Good cat toys.

[beryljinker]

I wonder if anybody can suggest any really good cat toys for my 4-month old kitten. She is showing no interest in going outside at the moment, even when encouraged, and I don't want to force her. I'm quitw happy for her to stay inside until the spring when it gets warmer, she's a bit bigger and has been spayed.

But anyway, whilst she is quite a docile kitten, liking to spend most of her time curled on a lap, she does have huge bursts of energy, particularly in the evenings. She is also left home-alone during the day fairly regularly, and I'm a student about to start a 6-week work placement so the number of hours and days she's home alone is about to go up.

Therefore I was wondering if anybody could recommend some good cat toys for her to play with when she's home alone, ones which don't require any human input. And also can anyone recommend some really good, fun interactive toys to help her burn of all her energy in the evenings? At the moment the toys I'm buying her are a bit hit-and-miss, so I just wondered if anyone has any toys their cats really love that I might try with her.

(I know the best solution might be to get another kitten, which I would love to do, but my landlord doesn't allow pets as it is, and I'm worried two cats might be pushing it a bit.)

Thanks.

Our cat's absolute favourite is a ping pong ball!

my cat has never been interested in toys, but loves attacking my feet at 5am when i am sleeping

Do you have children? If you have any baby toys you can dig out they might be good. Our kitten loved playing with DS' baby gym and a ball he has that rattles.

Ping pong balls (anything light that moves far when batted) are good. Also a scratching post with a ball on a string stapled to the top. Something that attaches to the wall/a chair/etc and has feathers on. (Even just get some feathers, tie tightly onto a string and hang from somewhere)

Cat toys with catnip in. Cat/baby toys that move by themselves when activated (ie batted around or brushed against)

HTH

Oh and silver foil rolled into a ball! The wrapper from a kitkat is the perfect size.

I think it's about trial and error tbh. I have 3 cats and they all have their favourite toys. The only one they agree on is string! We have a 15 min session b4 bedtime of string play, seems to help them settle down for the night.

Oh yes, make sure she has a nice tall scratching post that she can climb up. Lots of fun - and it will teach her to use that for scratching, not your furniture.

Lol! We have just got a kitten and blimey don't they go bonkers at bedtime?!

Dh and I are getting worn out staying up to play with him in an attempt to wear him out.

He's so gorgeous though we don't mind.

Mine always liked a cork - good for batting around, and they bounce nicely. Plus, they often come free with wine

However, in the US we bought this, which was great for the garden in summer - you sit in your chair sipping wine tea, cast it into the weeds plants and gently wind it in. Also something similar to this which was great for a cat who loved to savage our hands at every opportunity. Of course, the more money you spend on toys, the less interested they'll be. A sheet of newspaper as a tent/ cardboard box will probably get more use!

If we still had a cat, I'd be sorely tempted to get one of these for Christmas!

Sorry, missed the bit about no human input

I wouldn't advise using a cork personally unless you are going to use it supervised. Cats like to bite and chew and the last thing you want is to come home to a half eaten cork, a poorly cat and vets bills.

The plastic lid from a drinks bottle was one of our cat's fave toys - he used to bat it around the kitchen floor, liked to chase it when thrown and would then bring it back to be thrown again!

In my experience our cats used to sleep all day when people were out at school/work and would liven up when we got back, so wouldn't play too much by themselves in the day.

ours loves foil screwed into a ball and a box full of paper (the stuff that was in the box to stop the cat toys moving round the box in transet) the cat toys have not even been played with yet!

Ours loved catnip mice but after a bit would start to tear them apart, so I started making my own with fabric (triangular mouse shape, stuff with spare fabric, add some catnip, make a wool tassle for a tail). I also knitted some, free patterns are freely available if you know a knitter. You can also buy knitted ones on ebay.

I must admit our cats favourite toys were large paper bags and cardboard boxes though! One hides, the other pounces etc

Be very wary of ping pong balls One of my cats' favourite is a ping pong ball. At 2am. Smacking it on to a skirting board. Repeatedly.

I had that this morning Timothytiger I was not happy

i have 2 cats and they entertain each other alot of the time.they also like the dc gogos and littlest pet shop thingstoilet roll tubes and scrunched up bits of paper.

dont buy expensive cat toys like my sister did,her cat only plays with crisp packets

A ball of string or wool is often a winner with kittens.

Asda have some pretty good cat toys at the moment - we've got a 9 month old kitten who loves feathers - we got him a feather boa toy and he has completely savaged it.

Agree with ping pong ball, also quality street wrappers, a shoebox, anything that will make a tunnel. This for example: www.petsathome.com/find/category-is-1+cat/category-is-1g+furniture/category-is-1g01+activity+centres /product-is-20300

Genuinely though, I would invest in something like this: www.petsathome.com/find/category-is-1+cat/category-is-1g+furniture/category-is-1g01+activity+centres /product-is-17459

It will save your furniture, and keep your cat amused for hours.