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Cat toys?
(lemmy.world)
You may be shocked to learn that cats LOVE boxes.
They are all crap. I’ve never encountered any manufacturer of durable cat toys, and I have had cats my whole life. The thing that spins around under a cloth was a big hit with mine though. After that; twist ties, rubber bands, twist ties connected to rubber bands, random pieces of springy cellophane plastic, anything that can be batted around and will slide across a floor; many if not most cats very often prefer these little bits of stuff that is otherwise trash.
Cat Dancer is a toy that is extremely durable and it’s basically just trash, and every cat I’ve ever met loves it. And it’s almost free.
We bought our cats all kinds of often expensive toys. Except for one type, they got bored with them all within a day.
But these things https://www.chewy.com/frisco-colorful-springs-cat-toy/dp/940070 They played with for years. Only problem is they lose them behind furniture and appliances so you have to go find them from time to time Or just buy more, they are the cheapest cat toy there is, I think.
Straighten a wire closehanger, put a couple of bends in it for snap, tie a string to it and make the string move like a snake.
When your cat gets it good let them stalk off with it don't play tug of war.
Best cat toy period.
Cats really do just love destroying their toys and these electronic ones seem to be more exciting for their owner than the kitty. We got this flapping bird thing on a string and while they had pretty much zero interest in the mechanical flapping chirping bird, they go fucking crazy for the elastic string that tore off it through human interaction alone.
We've gotten the best results out of small colored fluffy balls that we throw or launch from a gun. The spring-loaded gun is four pieces of formed, cheap plastic that don't align and a spring. It could have come from a dollar store. But it makes a noise that means "a fluffy ball is going to be moving soon" that one of the cats simply can't ignore. The other might as well be deaf to it, but likes to chase the ball once it moves or sometimes will dig out a hidden ball from some unknown crevice and smack around for a minute or two.
Don't spend on cat toys. They just break em through play and the complicated ones don't seem to be interesting at all, even if they seem purposely made to enrapture a kitty.
Buy some hemp cord and learn a basic braid.
Make a braid of about 2-3’ long.
Tie to the end of a stick.
You’ve made the best cat toy ever made. Something they can get a hold of and is non-toxic.
I understand the impulse to get “automatic” toys, but that kind of defeats the purpose imo. Most cats want to play with you and the toy, and when you stop they’ll quickly lose interest in my experience.
I get felt mice for my cat. 100% felt, no catnip or other crap in there. Each one lasts at least a year, though they do start getting a bit frayed, but they hold up really well. The best thing about them is how he can grip them. He can snag them in his claws or hold them like a ball, and bite and tear at them and they still hold up.
Sometimes I catch him cuddling with one, but he is always down to play with them. Simple is best.
Cat needs your attention, not electric toy. Use wasted clothes: socks on a string, sock balls, shirt tube with suspended enerance to crawl through. Build a cat tree (premade ones are junk, just nail together a tripod and randomly placed shelves on it, how hard could that be? Wrap some cord around it somewhere).
Cat toys are made to be demolished quikly, making them from something that is not waste is kind of stupid. The only things to buy are lazer and catnip, and catnip could be grown at home (lazer could be grown too but crystal fab is not a simple project).
I would advise against using clothing as toys. It blurs the line between what they can destroy and what they can’t. Toys are meant to be abused by the cat, and will be utterly decimated if the cat has any say in it.
Nah, just store them wrapped around catnip and make explicitly different from clothes. Only one of my cats was destroying clothes, that was when she was just adopted from cold Luoisiana street. The rest was done by very obedient and extremely ashamed dogs.
Applewood sticks. Felted wool with a hole for catnip. Other cats. Milk jug lid pulls and caps.
I haven't bought a cat toy in decades other than a laser. We did get gifted running wheel.
As for lasers. Get a rechargeable one so you don't have to buy batteries. Get one with good buttons that won't fail.
I was looking at those lasers too! They seem to all be USB-A, and I try and only buy USB-C now. I'm new to buyitforlife, but I'm guessing one that takes AAs (since rechargeable AA are a thing) are better. These integrated rechargeable batteries wear out are are more difficult to replace.
I wouldn't recomend lasers. Cats get a pleasure not only from chasing but also from catching things. Lasers can never be caught so the end feeling that is accumulated is of devastation for never fulfiling their end goal.
There are plenty of great ideas here for making them toys. I will add a couple more that my cats have loved much bettter than any toy that was bought.
- Carton roll of toilet paper
- Carton roll from electrical adhesive tapes
- Get a stick and attach an elastic string to it. At the end of the string attach something else - like a cork, a rolled sock etc. Personally I don't use plastics for toys, but I also don't stop them from playing with one that accidentaly fell on the floor. When they are done playing with it, I just make it desapear.
Remember that:
- they don't have the same color palette we do. I don't know the official terms but we see with 3 colors, they have 2, so bright colors are not of importance to them
- the time you spend playing with them, is bonding time.
- don't be rough or attack them (in the sense to take them by surprise sudenly). We are a giant to them size-wise. Even tho they see us as equals, we need to ackgnledge that they are much smaller creatures. If you don't respect them they will start attacking you out of the blue, and a vicious circle will be established.
I hunted long and hard for AA or AAA one that was both cheap, arthritis compatible, and not trash. I came up empty so that's when I accept that built in was the only option.
It's type A but in my whole house I only have for type C on the power source end of anything and that is from a power station I built myself. Everything else is type A. Given the nature of laser pointers I don't expect inexpensive ones to be type C for a very long time.
I highly recommend this toy called a Cat Dancer. Cats love playing with it, even the elderly ones. It's basically a steel wire with some small rolled cardboard pieces on the end. I know how it sounds, but the way it moves really ignites their prey drive. Its durability really depends on the cat (mine last quite a while), but at least it's cheap, and you can probably pick one up where you buy your supplies.
From my experience, cats get bored of laser pointers after a while when they realize they can never catch it.
I had a Cat Dancer and my cat was crazy for it. I would hold it about five feet up in the air, and she'd jump straight up to smack it. Of course, I let her "win" when she did that.
Cat Dancer is the best cat toy ever. We call it “trash toy” at my house. We learned of its existence when we moved into a house with a roommate and thought he just made it himself. It’s like 3USD and EVERY CAT LOVES IT.
If someone is reading this and their cat doesn’t love it, hold it steady and move it around slowly so the cardboard rolls on the other end move like an insect. Fly it just out of reach.
It’s the best.
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2025
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