What is the best (or worst) thing you've bought for your cat?

[TheSecondOfHerName]

Our new Mistress will hopefully be coming to live with us very soon.

The time we had a rescue cat come to live with us was 1998. I bought a carrier, a bed, a basic litter tray, a couple of bowls, a simple scratching post, a brush and a few toys. There wasn't a big range to choose from, so it was all fairly simple.

These days there seems to be a vast range of cat-related paraphernalia to choose from. I'm also lucky in that as well as being able to offer time and attention, I have more money to spend than I did twenty years ago. I've seen a number of cat-related products that weren't even invented last time I was preparing for a new feline family member.

While I'm waiting for the Mistress to arrive, I'd love to know what is the most useful thing you've bought for your cat, i.e. the thing you can't live without or wish you'd bought years ago.

(If there's anything that you feel was a complete waste of money, I'd be happy to hear about that too).

Everything!!!
He only wants things that are not his or that he knows he can’t have.
He is king 😺

They do love sitting on my wool duvet... DH and I have singles on our huge bed - my wool duvet trumps his silk one....

Girl cat insists on our bed being made complete with fluffy throw!

A litter box that's like an igloo with a flappy door. Brilliant, no mess or smell.

Flushable clumping cat litter.

Her toy squirrel that can be stuffed with catnip. She loves it, but attacks it on a regular basis.

My posh top entry litterbox was the Best Buy ever. They just knew what to do straight away.

The large scratching barrel from Zooplus. I’m saving up for the XXL one now for their Christmas.

They love this cheap car scratching post thing i can’t remember where it was from and I need to replace it. If anyone knows let me know!

Loves his cheap scratching post from Home Bargains, which was only about £5.
Loves a kickeroo and a toy cat which are big enough to wrestle with.
Likes his laser and played in his tunnel when he was a kitten but we got rid of it after that as he ignored it.
Totally indifferent to most toy mice, ping pong balls, dangly things etc, with the exception of one tiny fluffy thing, which does get patted around sometimes.
Like most cats, is addicted to Dreamies. And likes Whiskers or Felix treats as a change.
Liked his igloo bed as a kitten but again as he got older it got ignored in favour of the sofa or human beds or any convenient pile of washing...

Our boy lives our plastic folding crates we use for wet or dry laundry. Basically cats love cardboard boxes however small they are...

Dreamies, Dreamies and Dreamies. Also goes wild for these feathers on sticks and this play tunnel is still her favourite thing (apart from Dreamies), She never even glanced at the lovely sheepskin covered radiator bed we gave her last Christmas.

Mine are totally indifferent to dreamies! They love a bit of freeze dried chicken snack though.

A large igloo bed off eBay for £13. Haven't seen him for days

And the cardboard scratch boxes from pets at home, flat ones, they have a ping pong ball to play with in them too

Agree with PPs that the microchip catflap is fab. Also feathers on a stick are a massive hit.

Notable failures include igloo cat bed (refused to ever go near it) and also I have the only cat in the world who is terrified of his kickeroo! Sigh.

Best thing is all of their beds from Lazy days pet beds. They love them. Worst thing was microchip feeders. I had to buy them as Fatty was on soft diet and her sister wasn't. I couldn't work out how they worked. Let alone the cats. I sold them on eBay.

Scratching barrel wasn't used
, but some scratch steps are loved. Even Snorg sits on the top of them. Expensive but worth every penny.

Yes also to a top entry litter tray. It's brilliant

Good cushions for your dining table chairs. Radiator beds never got used. Shelves up to the top of your wardrobe as they have trouble getting up but not down. If you don’t want them jumping out of your window flat cats are a must. They were my Best Buy as I’m in a flat.

Scratch posts that wrap round the corner of the sofa
A dangly santa on a stick fishing rod you from the range
Lisle cat salami sticks
Do NOT buy lik-e-liks. He's become a brat. A tanyrumy, demanding, entitled little brat. My lovely boy is ruined, I tell you, RUINED.

Why does my cat completely ignore cardboard boxes? I'm beginning to doubt that she's a real cat!

Oh good grief. A fishing rod toy from the range
Lidl salami sticks
Autocorrect will see me in my grave.....

They probably aren't small enough girlsandboys a box needs to be at least 70% smaller than the cat to be truly desirable

What’s the Range? Is it in London?

The Range is what CDS became. Started in Plymouth.

Vac for life at £100 from vets4pets. Means I don’t have to find the cash for boosters every year.

Best was feathers on a plastic stick.
Cheap in the pound shop
They both love it🤣
Worst was a cat lead for my then kitten😄
Both not big fans of dreamies,much prefer whiskas seafood treats.

Our The Range used to be Homebase (scotland)

Op the top entry litter tray was a great success from day 1. I put the litter in and lid on, Helga (the cat) was supervising as usual and she got straight in and had a piddle.

I didn't buy an expensive one though, I think it was £23 from Amazon. They are all the same thing..... a plastic box.

The Range that's local to us is also where a Homebase used to be! At first my children thought they'd demolished Homebase and built The Range (in record time) until I pointed out that they'd just used the same building.

The company was started by a market trader in Plymouth. His first store was called CDS (DH and I used to go every time we visited Plymouth). I can't remember when he changed the name of the company from CDS to The Range.