Toys

Rosepud

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My cat doesn't play with 90% of her toys, and the 2 toys she likes she loses interest in quickly, which leads to us neglecting playtime a bit, since she is so easily distracted and quick to lose interest. The only "toy" she doesn't lose interest in easily is her treat ball, I purchased a wicked ball which should hopefully arrive and help, and I plan on adding another cat in a few months as she needs a playmate I think, due to what I believe is boredom she screams regularly and gets on the counter, although the counter could just be because she is a food motivated little beasty who will try to eat cardboard, dice, cords, plastic bags, and a variety of other things, or at the minimum chew on them. I guess my question is what are the best toys or treat balls to stimulate her, I was considering a mat to hide treats in, but would prefer something a bit smaller. Any other good toy recommendations, or advice for keeping her off the counters or for her to stop eating things? She is on wet food only which is given twice a day, with occasional treats and sometimes a midday snack, I think the treat balls could help, with the eating things, but also once you put it down she becomes obsessive and will harass it until it's empty or stuck somewhere.
 

maggie101

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This is my cats favorite. It is at Petco also a little cheaper. Cats like to hunt and grab toys so move it fast on the ground, in the air,move it slowly inch by inch then fast. Or they will wiggle their little booty and pounce. Get cubes for hide and seek and 3 way tunnel

 
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daftcat75

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How old is your cat?

My 15 year old still loves Da Bird, Cat Dancer, the laser pointer, and she still enjoys a shoelace, either interactive with me or tied to the back of the chair. What’s great is that I used to keep Da Bird in a closet and she knows where that is. She would sit in front of that closet until I opened the door. Then after a minute or two of exploring, she would leap up to the shelf where I kept Da Bird. Now whenever she waits in front of that door, I take it to mean she wants to play. We don’t get 15 to 30 minute sessions like they recommend. Instead it’s more like a handful of 5 minute sessions mixed throughout the day.

I’m pretty grateful that she has a way of asking me to play. I had let it slack off with all her issues. So it’s nice to see that with all her issues, she still wants to play several times a day.
 

danteshuman

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Have you tried real rabbit fur toys? My cat loves the long haired rabbit fur mice I buy off amazon. (I cut off the tails because he eats them .... though I have been assured a small amount of rabbit fur will not hurt your cat.)

My mom’s kitties (all 3) love the mice to. So 4 out of 4 cats approve. It might be worth a shot.
 

bitkit

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Recently purchased da bird, my cats love it. Also, I recall ending off with the da bird as one of the only toys in the house last time I had cats. The cheap 6 pack refills on Amazon are a nice replacement, you'll need them if you have slow reflexes
 

maggie101

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If you can, try them all! My cat Maggie does not like da bird but my cat Coco likes Da bir plus everything else
 

Kieka

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I have one who loves all toys, one who loves most, and one who likes just a few. When I was a kid, my cat only liked rattle mice with real fur exteriors and feathers on the tail. Fake fur? Nope. Feathers fell off? Nope.

Sometimes you just have to go with what your cat likes. If you haven't tried valerian root (harder to find) or catnip toys (heavy catnip, if you can't smell it, not good enough) then I'd give those a try. If your girl is treat motivated, you could try the hide treat type toys. There is a specific brand that makes a take mouse you put a treat in and hide around the house. But really you could hide treat balls with the same effect. Make it a treasure hunt while you are away. I've also heard of people using treats to lure their cat over obstacle courses in their homes made with tunnels, ramps, etc. Use a wand to point that the toy for attention and don't reward unless the cat goes through the tunnel or up the ramp.

Do you have a cat tree? Sometimes putting a cat tree near counters gives your cat a way to watch on a cat friendly surface.
 

Sidewinder

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We have an assortment of toys: catnip mice, plastic jingle balls, "the tail thing" as I call it (long fake tail attached to short plastic wand), laser pointer, and a couple toys which don't fall into the categories mentioned. Lately, Tiger has taken to chasing the laser pointer... the other cats don't bother with it, but Tiger will run the length of the house and back at phenomenal speed, trying like mad to catch the light. Demonic possession has nothing on little Tiger, LOL. :eek:

I've even trained him to do a radical off-the-wall maneuver in one corner of the Pool Room: he'll leap up on one wall, "carve" through the corner and come down the other wall just like a vertical skateboarder, plus he has excellent style!!! LOL... I ought to know, I skated for about two decades. Little Tiger is very smooth and fluid in his "wall-riding"---I will try to snap a pic or two of him doing this, it looks really cool and he's quite good at it. :rolleyes:

P.S. Almost makes me wish I hadn't donated my GoPro Hero Cam to those young skaters in Show Low... but I know they're putting it to good use. :cool:
 

daftcat75

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We have an assortment of toys: catnip mice, plastic jingle balls, "the tail thing" as I call it (long fake tail attached to short plastic wand), laser pointer, and a couple toys which don't fall into the categories mentioned. Lately, Tiger has taken to chasing the laser pointer... the other cats don't bother with it, but Tiger will run the length of the house and back at phenomenal speed, trying like mad to catch the light. Demonic possession has nothing on little Tiger, LOL. :eek:

