What are you getting your cat for Christmas?

[Archfarchnad]

Indulge me please, it's been a miserable day, what with the news from France. I know this is a ridiculously first-world issue.

Do you get your cats anything? A special bit of fresh meat? Treats? We haven't had Archcat that long so there are still a few things we've never got round to buying - but the kind of things that are by no means essential and possibly even a waste of space and money.

Which of these might potentially be most appreciated by a 4yo energetic male moggy, goes out in the daytime only, weighs about 13 pounds? An experienced and highly effective hunter .

1. A comfy round bed - right now he sleeps in the living room: on a sofa, chair or his cat tree. He'd love to sleep on our bed but we're not prepared to be woken at 4am. But so many people have said a special bed is a total waste.

Something like this

1. A water fountain. He does use his bowl, but probably not as much as he's supposed to. He only has a small proportion of dry food, so he's in less danger of dehydration. I've not seen him drinking from the tap, but I suspect he drinks from puddles outside. These fountains are electric, right? So it would have to be near a socket. Is it a problem being in a hard water region?

This is one of the cheaper ones.

Some sort of game. We have lots of feather and rod type things (loves these), he has his large tree, and a roller ball thing that goes round a circuit (gets ignored). Any other games that might be fun? What about this although I suspect he's too thick for it. Or this

So are there any must-haves here? I'm not in the UK so don't have the same range (no access to stores like Pets at Home), but do have an account at ZooPlus and Bitiba.

We always used to get our cats something, usually a new scratchy thing or bed (because they'd ruin them easily within a year!), and a little catnip toy or something.

I don't know much about water fountains, but they'd join in with Christmas dinner with breast meat on the turkey all cut up and a chunk of cheese for their afters although nowadays you'd probably give them dreamies rather than cheese, it's probably very bad for them!

I'm putting him in a cattery for 5 days.

I've asked them to poke him with a blunt stick and not a pointy one as a treat.

He gets a tin of tuna.
I saw some cat advent calendars £3, the human ones are only £1. [santa]

A new and very comfy cushion plus favourite treats

I have no idea. He's just scarfed some roast chicken and is now looking at his (actual) raw pork mince like "muuuuum. Cook it"

H will be getting a couple of catnip toys containing his favourite Yeowwww catnip (he's even fussy about that!) and I might get him a new scratching post.

I have been known to spend more on him than DH

But what if the cat found out you'd spent more on your dh though? he'd be so hurt you didnt value him.

This year in her stocking (Yes, Suscat has her own stocking) will be a tin of applaws tuna, a bow to go on her collar and a fish on a string on a stick type thing.

We bought her a catnip flavoured advent calendar last year. It sent her mental, running around the house like she was being hounded out of hell and biting people. Then she sat behind the curtains with eyes as big as saucers. She wasn't allowed it again.

I had intended to put the catit maze thingy away for christmas but I was so excited when it came that we put it out straight away. So now I've bought a new scratching post and there will be a stocking each, although the persian now has allergies so can't stick the usual treats in to bulk out the stocking!

Ohhhhhh getting my 2 rescue kittens next week I hadn't thought of Christmas presents as well!!

A share of Xmas dinner. Prawns to start, turkey, and a lick of custard/ cream

Hmm thanks, so the main concensus is a good share in the Christmas lunch. Archcat isn't a fan of cooked meat, so I could give him the raw giblets while we have ours.

He's one of those cats who is left stone cold by catnip.

"I've asked them to poke him with a blunt stick and not a pointy one as a treat." Fluffy, you is meeean. Unless you're talking about ASBO cat, in which case he should consider himself lucky to have a break from the pointy stick.

So nobody has a water fountain? Is that because they're crap or because none of you really love your cats enough?

milk, do cats really ruin a bed within a year? Blimey, what are they doing in there? Archcat's favourite scratching post is looking a bit messy after 16 months, but I'd expected that. A bed that can be washed in the machine is something I'd hope would last a few years at least.

LaflacaCat gets a new Yeowww catnip toy every Christmas.

We had a fountain but I never saw him drink from it after the novelty wore off.

Then the pump broke, it was a bugger to fit in the dw and we moved so I chucked it rather than packing it. Plus I don't love him enough.

Our cattery owner seems to like asbo. She has bengals too though so has Stockholm syndrome like me.

I've already told Ernie kitten he's having fillet steak for Christmas dinner (he loves raw meat)

I hadn't though of actual pressies but did see the Advent Calendars inSainsburys

Going to look at the Yeowww but the website isnt working for me atm

Sorry, I didn't post Yeowww properly. I buy them from www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/shop/best-cat-toys/cat-toys-catnip-honeysuckle/100-organic-yeowww-catnip-filled-rainbow. His favourites are the rainbow and the fish, as they're large enough for him to roll around withall four paws.

OP we used to have quite big beds that were quite difficult to get in the machine, and for £20 it was easier to chuck and buy new. This was a few years back though!! Plus what with scratching, we had a chewer, also another one who would hide Whiskas Temptations in the beds... Just easier!

Cardboard boxes and wrapping paper...

Year 10 for one of them, year 1 for the other and have given up buying expensive gifts as they always prefer boxes and wrapping up paper :D

I missed the middle one I meant to add him on the end (pregnancy brain) year 7 for the big grumpy one

The cat-wise house-sitter I'm paying through the nose for instead of putting them in a cattery. She used to work in a shelter and everything.
Though, that nip toy does look rather nice, and Beebs does enjoy a nice bit of nip...
I have spoiled them ruined. It's ridiculous.

This will be our first Christmas for years with only one cat. Wondering if I should pop to the Blue Cross to get another to keep him company!

Fulffy, you're right. I need to handle this carefully as a sulking cat wouldn't be good!

I bought H a fountain thinking it would be good for him to drink filtered water. He refused to go in the kitchen and went outside to drink out of an algae filled tray of water!

I buy a mackeral and cook it for Lucy's christmas dinner

She will get a new cat tree as hers is threadbare.
Id like to get her a jumper too but she will chew my face off while i sleep if i tried to put it on her