I have tried many things to catch her attention, and have paid literally hundreds of dollars on Cat Condo's and other toys. However, of all the toys available, Juliet and my other two kitties Romeo and Chloe prefer the more simpler toys.
Here are some ideas for simple, inexpensive cat toys:
- Cardboard boxes are always a favorite. All kitties love to play, sit, and sleep in cardboard boxes. Different sizes, different shapes, with lids or without, as long as they're cardboard!
- To add even more fun to cardboard boxes, cut out a "window" or two. Kitty will love to sit inside and "watch" the world go by.
- Paper bags, in particular bags large enough for a kitty to climb entirely into. Chloe will quite often sit inside a paper bag for hours.
- Newspapers, especially the one you are reading! Lay a few sheets of newspaper around the house, the cats are attracted to them like bears are to honey.
- Plain brown wrapping paper which you can buy in rolls. Use at least 2 or 3 metres. Romeo in particular loves to slide up and down the paper.
- The round plastic rings off the top of milk cartons. Juliet and Chloe simply *adore* batting these little rings around the house.
- I have five cat baskets in various rooms around the house, and I move them to a different room occasionally. Even though my cats have seen them before, quite often the "new position" will give the baskets a new lease of life.
- When I was a child, we used to tie a small folded up piece of newspaper (about 2" x 1") to the end of a metre-long piece of string or twine. Kitties go crazy if you drag the newspaper along the floor!
- The easiest of all, a scrunched up ball of paper! Most cats love to bat these paper balls around.
And here are some more suggestions, from our readers:
- My cats, Batman and Cha-Cha, are fond of batting hazelnuts and the screw-off plastic caps from pop bottles around on a tile floor where they make the most noise. [by Barbara Flood]
- Batman also is keen on the zip-to-open strips from food packaged in boxes. He likes me to fling them into the air so they will twirl down slowly and he can catch them "on the fly". When I tire of my part in this game, he enjoys stuffing the strips under the refrigerator to be retrieved later for another round. Or simply added to the collection of cr*p he's squirreled away there. [by Barbara Flood]
- I went to a yard sale a few weeks ago and a lady was selling a wicker basket with balls of yarn in it. I bought it for $1.00. We have 11 cats and one is blind... yet you should see the fun they have with the balls of yarn. Sure there is yarn all over the floor... just pick up the ball and wind it up and watch even the laziest play for hours! [by June]
- I make "spiders" from several of the colored twist ties that come on loaves of bread. I use five or six... or more if the spirit moves me... twist them all together... then turn the individual "legs" up or down, etc. They "bat" very satisfactorily... and skim across the floor to my cats great excitement! [by Iowa Pat]
- My two kitties just love to steal the dogs food out of her bowl, and bat it across the kitchen floor. It seems to create hours of kitty fun chasing, batting, and pouncing individual pieces! [by Angelsong]
- Another inexpensive toy can be the aluminum foil you used to cover that wonderful smelling dinner that the little one hoped for a bite of. If you don't want to play "fetch" with it wrap the foil around an old bill or other piece of paper. The smell is enough to get them started! [by Stephanie Legeman]
- Midnight loves to shred paper so she's very happy when I put out that thin tissue paper (used for wrapping presents) -- I'll put several sheets on top of her and watch the "hiding" feline thing, then I rustle it a bit and whack -- gotta watch those fingers! [by Christine Burel]
- Midnight also periodically gets major satisfaction from shredding a roll of toilet paper -- she'll sit on the toilet seat cover reach over and tear chunks off, help it along with her paw, and soon the entire roll is in bits on the ground. [by Christine Burel]
- Shetra likes to chase the light from flashlights. [by Christine Burel]
- Omar, the lazy orange tabby bum, hardly gets off his duff except for chasing string toys, but he does like to try out the cardboard box thingie, for cat-nesting purposes. [by Christine Burel]
- Oreo likes to chase little bouncy balls, especially those high-bounce rubber ones that she can leap after when they caroom off the tile floor and walls in our entryway. [by Christine Burel]
- Oreo also likes to play with pipe cleaners. [by Christine Burel]
- Clarisse loves the twist ties off of bread bags. [by Sandy Heglund]
- Carpet remnants are another favorite of Clarisse. The complex left a couple pieces in my new apartment & I haven't had the heart to take them away from her. She likes to hide in the folds, attack them, & dig with her back feet. In fact, I'm thinking of trying to re-cover the condo's scratch posts with pieces off of them.
