Does your cat like toys? Which ones?

Loreena came to me as a young girl and I never loved the ones from toy shops
Kittens were born home and the like some, but both of them prefer a living insect to a cute artificial mouse or so. They play a few with tennis balls _since very young
Good ones , they know grandma is out off money for
The only thing both love to play with is an origami dove floating in the air.
As mother they are good catchers,Loreena likes the game as well.
I would like to know what please your cats  the most.
IS it a industrialized toy? Homemade?
Something the cat just stolen from you and you never could get again  :-) ?

[FurballsMom]

If you can crochet, you can make some safe toys that are inexpensive that way.  I've used leftover crochet thread to make toy mice for my cat and stuffed them with catnip.  She really likes these more than commercially made toys.  An interactive toy that I've made that my adult cat still likes to play with, as long as I'm on the other end of it, is a long curly crocheted "rope".  I keep it in her toy box when we're not playing, because I try my best to keep my kitty safe.  These crocheted curly ropes can also be made as long or short as you like and can be made with your leftover scrap yarn.  Akira really likes the lime green one I made with cotton yarn I had leftover from a different project.  She is clever enough to understand that I made it for her, too.

[margypops]

I have found the cat I have likes you to roll up the light metal colored wrappers  from chocolates she likes them thrown more than anything else

[Jade59]

Jade loves for you to pull a simple piece of string.  We have a ball of string that will probably last as long as she's alive.  We just cut off a piece, fray the end and pull that under her favorite hooked rug and she's in heaven.  She also likes these little fur covered cardboard mousies with catnip in them.  I think they come 9 for $3.99.  We will also attach the tail of those mousies to the string.  She loves that too.  I think she likes the mousies unattached best though 'cause then they'll fly when she shakes her paw and she'll LEAP into the air...it's so funny!

She also has a larger more realistic looking mousie I leave on top of the scratching post.  She likes to scratch the post hard enough to make it fall on her head, but is otherwise not really interested and it's the most expensive toy I've bought :)

[PrettyKitty1]

My cats love dangling, colorful stuff. If you throw a ball, or a stuffed mouse...or anything for that matter they will chase it hehehe....
But, Abby prefers to play with our hands!!!

[AppleBr]

All the family is now in love for corks! The only one I had home was so hardly disputated that I decided looking for some to buy.
Lucky,the shy girl, defends that from her sister with all her deternination.
I had attached a string to that- they love dangling stuff as well.
Not to mention it makes easier for me to find and recover it...
The corks I 've found were small,not so good as that one I had and I'm afraid they can swallow those but I bought the same way.
Maybe I can join 2 of then and make them bigger...
But I wont let them play with without me watching,


Furballs, I dont crochet but I'm good in another kinds od handcrafting,I just need  free time without cats around me and a good idea :-)

[aligator79]

Hmm- favorite toys-  Lucy loves her toy mice- the ones that rattle.  She likes to leave them in the food bowl, then I found the one in the food bowl yesterday, in the litter box this morning.  It's funny- she feeds it and then lets it poo.  She also loves anything that crinkles- she steals receipts and anything that makes that noise that she can carry around with her.  

[AppleBr]

Forgot to mention, family loves STAIRS !
Everytime you have to substitute some dead lamp bulb, they immediatelly appear and climbs the stair very fastly to 'Help" you!
Its like a playcenter for cats - and after the job is done,taking twice more care for not harm any by accident, I never have courage to take that back to the right place...
They love even more if i put something cling there but those dont last there for long.
Stair is still there by now,in the middle of the room,til tonight,probably...
Kids need waste energy, Lucky keeps waking me up 7 to 8 am - damn  famished meowing one :-)

[Jade59]

Hahaha...the girls love to "help" you do a lot of things.  I think you must mean a small step ladder?  That must be very tricky changing a bulb with cats around your ankles, lol.  

I am SO lucky my husband gets up for work and feeds Jade in the morning.  I don't sleep well and couldn't take a cat waking me up every single day.  I know all cat parents here with indoor cats probably deal with that though.  I do get up early of course, when my husband is out of town :)

[LindaTX]

Apple, I love they way you allow your cats so much freedom in your house.  I love that they are so playful.  My cats, when they are all in, which isn't often, just lay around  and do absolutely nothing...except maybe sleep.  Once in awhile Aramis will start some excitement like run around in circles are pretend to be chasing something but that's about it.  They don't even make use of their many toys.  With your cats all being one family i think they still enjoy that togetherness in play.  They all get involved...so all they really need is each other to play with. My cats do ALL love catnip.  That's the one thing they really enjoy...besides treats ;)

[Sarajmt]

The Kitten loves feathers.  Anything with feathers attached.  If you're able to find some cheap feathers, you could fashion a toy out of them.

[Cassandrajane]

One of the many cats I have... One of the new borns... Has stolen a toy mouse, And no one else is allowed to play with it.... and whenever you see hi, 90% of the time, he wil have his mouse hanging out his gob, the only time he doesnt is when he is eating!  So I think when it comes to him going outside, he will be the one bringing in Mice and frogs! GREAT!!

x

[nancyjac]

I don't even remember the last time I bought a store bought toy but I sure have a lot of them around the house that have just accumulated over the years.    My cats, both the adult and the kittens, tend to "invent" their own toys.  They love the plastic caps from water bottles and milk jugs and the fringe on my dining room rug.  My oldest cat's favorite "toy" has always been the shadow of my husband's belt.  They have had this play ritual for years.  When my husband get dressed in the morning and undressed at night, he will twirl his belt so it makes a moving shadow on the bedroom rug and Zylo will chase the shadow around in circles on the rug.  When I had Skye, he liked to carry a stick with the string attached to it around in his mouth and all of the other kittens when chase the end of the string.

[Cassandrajane]

Oh also, my kittens like hanging onto my feet whilst I'm walking up the stairs, but they only do this when I have a hot drink...

x

[April2]

Both my cats like string. My oldest (almost 14) doesn't play much but my 2 year old cat thinks she's still a kitten! Everything is a toy in her book. She knocks off stuff from my kitchen counter or tables and bats them around. Her favorite toy (believe it or not) is the little medicine cup off liquid medicine bottles. I noticed this when I would leave the medicine and cup on the counter and she'd take the cup off the medicine bottle and start batting it around. She loves it, crazy cat!
She also likes to sit by the banister over the stairs and bat at anyone who comes by. She's quite a character!

[spirit3]

Mine like the plastic ring that's on top of plastic milk bottles-Bob can have a party all by himself for quite a while with one of those! Another one they love is a cloth pouchy toy that you fill with catnip-another party! And of course-playing with eachother can't be beat-watching them stalk eachother and play fight seems to be great exercise. They also like a wadded up piece of paper they can smack around. The cardboard subscription cards in magazines are good for this because they're sturdier than regular paper.

[Jade59]

Great tip about those subscription cards!  Our first kitty Loved to run after paper balls and bat them around and tear them up with her teeth.  Jade shows no interest.  We tried to get her to be more active in her play when we first got her, but it was quickly apparent she's more of a "play in place" type kitty.  

[April2]

Mine likes that plastic ring from the milk cartons too! What is it about that?!