In my short life time, I’ve had a total of five different cats live with me at some point or another. Two live with me now and have starred in such famous posts as “Busting Fur” and “GelPro Floormats – A Hostage Situation.” Over the years, I’ve been suckered into guaranteed cat toy entertainment, splurged on the fancy moving toys, and have bought the cat toys that were simply on sale. Some of them actually worked – many of them didn’t. Just for giggles, I thought that I’d share a few thoughts on some of the cat toys I’ve tried and will offer how Daisy and Hobbes reacted to them. I will give each toy a kitty rating with 5 kitties being the best and 1 kitty being the worst. I make no claims as to how your cats will react to each of these toys. I’m just sharing how my cats seemed to like them.
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Sponge Balls – $1.89
I was surprised at how much the cats loved these balls. Daisy in particular loves playing with them. They are light, don’t make too much noisy, and bounce easily along the ground, down the stairs or against the wall. Because they’re soft and squishy, Daisy is frequently seen carrying one around in her mouth like she’s showing off her latest catch. Kitty Rating:
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Pet Stages Dental Health Chews – $5.89
I have one of these tied to a piece of rope attached to the cat tower. Daisy will continuously bat at, grab or chew on it. The colorful ribbons definitely add to the playful appeal for my cats. Since they’re awkward shapes, I found that these toys work best for when you are playing with the cats, so you can shake them and wiggle them around to make the cats want to pounce. After pouncing, they will happily chew until it starts wiggling again. Kitty Rating:
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FroliCat BOLT Interactive Laser Pet Toy – $19.99
I admittedly had high hopes for this one. They even had a video of a cat playfully chasing the laser. Which Hobbes did do the first time I turned it on. Sadly it seemed like after the 2nd or 3rd laser show, the cats caught on. Now when I turn on the FroliCat Bolt, they just watch the laser move and do not chase it at all. Kitty Rating:
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Petlinks System Dream Curl Curvy Two-Surface Scratcher – $19.99
While technically this is more of a scratcher than a toy, both of the cats like it so much that I bought two of them. You can pretty much ignore the toy that comes with the scratcher since it lasted all of a couple of hours after the cats saw it. These are also great for interactive play by using a toy of your choosing to peek out around the curves, from the top, or underneath. Kitty Rating:
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Pet Stages Fishy Fun – $5.89
The fishes were fun for awhile, but like the chews, they really need owner involvement to really get the kitties romping. My solution was to tie the tail of the fish to a piece of rope and then run up and down the stairs and around the house with the fish flopping behind. The cats loved it. Kitty Rating:
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CFA Opossum Toy with catnip & internal rattle – $3.49
Don’t be thrown off by how ugly these toys look because beauty is truly in the eye of the feline beholder. The one I got isn’t an opossum but it’s from CFA and has (or had) catnip and a rattle. I think at one point it used to be a mouse, but after months of being chewed on and gnawed on by Daisy, it looks like a big blob of white fur that rattles occasionally. After pulling out a bunch of toys from underneath the stove, this was the one that Daisy started playing with first. The rattle and the catnip help to keep the toy entertaining even when she’s just batting it around on the floor. Kitty Rating:
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I’ve actually cycled through a few more toys than this – ranging from balls with feathers that are supposed to twirl around to flowers that buzz when you hit them. Unfortunately, none of them were really able to keep Hobbes’s or Daisy’s attention for very long. You can also tell that the more expensive toys aren’t necessarily the best toys. The simple fact is that the cats like the $2.00 foam balls more than the $20 laser toy.
I’m always on the looking for more cat toys, though. I’m even on the waiting list for Angela’s first organic catnip mouse. If you have any favorites or your cats like or dislike any of the toys mentioned here please feel free to share!
the funniest toy like was a hair brush,our cat would paw it and jump up in the air and act crazy and we would laugh our booty off.
I didn’t know they made Dental Chews for cats. I going to get some for my guys (Simba and Charlie Chan).
It is funny how cats like or don’t like certain toys. My cat Hamlet loves to dig his toys out of the basket. I find them all over the house, pick them up and then put them back…rinse/repeat. Then there is the $4 lasar pointer toy I got that Hamlet LOVES. I only need to pick it up or move it and he’s looking for the spot on the floor to chase and paw at.
My Abby loves those fur covered mice. She plays and chews on them until she has stripped the fur off of the body. I then pick them up and thrown them away when she isn’t looking because she has been known to go into the garbage and retrieve it.
My cat would love some of these, especially the fish! I have often found that a crumpled up ball of paper will provide tons of entertainment!