The Best Interactive Cat Toys

When my three cats aren’t napping in my favorite spot on the couch they love playing with their favorite interactive cat toys! Some of those are things around the house they have claimed for their own. While others are toys we purchased or created! Cats don’t need the most expensive toys, but they do need to play! Luckily you can facilitate this through a variety of ways, which we’ll dive into below!

According to veterinarians, cats may display excessive attention-seeking, vocalizations, chasing inappropriate moving objects like your feet when bored. Even excessive clawing or scratching up of the carpet, walls, and sofa. If your kitty is biting your ankles and clawing everything up, it’s time to engage her with healthy play instead. It’s also a great idea to have a scratching post or two around for maintaining claws…without using your new sofa.

Cats are predatory animals; even though we have domesticated them, they still have wild hunting instincts. It’s important to keep them indoors for protection from infectious diseases and parasites as well as larger predators. If you have an indoor/outdoor cat, make sure they are chipped, and have a collar in case they get lost so they can make their way back home to you.

I’ll break down the cat toys you can buy, make yourself, or things you may have around the house!

Ball Toys

My cats love balls! They love bouncy balls they can bat and chase. Crinkle shimmer balls that are lightweight and sound like bugs they can chase. My cats also love balls made of wood wrapping because they can chew on them and carry them around. I had a bowl of these decorative balls from Hobby Lobby and my cats have stolen all of them!

Quick tip: Put your cat toy collection in a bowl on the coffee table! This helps them hone their hunting instincts while keeping them away from your bowl of chicken at the same time.

Mice

Of course, toy mice had to be included! Cats love to bat at them and carry them around. There’s a large variety of mice on the market with different textures: fur, burlap, sisal, wool, rope, feathered tails and more. Some cats actually have live pet mice that they get along with because their owners have them, but if you don’t want mice in your house, a cute teal felt mouse works just as well!

Wands and Strings

A wand with a feathered toy on the end drives my kitties mad! They jump in the air, grab and bite and try to run away with it. I love these wands for bonding with my kitties. Guard your craft storage and bathroom drawers, because sometimes cats like to play with pipe cleaners and hair ties. Then it’s not just you loosing your hair ties! Although that does mean instead of blaming yourself for misplacing them you can just blame the cat.

Anything natural, sisal, or burlap with feathers

Cats love the little sisal and burlap toys because of the texture. Chewing them is great for cleaning their teeth and encouraging positive chewing habits. (Instead of biting your feet under the blanket)

Small stuffed animals

My kids have a toy farm set with all of these little stuffed farm animals. These animals range from 2-3 inches and are soft and stuffed. Our cats have taken all the animals hostage, and they are now scattered around the house. They love to carry them around in their mouths. Better a stuffed rat, than a dead rotting one!

Since some cats are picky, it’s helpful to have a variety of playful options scattered around your home. Just in case kitty decides to unleash his ninja skills by swatting, batting, chasing, or kicking a toy.  Its also helpful to have a toy schedule where you rotate out various toys. I have a toy basket, and I’ll put a few out at a time. Miss Fluffykins usually goes into the basket and pulls out her favorite toys; despite my best efforts to rotate them out.

Thanks for reading about our favorite interactive cat toys! Tell us your favorite toys your cat loves!