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Best Cat Toys
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The odds are good that your cats won’t like all of these toys. Some shoppers thought that the included tunnel was too small for adult cats.
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If this is the only toy you have, your cats might grow tired of playing with it. It’s a little too lightweight for larger or heavier cats also.
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Suitable for use in three different ways, this cardboard scratcher adjusts into different shapes and designs too. You can use this one at home or anywhere else you take your cat.
It may not be strong enough to support the weight of larger cats. Some cats liked it at first but grew tired of it over time.
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The fabric used in these toys has a chemical smell that can overpower the catnip scent. Some of the toys can break and become a hazard for your pets
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The smaller size makes these mouse toys perfect for cats who love to hunt and bat objects around the house. Each of the three included toys has a good catnip smell.
Larger cats can bite through the seams on the toys. The mice may not appeal to your cats because they don’t like the catnip smell.
Many people who have cats say that their cats own them instead of saying that they own cats. While your own pets might sleep for hours every day, those four-legged creatures like having fun and playing. The best cat toys for 2023 will let your cat have fun with playing with you or other animals and while home alone. We worked hard to find the best types of toys that appeal to all types of cats, including those that are suitable for kittens and older cats. The top cat toys of 2023 include those scented with catnip.
To find the best cat toys for your own pets, we recommend reading through this entire shopping guide. You’ll find a product matrix at the top of this page that goes over the top pros and the possible cons of each toy as well as more detailed descriptions of those toys in other sections.
The rest of our shopping guide goes over what to look for in a new toy, including whether it will appeal to your cat and how long it will last. We’ll also give you some tips on encouraging your cat to play with those toys where you’re not home.
Though you might think that all cat toys are the same, there are some toys on the market that can actually harm your pet. If you buy a ribbon toy that has too many loose parts, your cat can swallow and choke on one of those parts, which will result in an expensive vet bill. As we worked on finding the best cat toys for our readers, we made sure to eliminate any potentially dangerous products from our list. To find the best toys and the worst toys, we looked at what veterinarians think and what cat breeders said. We used their feedback to make a list that included more than 30 different toys.
Once we had an idea of some of the toys we wanted to include, we checked with Amazon. This lets us know which toys were still available and which ones manufacturers discontinued. We then compared the ratings for those toys and looked at the top customer reviews to find the five best options. You can learn more about the pros and cons of those toys in the chart on this page and in our detailed toy reviews. With our shopping guide, you’ll have no problem finding the best toys for your cats.
The two most common signs that you need to change your cat’s toys or introduce some new toys include:
Feral cats are those who have little to no interaction with humans. Those animals often live in outdoor colonies are common in both urban and rural areas. Feral cats hunt for their food and spend a lot of time tracking prey. They are much leaner and more muscular than house cats. When you take a cat into your home, it will not have as many opportunities to exercise and hunt, which can lead to weight gain. A clear sign that you should change your toys is when your cat begins putting on weight.
It’s also important that you change those toys when you notice your pet engaging in any type of destructive behavior. This can include clawing the couch when you’re not home to ripping up rolls of toilet paper or paper towels. Cats engage in destructive behaviors when they feel bored or unhappy. Some animals will even break items around your home because they feel lonely. When you give your cats more toys to play with, you can help them feel happier and stop them from destroying your house.
We’ll go into detail about the things to consider when buying new toys for your cats in some of the following sections. Before we get too far into those details though, we wanted to start with a look at the different kinds of toys that you can buy. You may want to give your cat a selection of toys and see which ones it responds to before you spend money on a more expensive toy. Most of the toys that you see up for sale today will fall into one of several categories based on how animals play with and use those products.
One of the more popular and basic of cat toys is one called a catnip toy. The name comes from the fact that companies add catnip to the inside. Most of these toys feature a cloth exterior with a ball of catnip inside. Catnip is a natural herb that creates a feeling of euphoria in older cats. Most animals will not respond to the scent until they are a few months old. Some cats do not have the same reaction though and will never respond to catnip. You’ll find some toys that simply have a catnip scent applied to the exterior.
If you want to see just how smart your pet is and help that animal use its brain, you should invest in a puzzle toy. These toys come in different sizes and shapes. The basic type features some type of outer shell that you can open. You’ll place a small treat inside and then snap the shell closed before giving the toy to your cat. The animal must then figure out how to open the shell to get that treat. These toys come in larger sizes that feature a base with different plastic pieces on top too. You can hide treats under some of those plastic pieces and watch as your cat guesses where the treats are.
It makes sense that cats would respond to toys with feathers attached because they hunt birds in the wild. Even if you have an indoor cat who never spent any time outside, you might still see it sitting in the window and stalking birds with its eyes. These toys can look like small mice with one or more feathers attached to the back. You’ll also find some that come with a wand. The wand features feathers and other decorations hanging from the end. You can hold the wand and waive the feathers above your cat’s head to make it dance and chase after the toy.
The same laser pointer that you use at work can make a great cat toy. Cats love chasing the red dot around the room and watching as it moves across the floor and ceiling. Some animals will actually come running as soon as they hear you click on the laser pointer. Those designed specifically for cats can give your finger a rest. Some of these toys allow you to press a button and let the laser move around the room on its own. There are other electronic toys for cats that mimic the sounds of birds chirping and other wild animals.
Wand toys give you a cheap way to play with your cat. Though we briefly mentioned wands in the section on feather toys, some of these products use ribbons and other decorations in addition to in lieu of feathers. Most wands are at least 12-inches long and feature a thin handle that you hold in the palm of your hand. You can move the wand around the room to get your cat’s attention and to help it play with the toy. The downside to wands is that they will not last long around cats that are larger or more active. Some cats can tear the decorations right off the wand.
Some of the more popular toys found today are activity toys that manufacturers design to get your pets active. A good example is an activity tunnel. This is a toy that features plastic rings with a cover over the top. Cats can hide inside and chase each other through the tunnel. You can even connect multiple tunnels and other parts together to create one large play space. Tracking toys and towers also fall into this category. Cats can hit the attached balls and watch as they move through the toy. Both adult cats and kittens can benefit from these toys.
Cats of all types and ages like mouse toys because they resemble the same wild field mice they might chase outside. Some of these toys look quite realistic and feature white or gray faux fur with beady little black eyes. Others look less realistic and use fur in bright colors. Depending on the age and strength of your cat, these toys can lose their tails because of roughhousing. You also need to choose between an unscented toy or one that has catnip either applied to the outside or used on the inside. Mouse toys also come in different sizes that range from the same size as a real mouse to five times that size.
When you bring home a new cat toy, you should always take a few minutes to inspect it carefully and make sure that it does not feature any choking hazards. Any stuffed toy that features small plastic or rubber eyes is potentially dangerous. Your cat can chew off those eyes and choke on them. You’ll also want to look at how well the manufacturer attached any ribbons or other decorations to the toy. If you notice the decorations coming off when you tug on them, you can go ahead and cut those pieces off ahead of time.
You may want to look at toys that use elastic as a threat too. That elastic allows your pet to grab and pull on the toy, which can help you play tug of war together. The problem that can occur is when you let your pet play with that toy where you’re not around. There is a risk that the elastic might break off the toy. You should also use caution when playing with any type of dangling toy because cats can actually wrap the cords and elastic around their own necks. We recommend only letting your cats play with those toys where you’re in the room with them.
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