Ideas For Different Cat Toys

[silvercherry]

Hello!

I am looking for suggestions on variations of cat toys that I could use for my cat. She is quite playful but also get bored easily. She used to love the laser and wand toys, but recently she pretty much ignores them. She likes playing with rubber balls a lot right now but I'm afraid she is losing interest in them too.

When she is bored she also meows a lot at the front door and wants to run outside. She had this problem before and then it went away for a good while as we started to play with her more regulary. Now she does it again her play behavior has changed.

Unfortunately I am on a buget so I can't afford toys like food labyrinths right now. It would be great if you could suggest things I could make on my own that she might find interesting. For example, I am in the process of making her a mini labyrinth out of cardboard boxes. I also wrap snacks in paper from time to time and let them around the house, she loves tearing them apart and eating afterwards.

I am quite in a slump (. I love my kitty very much and it saddens me to see her this bored, but I do not know what to do. I could not make a play routine for a while since my university schedule was all over the place, right now I am free and I try to make a more fixed routine, but she is uninterested in most of the toys she liked before.

 

[linkworshiper]

I have an overly active and playful cat too. One of the most basic things I do is rearrange the toys in the apartment so he has to find them again. (Move his favorite box, his favorite toy, his food bowl etc.) I also have this spiky rubber ball (that I think is a dog toy) that lights up when it bounces. He loves that thing. My best idea, though, was making a fort out of cardboard boxes. It's pretty cheap and easy and you can make it cute if you want to spend the time on it. The one I made has two levels with little windows and holes to crawl in and out of. I consider it a work in progress because I recently decided to decorate it, but literally all it has is masking tape, cardboard and string and glue.

 

[duncanmac]

I've seen "plans" for feeder toys using a water bottle (basically, cut a hole in it) and to make a puzzle box out of a box with holes in it. I regularly use just a stick to play with our cats or a stick with a toy tied to it with string - literally a regular toy tied onto a stick.

Also, hide some of the toys for a while - and then they're brand new!

 

[silvercherry]

My best idea, though, was making a fort out of cardboard boxes. It's pretty cheap and easy and you can make it cute if you want to spend the time on it. The one I made has two levels with little windows and holes to crawl in and out of.
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I love your fort! I am also trying to make something similar and I hope the cat will like it. If you don't mind a question, did you simply stack the boxes to make levels? I want to make some too but I am worried that if I don't strenghten them somehow she will end up overthrowing the whole thing.

 

[silvercherry]

I've seen "plans" for feeder toys using a water bottle (basically, cut a hole in it) and to make a puzzle box out of a box with holes in it.t

Thank you for the suggestion! I will try the water bottle thing, I believe my cat might enjoy it. I think I might be able to make a puzzle box too from a shoe box I have lying around!

 

[linkworshiper]

I love your fort! I am also trying to make something similar and I hope the cat will like it. If you don't mind a question, did you simply stack the boxes to make levels? I want to make some too but I am worried that if I don't strenghten them somehow she will end up overthrowing the whole thing.

It took my cat a little bit of time to warm up to it, but I think he liked watching it slowly get more features. He goes in there almost all the time when he doesn't want to be bothered, or he'll wait inside and try to surprise you by sticking his little hands outside the windows.

I used two boxes stacked on top of each other to make the levels. After I cut the holes in, I closed them so the floor of the second level is the bottom of the top box and the top of the bottom box. Masking tape turned out to be the best reinforcer, especially around holes you cut. I wrapped string around some the thinner parts of the windows to make them stronger. You can also make the big net window I made by using string. I used zipties on some of the corners that needed to be joined together but were kind of awkward.

 

[KarenKat]

Plain old packing paper, slightly crinkled. Olive will run and jump into it all day!

 

[vince]

An empty toilet paper or paper towel roll with treats inside and the ends folded over makes a good puzzle toy.

My cats like sticks. I usually get them dowel rods, about 1/4" diameter, but carpenter's shims work well too. Actually, most any stick-like wood will work, as long as it's not treated lumber or plywood.

Ping pong balls are cheap. Throw one in an empty bathtub and the cats are good for about a half hour (unless they manage to lose the ball).

 

[neely]

TCS has an Article on cat toys for lazy cats, not that your kitty is lazy but you might be interested in some of the toys on this list:
17 Best Toys For Lazy Cats

And another Article about choosing the best toy for your cat:
How To Choose The Best Toy For Your Cat