what are good cat toys for indoor cats?

Question

I have an indoor cat and want to find some toys that will keep her busy..

Answer 1

i don't know if they still make them but when I had a cat they had this little fishing pole thing that had a cat toy at the end of it, man was that ever a fun thing!

Answer 2

A laser pointer. This is the best cat toy I've ever found and I stumbled on it by accident when my cat started to chase the light spot from the Sun being reflected from my watch crystal while I was moving my arm doing something. Later that day, as I was remembering this, the idea of using a laser pointer hit me. I tried it and all of our cats loved chasing it until they were exhausted. This was years ago. Recently I've seen laser-pointer cat toys for sale in pet stores.

Other things that work really well (these may repeat suggestions above):
(1) toy mice (especially those treated with catnip);
(2) little foam-rubber balls;
(3) a toy that you can make or buy ("Kitty Tease"). It's a flexible rod (e.g. part of a fishing rod) with fishing line and a little cloth "lure" at the end. Once you get the hang of the wrist action, you can make it move in ways that drive cats wild for some reason.
(4) There's a toy that's a dough-nut-shaped ring with a tubular/circular cross-section and with a slot (big enough for a cat's paw) in the side and a ping-pong ball inside. They vary in diameter; most are 1 to 2 feet. The cat can reach inside, hit the ball, making it fly around inside and driving the cat wild. I have 3 cats now and they all love this. We have two of them.
(5) two household items they like to play with are rubber bands and those little "twisty" (wire wrapped in paper) things for closing plastic bags. My wife worries that these aren't safe, however, because they might swallow them.

I added some links under "Sources" below. These may be helpful too.

Answer 3

It's hard to say. They all are so different. Our little guy likes to steal pens, pencils, and any plastic lid. I don't let him have the ring from the gallon of milk cause he chews on it and I'm afraid he'll get a piece off, perhaps ingesting or choking.
I agree that the kitty tower is a great idea. He bats at anything hung on it. Of course the toys don't stay attached very long.
His big adopted brother is bored by all toys. He was an outdoor cat before we rescued him and probably only enjoy a live bird.
BTW, I applaud your decision to keep kitty indoors.

Answer 4

Our cat used to "go after string or a rope" when we pulled it across the floor, slowly. She would pounce on it. We'd let her "rough it up" and then we'd start this slow moving process over again and she'd go after it. My sister's cat has a clawing tree that she can tear up if she wants so she doesn't "get at" her furniture. Sometimes a small ball will be helpful. Go to the pet toy section of the discount store and look the stuff over. Some cats pounce on squeaker toys like those for babies.

Answer 5

My cats like those toys on a long thin stick, like feathers.

One of my cats prefers catnip "mice" and she'll play with those for hours.

I also got a cat tree from Walmart for about $35 which goes right to the ceiling. The cats can run up and down the "tree" and play on its shelves.

Answer 6

Catnip is a good one. Also anything that makes noise. They also like those little tiny toy mice you see sold in packs everywhere. And if you are tight on cash you wouldnt believe how many household items cats love. Mine love the plastic rings from the caps on the milk jugs, toilet paper cardboard rolls, 2 liter pop bottle caps, a balled up piece of paper, Oh they also go crazy over those laser lights.

Answer 7

I have the fake mini feather boas purchased at a craft store i hot glued them to a little fishing line and then put them on a flexi fishing pole tip if you can wedge it into something heavy they play with it for hours.
Tunnels and tubes are great the old plumbers pipe with a sock made of polar fleece over it Requires a little sewing

Cat scratchers with little houses cubbys get inventive and make one yourself wrap the posts in heavy twine and staple the carpet to the flat surfaces but make sure the staples are well buried

Pingpong balls are also a hit except u end up stepping on them but if you boil some water in a saucepan and pop the pingpong ball in it for a minute approx it will reinflate u need to watch it!!!

Answer 8

Anything that will make noise to wake you up in the middle of the night. Those rings with a mouse or ball inside are perfect for that. Endless entertainment ....cats don't know what circles are! Also, for some cats, ponytail elastics...make sure it's too thick to swallow.

Grooming stations with brushes, gum stimulators that you fill with catnip look odd but are popular.

Answer 9

Pom-Poms are good and cheap toys my cats love them, I wonder do you have a Dollarama where you live?? if so go there everything really is only a dollar and they have great cat toys...like stuffed mouse on a spring stuck on a platform, furmice on springs with suction cups you can stick on your windows etc, mine also love the tiny fur mice and twine balls with feathers on them. But the ultimate toy is a cat tree with some homemade toys hanging off of it like pipecleaners with jinglebells on them or yarn with a crumpled piece of paper tied on the end, tinfoil balls bottle caps, those plastic rings from pop bottles, pencils just thrown on the floor and dont laugh...rubber drain plugs like the kind in your bathroom sink.......stuffed animals (small ones like beanie babies) Cats will play with just about everything...just avoid leaving string out when you are gone as they sometimes eat it.( I know mine do) So go through your junk drawer and throw some of your empty film cannisters and stray clothespins or broken pencils or bouncy balls out of gumball machines on the floor and watch your cat have a ball

Answer 10

My cats love those little furry mice, and little stuffies, that have catnip inside. We have tons of rings from milk jugs hangin around our house! They like to scratch, so, make sure you have a couple scratching posts. We have a small round one, then a card board one, and then we made a 6 ft tall post, a couple of 2 by 4's, and roll if cheap carpet, have you ever noticed the cost of those big things at Pet stores?? Our cats love to climb it, when you have enough stuff to occupy your cat like that, they dont bother the furniture.