Find on Chewy Find on Petco Find on PetSmart Best Budget String Cat Toy: Cat Dancer Original Interactive Cat Toy (Verified Review) Furthermore, many interactive cat toys will help your feline with hygiene and grooming. Toys that initiate scratching can keep your cat’s nails healthy, and toys that inspire your cat to chew can support their dental health. The Best Interactive Cat Toys for When You’re Away

By watching your cat and identifying certain behaviours, you can better target your toy buying. For example, if your cat is scratching the furniture, a toy that relieves the urge to scratch would work well. Likewise, if a cat is displaying an urge to chase, a toy which includes an element of hunting is sure to go down well.This door-mounted cat string toy is an internet sensation that lived up to its hype for our test kitty. It hangs from a doorknob and rotates a colorful string around a battery-operated conveyor belt, offering a cat a few well-placed opportunities to pounce and bat at the loose end as it whips around. The surface of the Cheerbe cat ball is made of synthetic fiber that's furry to the touch, making it comfortable to play with. We love that it offers 10 minutes of active play and then goes in to rest mode for 30 minutes to ensure your fur baby has a good play-rest balance and doesn't become overstimulated. It's always worth having a ball of string handy for an impromptu play session with your kitty and it's among the DIY cat toys you can make at home. But this toy goes that little bit further. It provides all of the thrill of catching a piece of moving string but without any involvement on your part. As a bonus, the ball can be illuminated. This makes it more noticeable, encouraging cats to play day and night. Of course, this means you will need to power the toy in some way: in this case, it's batteries-only (and you don't get any in the box) but that at least makes the toy portable. A soft, silicone windmill cat toy is a simple toy with no batteries that can keep your kitten or small cat entertained for a long time. The two arms spin on a suction-cup base, meaning the toy is portable and can be moved around the house for added variety. Just a light touch of interest from your cat gets the windmill spinning and initiates playtime.

The yarn itself is stitched through the middle, so your cat shouldn’t be able to ingest loose strings—but determined felines can defy expectations, so keep an eye on play with this toy. Before deciding on the best cat toys for your feline friend, you should assess your kitty's personality. How your cat interacts with toys and the environment will help to steer you towards more suitable products. Personality can also dictate the number of toys you need to buy to ensure a cat is suitably stimulated both mentally and physically. Bright and brash, you won't miss the Yeowww Catnip Banana flying across the room but there's much more to this perfect plaything than its standout looks. Yeowww is a big name when it comes to catnip toys and this brilliant banana is crammed full of premium quality, organic catnip that's grown without pesticides.Cats that don’t have toys to display their inbuilt prey/play behaviours may start directing these behaviours on to people (particularly if owners encourage their cats with fingers or toes) and over time this can develop to be a substantial problem,” says Daniel Warren-Cummings, Cats Protection’s Central Behaviour Officer. It inspired intense focus in our test kitties, who burned a lot of calories chasing it around our living rooms. The humans got tired long before the cats. But what should you consider when choosing? “Cats need to exhibit hunting behaviour to avoid stress and frustration and toys can reduce a cat's motivation to seek out prey,” explains Warren-Cummings, “Toys can reduce a cat's motivation to seek out prey. Fishing rod toys can imitate their natural hunting instinct, for instance, while catnip toys will provide hours of fun.” Many robotic feather chaser toys will have multiple speed settings for different kinds of cats. Some also come with different types of feathery attachments so you can change them out and keep your cat engaged. You can also program some of them to rotate through a series of options, playing for 20 minutes and then restarting an hour or two later for a day full of fun, even when you’re away. Fling-AMA-String Cat Toy

By including food-based puzzles, there is an added benefit: it will help with a cat eating too fast. This is useful if you have kitties that like to gobble their food, something which can lead to indigestion problems. It also makes feeding feel more rewarding since cats will have to perform different actions to get at their food. A classic interactive cat toy is the multilevel rollerball toy that provides endless entertainment for your cat or kitten. This toy is also perfect for homes with more than one cat because they all can play with it at the same time since it has multiple balls. You can swap around the toys in the box although only smaller ones would work. If you wanted to treat your feline pals, you could always swap the toys for some of the best cat treats, which will be a delicious incentive.Two clear balls attached to the spinning arm provide a spot to stuff cat treats, catnip, or even food to keep your cat motivated to play with the windmill. You can also add small bells to the balls for additional sound motivation. The soft silicone texture is also perfect for chewing and keeping up your cat’s dental health.

We love that this toy features two settings, so you can set the mode to fast or slow depending on your feline furkids age and stage. The top of the toy is covered with a soft micro-fibre layer that means your kitty also has a comfortable place to rest in between play sessions. Boredom with toys can also set in so it's your job to ensure they are entertained without being overstimulated. “It’s important to swap toys around regularly to keep them interesting and very short games of one to two minutes are fine,” Warren-Cummings adds. “And older cats will love playing three or four times a day, while younger cats will be happy to play 10 times a day or more.” Why do cats put toys in water? From the moment we got this toy out of the box, we were very impressed by its build. Although it uses an abundance of plastic, it's sturdy, well-created and has no sharp edges which makes it a toy that is sure to last while also proving to be very safe. Laser play tends to be a feline favorite – even if it can be frustrating for your cat to never “catch” anything!. But, for a brief time, interactive lasers can be a wonderful way to stimulate your cat while they’re alone. This mouse-shaped toy with its unpredictable movements is sure to surprise and delight your fur friend as it chases it around the house in an attempt to catch it. Complete with a feather tail, this realistic toy will capture and maintain your kitty's attention and is sure to provide hours of fun.

Just attach it to a door handle, pop in three AA batteries (sadly not included) and the string will wiggle around while moving in and out of the casing. It's simply like pulling a piece of string away from a cat and watching them pounce and chew. Your cat’s mental stimulation is a vital part of their overall health, and daily play and engagement can even support a long lifespan for your furry friend. Your feline’s need for play and stimulation doesn’t change – it’s a consistent daily need that you might not always have time for. That’s why interactive cat toys are an indispensable part of your pet’s lifestyle. The ball – given its natural shape – can roll 360-degrees but it does so erratically to keep your cat alert. It has three interaction modes (normal, passive and gentle) and upon being turned on, it will automatically move, shake or bounce depending on the mode it's been set to. The other thing you need to consider when selecting your automated toy is safety. Choose a toy that comes from a reputable retailer, is robustly made, and features a secure battery compartment. This should have screws to ensure the compartment never comes open by itself, which is vital when this toy is being used by unsupervised cats. Cost and ease of use You'll find that the banana is made from heavy duty cotton twill, so it should be tough enough to withstand some pretty rough play, although a few testers have reported the toy being ripped open at the seams. As with any catnip toy, damage is possible if a cat gets a little too enthusiastic so it’s always best to supervise their playtime.