Cat Toys

[minoanmiss]

I know very little about cat toys, and I think a box of assorted ones might be a nice shared present for our little neighbors. Please tell me about cat toys both in general and in specific.

Comments

[dine]

a fun one for both cat and person is the thing on a string (or just a long ribbon) - usually attached to a stick, one can swish it about for the cat to pounce on

there are the usual catnip-stuffed toys, which obviously appeal to cats. also, various balls to roll & chase after, and some I've not actually experienced are the maze/puzzle type. but those can be more expensive, and I've never found them necessary. cats are fond of finding their own toys, sometimes out of unusual items; for years, the rings from milk jugs were faves of my old cat Duncan, I'd find little stashes in the corner, or under furniture.

[full_metal_ox]

I can second the milk jug rings; a Siamese of my acquaintance had a taste for them.

Another thing to consider is cat-sized mock tools, such as a laptop; often a cat wants to participate in whatever their human housemates are doing, and that might divert them from splopping on the people keypad.

[cellio]

Two of the broad categories are "thing to bat around and/or chew on" and "thing on a string". My cats were mostly not into the latter, but they loved the former.

All my cats loved stuffed cloth toys, optionally with some catnip in the stuffing. It's important that there be some substantial area that the cat can chew on -- i.e. it's not too big to fit in the mouth, but not so small that you're worried about it getting swallowed. A perennial favorite in my house was a "carrot" -- resembled a real carrot in dimensions, and had some green cloth fringe on the "greens" end for extra play options. My cats gnawed on these, crosswise, and Baldur loved to walk around the house holding one at its midsection. I had other long-ish toys, like "rats" and "fish", but the carrot was the big winner for some reason. Something about the shape, I guess.

Toys resembling mice are popular with people who buy toys. Check that add-ons are not going to cause problems if they're torn off. I've seen some that used hard plastic googly-eyes and that just seems like a bad idea.

My cats most appreciated toys with soft fabric on the outside, as opposed to things like burlap or nylon or plastic.

None of my cats appreciated toys with bells in or on them. Plastic balls with bells inside are common on store shelves, so maybe there are cats who like them, but they fell flat in this household. Similarly, we've been given a couple motorized toys over the years -- a hard plastic ball and a fish that "flopped" around. They're battery-powered and noisy and my cats didn't seem to appreciate toys that were not under the control of either the cat or the human playing with the cat.

[acelightning73]

Cats like toys that make noise -either crinkly sounding plastic or a jingle bell inside an indestructible ball. A cat can entertain itself and other cats for a long time with just one large brown-paper grocery bag. And any interactive toy that you play with WITH your cat - the tuft of feathers on the end of a flexible stick. My Loki loved individually wrapped menthol cough drops - the twisted paper ends made it easy for a cat to pick up and move around. And the minty fragrance seemed to appeal to him. And of course a laser pointer to make the cat pounce on the glowing red dot on the wall.

Many common cat toys make reasonable Yule-tree ornaments. And vice versa.

[amaebi]

Cats are idiosyncratic. But a dangling object attach to a wand to move it with, as dine suggested, is a good bet.

If the cats are catnip-fancying, catnip stuffing or scenting can be used to stimulate engagement.

[harpers_child]

Radar and Klinger go nuts for springs. These are the kind I usually get https://www.chewy.com/frisco-colorful-springs-cat-toy/dp/940070

They do get lost under furniture and the oven regularly.

[bikergeek]

I love that they're named for M*A*S*H characters, and specifically the two who served as company clerk.

[full_metal_ox]

The capper would be if Klinger is a male tortie.

[bikergeek]

LOL

[harpers_child]

Klinger is 20 pounds of brownish-gray stripy boy. He likes to talk, demand attention, and cuddle with his sister. He also is picky about what collars he'll wear and has a preference for bow-ties instead of plain collars.

[full_metal_ox]

The style-consciousness fits, then. Maine Coon?

[harpers_child]

Nope. Just a big old tabby.

[harpers_child]

Radar and Klinger are our cats. We also have two ferrets named Hawkeye and BJ.

[conuly]

Most cats like those cardboard box scratchers with or without a little catnip sprinkled over.

[hitchhiker]

catnip-stuffed soft animals!

[adrian_turtle]

A toy vacuum cleaner would be a great cat toy, especially if you gave it to the cat with the box.

Turtle looks up at the specific query. Oops. Maybe not.

[dissectionist]

My cats love the springs mentioned above, as well as any stuffed toys that have the crinkly foil inside. Feathers on a wand are always a winner, but require effort from a human. None of the motorized toys I’ve bought have held their interest; nor have the ball-enclosed-in-a-big-ring toys, though I’ve known other cats that loved those.

One of my cats is obsessed with socks so we bought him a package of baby socks that would be easier to carry around, but he still prefers the big socks. He’ll also carry around stuffed animals that are way larger than I’d expect - I mean like 10” tall stuffed animals. Cats are weird. I did just buy him a little stuffed tiger because I’ve been wondering if the socks and stuffed animals are kitten analogues, and a tiger was the closest thing I could find to an orange kitten. I’m curious to see how that goes.

[pameladean]

It depends on the cat -- we tend to divide cats between mouse cats, who like things you can soccer around on the floor and carry around in your mouth, like soft toys, glitter balls, hollow plastic balls, and also tampons, the rings off jugs of liquid, and sometimes pens; and bird cats, who like feathers on a stick or anything on a stick, or those long colorful snake-like lengths of fleece on a stick.

Or a cat dancer. This is a classic: it's a sproingy piece of thin metal with a collection of cardboard bits on one end. Wielded by a person, it dances around like an insect. Some cats go absolutely crazy over them and some cats look at you as if you are very weird or very dim.

P.

[lunabee34]

Little mice and other things for the cats to kick around or for someone to throw and them to chase. Wand toys are very popular with Sammy although we don't use ones with feathers anymore as they seem to aggravate his allergies (although he is a Very Special Man and Quite Delicate LOL).

[sabotabby]

All cats are different. I can get the nicest toys but often the thing they like the best is a crumpled receipt or a dry leaf.

Particular big hits have been a wand with what looks like a cellophane butterfly at the end, a squeaky cardinal (note: do not get toys that squeak for other people), and a mouse on a bungee cord. Alice also likes balls and those little fur mice. Sabot likes a mouse on a string. Catnip is a big hit with both of them.

[gwydion]

People always neeed long fishing poll style toys and extra heads

[killing_rose]

The cat dancer wire toy, that is literally wire and some rolled up cardboard is a resounding hit in this apartment. (Tunnels are hit and miss, cardboard scratchers are used relatively frequently, all other toys are persona non grata, but my expensive yarn is a favorite.)