION2” on the files! It's not as floppy but you may prefer it.  You can also replace the stem with a piece of filament, which works just as well (see the pics!) I honestly think the VERSION2 butterfly is too heavy, but you may want to experiment with it anyway!]

Constructing the Wobbly Weeblefly:

1. Slice weeblecattoyegg.stl with a pause about halfway through. Print the egg, and during the pause, glue a heavy-ish weight into the bottom of the egg. It must be glued so it will stick to the bottom of the egg. You can use anything you want for the weight – washers, coins, clay – in retrospect, I would have used clay for mine as the washers I used eventually came loose. Better glue would help. :)  Once you've glued the weight in, resume printing the egg until it is done. You will likely need supports or at least a brim.
    
2. Slice and print the stem. You can replace it with a piece of filament if you prefer, or a piece of wire – whatever you have around that will wobble and also hold up the butterfly! An actual spring will work as well.
    
3. Slice and print the butterfly.
    
4. Fit the spring into the egg and butterfly. It should friction fit, though you may want to use a drop of glue for each. Depending on your printer/materials, you may have to trim or file the stem slightly. 
    
5. Depending on how violently your cat plays, you may prefer to replace the stem with an actual spring. I printed the stem with PLA and my cats didn't seem to hurt it, but I broke a couple of them myself while assembling and balancing. The springs are a super quick print, though.
    
6. Alternative drive-kitty-wild version: Take a small pom-pom (large enough that kitty won't swallow it, though). Dip the pompom in catnip. Attach that to the spring. Watch the mayhem.

Note: my cats loved this so much they knocked it around until the weight inside came loose. When that happens, the “wobble but don't fall down” thing won't happen, but it still wobbles around like a drunken sailor, and the cats still love it. Try spinning it in place for cat fun!

I'd love to see pics of your cat playing with one of these! Have fun!