[by Sandy Heglund]
- Desiree likes the strips off the milk jugs (ours don't always come off in a complete ring, sometimes more like a twist tie). [by Sandy Heglund]
- Desiree also likes soda bottle caps. [by Sandy Heglund]
- Baby Kitty only does catnip, laser pens, & the occasional feather toy. She does have standards, you know... [by Sandy Heglund]
- Our cats love pom pom balls. They have a bag full under the fridge at any given time. [by Sheila O'Neal]
- We use the plastic zip/pulls from frozen orange juice cans - all the cats love them. [by Julie Swisher]
- Empty thread spools are fun toys too. My kitties Gracie and George love to bat them across the kitchen floor. [by Julie Swisher]
- Plastic shopping bags that they can get into & spun up tightly & then whizzed undone. A very dizzy, happy kitty will always emerge. When their eyeballs stop rolling they're ready for another go. [by Jo Gray]
- Plastic milk rings are great. Lilah loves them & Fatty will play with them for ages & then "hide" them in the food bowl. [by Jo Gray]
- A crocheted rug or sheepskin rug is GREAT to kick and chase fingers under! [by Jo Gray]
- Ping pong balls make for a great free-for-all. I have to put down at least five so when one bats one under the furniture, he/she won't go & steal someone else's. [by Jo Gray]
- Matchboxes! Everyone LOVES half open matchboxes or closed ones with some rice in them. [by Jo Gray]
- The used thin stings on an electric guitar always gave Shmogg hours of fun in the kitchen. Since they are *very* springy and both ends are crumpled from being on the guitar, he'd pounce at one of the ends, and suddenly the other end would start to move. So he'd pounce on that, and then the first end started moving again, so he'd pounce on that, etc. etc. I got tired just watching him! [by Vicky Chapman]
- I have a 5-year-old kitty who loves to chase and retrieve malted milk balls. Yep, C.C.Pringles chases them all over the house, then she brings them to me. [by Brian]
- My babies, like most, adore catnip. According to their "Humane Society Contract," I must always have a tin of the organic stuff around the house. (Ok... there IS no official contract, only officially spoiled love bugs!) I have found that their favorite toys are homemade, out of things with familiar smells. Give me an old, ratty towel or bed sheet, a bit of the gourmet 'nip, scissors, and a needle and thread, and my pumpkins are literally writhing in euphoria over their new mini-pillows of kitty perfume! They tell me that varying the shapes and sizes is appreciated. For a no-health-club-membership-fee feline workout session, simply tie one of the buggers up with a string and drag it around the house. The toy, that is! [by Leslie]
- My Pooky loves it when I put catnip inside a paper ball and throw it down the hallway, then he gets the fun of chasing a paper ball, ripping it to bits, and eating all the catnip. He also loves pencils and will steal them from my desk. When we go for a walk I throw little stones in the air for him and he leaps in the air and batts them like he is playing tennis, not bad for a 8 year old 17 pound couch potato! [by Kim Cable]
- My tabby Buggerlugs likes to curl up under the lamp on my computer desk, especially in winter. She enjoys gradually moving over until I can no longer operate my mouse and have to move her away. She can keep this up for hours. [by Sandy Parkinson]
- I buy my cats practice golf balls with the wholes in them. They play with them for hours. The ball have holes and they can swing them up into the air and swat them away and chase them. Loads of fun. [by Lilia Chavez]
- I give Opie my old phone book. I just put it on the floor and he has a great time shredding it. [by Julie Balon]
- Put shredded paper (news paper, writing paper or pages of magazines) into a small sock (like for babies). Add some catnip and maybe a bell. Sew the end closed, with or without a string attached. You can even make little faces or decorations with markers (non-toxic, please) on the socks. [by Kathryn Terhune Cotton]
- Indiana loves to chase after my dressing gown cord. I deliberatley leave it loose whilst doing housework,and he has lots of fun chasing after me. [by Amanda Villegas-Roberts]
- Ever notice those little mesh bags that brides put sugared almonds in, and they give these out at the place settings? You can find these little mesh bags at any craft store - they come in a multitude of colors plus they are very inexpensive. Fill these up with catnip, tie the ends really tight and your precious kitty will roll on his back clutching his little diddy-bag to his tummy! It's so adorable! Another good thing is that when the catnip begins to lose its scent, you can empty it and refill it with fresh catnip. (You'll know when it begins to lose its scent, your furbaby won't play with it as often.) I make a whole bunch of them up at holiday times to send to my Sammy's friends and relatives. Enjoy! Oh yes, and they also make nice birthday gifts or "I love my kitty more than anyone" gifts. [by Karolee Di Stefano]
- A piece of foil wrapped around a piece of string. The string is tied to a stick. [by Sunflower]
- I use the small snack baggies and put toilet paper in it and, then add some catnip. After I fill it I take a needle and poke about five holes per side. My cat J.B. goes crazy for them! [by Kim]
- If you lay a newspaper over your cat like a tent, you will be making an exciting hideout for him. Try to tickle him through it, or wiggle a finger under the edge and see what happens! [by Sue Porter]
- If you just get a stick from outside and tie some yarn or string at the end, cat's will go crazy when you pull it around! For more fun, add a feather on the end, or newspaper, or something else, depending on the cat's preference. I did this three days ago and now my cat sits by the small box of toys I have, waiting for me to take it out! Very easy! [by Lisa Dietrichson]
If you have any other suggestions for simple cat toys, please email me
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