I've even trained him to do a radical off-the-wall maneuver in one corner of the Pool Room: he'll leap up on one wall, "carve" through the corner and come down the other wall just like a vertical skateboarder, plus he has excellent style!!! LOL... I ought to know, I skated for about two decades. Little Tiger is very smooth and fluid in his "wall-riding"---I will try to snap a pic or two of him doing this, it looks really cool and he's quite good at it. :rolleyes:

P.S. Almost makes me wish I hadn't donated my GoPro Hero Cam to those young skaters in Show Low... but I know they're putting it to good use. :cool:
Why isn't this on youtube yet?
:whiskers:
 

Sidewinder

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If it ever makes it, it'll go viral for sure... but I'm an old rogue dinosaur who can't keep up with modern technology, one reason why I donated the Hero Cam (the film editing was a monumental PITA). But I'll see about catching Tiger on the wall later today with my Canon cam, he's so dynamic that even a still shot will be cool... :yess:
 

DreamerRose

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I agree that each cat will like different toys. It's trial and error to find out. Mingo loved the carrot stuffed with catnip until it was all chewed up. He also loves those springs - https://www.chewy.com/ethical-pet-wide-durable-heavy-gauge/dp/56210 and you can't beat the price on those even if they do end up under the stove. He likes Da Bird and anything with feathers on them. I'm thinking about getting this - https://www.chewy.com/petlinks-feather-flips-feathered-ball/dp/130127.

Lily likes small, furry animals. The squeaky mice are a favorite. She also loves a squirrel with a fur tail that Mingo gave up on after he got the catnip out of it. https://www.chewy.com/kong-refillable-squirrel-catnip-cat/dp/47890

They will both chase a laser light - for a while. They get tired now that they are middle-aged cats.
 
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Rosepud

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How old is your cat?

My 15 year old still loves Da Bird, Cat Dancer, the laser pointer, and she still enjoys a shoelace, either interactive with me or tied to the back of the chair. What’s great is that I used to keep Da Bird in a closet and she knows where that is. She would sit in front of that closet until I opened the door. Then after a minute or two of exploring, she would leap up to the shelf where I kept Da Bird. Now whenever she waits in front of that door, I take it to mean she wants to play. We don’t get 15 to 30 minute sessions like they recommend. Instead it’s more like a handful of 5 minute sessions mixed throughout the day.

I’m pretty grateful that she has a way of asking me to play. I had let it slack off with all her issues. So it’s nice to see that with all her issues, she still wants to play several times a day.
She's only 2.5 years old and a cornish rex so she should be really active, she's a retired adult and the breeder also found she had little interest in toys, I've tried at least 18 different styles and types of toys and at best you'll get 10 minutes of her being interested before she decides she'd rather sit on your lap.
 

Neko-chan's mama

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Neko-chan stole a mini teddy bear one of my students have me and has a great time biting, licking and rabbit kicking it. Sometimes things that aren't marketed to cats make the best toys
 

GaryT

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I have a hard time finding toys that Theo will like. He has many that he refuses to play with. His favs are crinkled up paper wrappers from my caramels. I have foam balls that he will chase but as soon as they stop rolling, he loses interest. He likes to watch me play with the balls and make them bounce down the stairs. He lays and watches....and will complain when I stop!
 

sunflower7

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My cat doesn't play with 90% of her toys, and the 2 toys she likes she loses interest in quickly, which leads to us neglecting playtime a bit, since she is so easily distracted and quick to lose interest. The only "toy" she doesn't lose interest in easily is her treat ball, I purchased a wicked ball which should hopefully arrive and help, and I plan on adding another cat in a few months as she needs a playmate I think, due to what I believe is boredom she screams regularly and gets on the counter, although the counter could just be because she is a food motivated little beasty who will try to eat cardboard, dice, cords, plastic bags, and a variety of other things, or at the minimum chew on them. I guess my question is what are the best toys or treat balls to stimulate her, I was considering a mat to hide treats in, but would prefer something a bit smaller. Any other good toy recommendations, or advice for keeping her off the counters or for her to stop eating things? She is on wet food only which is given twice a day, with occasional treats and sometimes a midday snack, I think the treat balls could help, with the eating things, but also once you put it down she becomes obsessive and will harass it until it's empty or stuck somewhere.
Every cat is so different. Keep trying new toys. Laser pointers some cats love! I think they love open windows and climbing towers best around here for their entertainment when not being played with by a human
 

Etarre

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Juniper loves to play and is always super enthusiastic about a new toy (she insisted on sleeping next to her cat charmer for 3 nights when it was new, just in case it woke up to play with her) and then gets bored with them really fast. Lately, she seems to have the most fun chasing moths in the kitchen, or finding old hair rubber bands to bat around the living room. Her current favorite is a tiny knitted winter hat designed as a funny decoration for a wine bottle. She dug this out of our closet somehow, ripped the pom pom off the top, and now pursues it all over the living room. We remind her to play with her toys by strategically placing them on the various levels of her cat tree, where she seems to find it more fun to throw them off and chase them.

If your overall goal is to burn off your cat's energy, I'd say go with the laser pointer, as it's best at getting them to run around. I haven't yet figured out how to tell in advance whether a toy will be a hit or not, though, or to keep them interested in it beyond the first few days....
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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I think somewhere there is a very crowded Island of Ignored Cat Toys (not quite like the Island of Misfit Toys or the Island of Lost Toys, although the latter is probably a crowded island as well).
 
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