Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Top Ten Cat Toys (According to the Cats)

We shared this list last year and it was a big hit. After publishing it, we learned that many of you tried some (even all!!) of the toys, which made for some awfully happy cats!  

SO, for those of you who still need to do a little holiday shopping for your kitties, here you go!  

OH, if your kitty has any favorites that didn't make our list, let us know in the comment section, please!  We are always are on the hunt for great toys!  



After consulting with our in-house cat toy experts, Charlene and Wylla, I put together a list of the toys that they feel would bring your cats the most joy during this season of gift giving, and year 'round, too!

Here we go, in no particular order, Charlene and Wylla's top ten toy list.

1. The Catnip Banana.
OH, do our girls love their Yeoww Catnip Bananas.  In general, they're not huge fans of catnip toys, but there's something about the Banana that really clicks with them.  It's the one toy they'll both fight over, so we always keep more than one around the house.  They both chew on them, roll with them, bunny kick them until the bananas are flat and soggy. These folks make a catnip cigar, too, but it's not as fun as the banana.





2. Da Bird
Wylla loves feather toys so much that we have to keep them out of paw's reach when we're not using them.  Left unsupervised with a feather toy, she'll gnaw on it until the feathers are gone. Out of all the feather toys, Da Bird is her favorite, and she gets VERY excited when we bring it out. When you wave the wand and make the bird fly, it makes a whirring sound which is very stimulating to both cats. Charlene only watches it, but Wylla leaps like crazy for it.  She jumps so high, we only play with it upstairs where there's soft carpet to land on.




3. Sparkleballs
Paws down, Charlene's all-time favorite toy, and that's why we sell them in the IBKC shop. They're light and fun to bat around. We've heard from many that even your uber-finicky cats and kittens love them.

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4. Rattle Mouse! AKA Jo Jingles
According to Wylla, Rattle Mouse is the greatest toy ever made in the history of cat toys!  When she gets bored in the middle of the night, she digs out Rattle Mouse and takes him for a roll, and in the morning we'll find him all soggy and gross and under a rumpled rug.  It's always good times with Rattle Mouse!

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5. Cat Srpings! 

It's a good thing these are cheap, because they are so easy to lose, and we go through so many of them. Big cats and kittens love scooting across slick floors and chasing these springs.  Pick them up with kitty is done -- if you find one with bare feet, it's kind of like stepping on a Lego.



6.  Cat-Dancer Charmer Wand
The Cat-Dancer wand is another favorite of Wylla's.  She loves to lay belly-up and wave her arms as we swish the wand in the air.   This one is a huge hit with the kittens, too, but they'll actually jump after it and burn a few calories.



7. Purrfect Cat Pouncer
These are awesome. Just ask Fern Lyttleton.

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These feather wands are loved by Charlene. Though she was quite a leaper in her younger days, we try not to encourage it too much now, so we just wriggle these around on the floor and Charlene chases after them. They lose their feathers eventually, so we do have to replace them every now and again.  Mimsey Frost, who prefers napping over playing most hours of the day, LOVES this wand and really gets excited when it comes out.


8. Pingpong Balls
HOURS of fun if you throw it in the bathtub, right, Darlings?  Cheap, cheap, cheap endless entertainment for cats of all ages!

Bathtub Soccer with The Darlings

9. Track Ball
No cat is on the fence about Trackball -- either they're into it or not. Wylla is into it. Way into it.



10. Skip the gifts,  just give them a box! It's a fact -- cats love cardboard.





Just so you know, we're not getting paid to endorse these products, we're just sharing with you the toys that our cats and kittens enjoy more than any others. Most can be found online, but we prefer shopping our smaller, local pet boutiques.







13 comments:

  1. Can I add number 11 (we have all the rest of them!)? I saw it online on something about ways to entertain your indoor cat. Take a sturdy box (about 16" by 24"), cut off the top and cut it down so the sides are about 4 inches, get some sturdy paper (like brown packing paper) and tear it into pieces and make paper balls about the size of small dog toy ball. Not too small. Cover the bottom of the box with the paper balls- be generous! Then hide 5 or 6 pieces of their favorite kibble- so they have to smell and dig for it just like they would outside for prey. Sometimes they even pounce on it. Our cats love it! Kittens might make it a litter pan, so probably not for the ones that are too young.

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  2. The rings on the plastic milk containers are the bestest toy according to the Maine Coons. They skittle across the floor so nicely and then hide under the stove. Thankfully we have a removable bottom drawer so we will never again be embarassed when a new stove comes in and 45 rings are found under the old stove. And that is after 22 were fished out.

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  3. My cats are crazy about the original cat dancer...

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    1. One of my cats, Maya, loves the Cat Dancer as well, but when it's pulled across the floor (whatever makes 'em happy, right?). I discovered by accident one time that if I get Maya going in a circle with it, she'd hiss at it, which made my mother, who was watching at the time, laugh, so my mom insists now and again that I "make her hiss at that toy! It's so funny to hear her do it!" What am I, entertainment committee for humans as well as cats now? ;)

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  4. Replies
    1. Us too! And we have similar toys for the two that we don't exactly have.

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  5. Oh my. How about the Evil Red Dot™?

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  6. I bought a catnip banana for my two feline owners about 18 months ago, and they Love It. Bunny kicks galore! The springs I bought them, they totally ignored. Thanks, furballs; choosing boredom over good times. See if I buy you any more toys! ;) My big white guy Sam has a grey stuffed mouse that's been dubbed Greymouse he diligently hunts down every night about the same time. He has a fight to the (mouse's) death with it and then parades around the apartment, loudly declaring his victory over The Fearsome Greymouse. His victory in battle must be acknowledged and his prowess and skills praised, or he will continue to declare tidings of the battle until someone does. I always thank him for protecting us from such a fearsome foe and, of course, praise him for being such a fierce killer of the Greymouse. Duplicates of Greymouse are being kept in reserve.

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  7. The Petstages fresh breath mint stick. I have bought so many of these because
    My cats play with them like crazy and they end up getting hidden under the couches or fridge. Doesn't help their breath any, but they love it! Also those inexpensive plastic balls with the jingle bell inside. My cats like to carry them in their mouthes and meow like theirs no tomorrow.

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  8. My Cats love the Catnip Canary that I buy at Mud Bay. It is made locally at SuperFunPetStuff.com on Camano Island,WA.It is a big yellow canary with catnip and a long yellow feather on the end. After I purchased these my cat will no longer accept the banana.

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  9. My kitty has the catnip rainbow from Yeoww, and she loves it to bits

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  10. My apartment seems to eat cat toys; the fridge especially. (Ping pong balls)

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  11. Niko and Tommy are ALL about the sparkle balls and cardboard boxes.

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