Cat Toys

Every cat has a natural playing and hunting instinct, that wants to be satisfied. Not only kittens love to play but also older cats enjoy playing as if they were still young.

What is suitable as a cat toy ?

In every pet shop and also at cat shows there is a big choice and variety of toys for our beloved kitties. You are killed for choice, but not everything that pleases the cat owner will be accepted by the cat. That's what we found with several toys that we bought for a lot of money and that are now lying around in a corner. The most simple things are usually the best for our rascals. For example an empty cardboard-box that they can play in and even sleep inside, although for us it seems to be so uncomfortable compared with the cute basket we bought. The same applies to a paper bag. (Please never give plastic bags to your cat as your cat can die from suffocation while playing inside). Cats are more inspired by an empty bag that you brought home from shopping than from an expensive toy.

The biggest gift you can give to your cat is playing with it instead of leaving it alone with its various toys. Let's treat ourselves and our cat to at least a few minutes of playing time every day (which will be relaxing for both and not hard "work" after a long day in the office). It is quite sufficient to pull a long thread behind you to chase the cat through the apartment. As soon as the thread lied on the ground it will be uninteresting for the cat. What else can we recommend ? There are plastic sticks with coloured feathers at the end which the cat owner has to turn and move for the cat to play with. Our cats love the little "cat-nip" cushions that you can buy at cat shows. These cushions should be filled with fresh cat-mint (for our human nose the smell is absolutely unpleasant). It is better to buy those cushions at cat shows than those you can find in pet shops because they have usually been on the shelves for months and are often covered with a rough material (e.g. sack cloth) that is not so soft as the (often hand-made) cloth-cushions. The things we do for our little darlings! Let's talk about balls next. There is an absolute favourite ball filled with little plastic pellets (so that it rattles) and at one side a plume of feathers is stuck into it so that the ball can easily be carried in the cat's mouth. Perhaps not every cat likes this sort of ball, but our cats absolutely love it.



Heaven help us if this ball is stuck somewhere under a cupboard where the cat cannot reach it. Then the cat will try to attract attention until its "can-opener" takes pitty on it and fetches a stick to retrieve the much loved ball.

Little mice covered with "original" mouse-fur are also well accepted for playing. However, you should ensure that the eyes of the mouse-toy are not stuck into the body with nails, otherwise please remove them before giving the toy to your cat. Please also see that the plastic nose of the mouse is not sharp-edged, if so please also remove it. Most of the time, those little mice will lose their tail shortly as cats love to "eat" it. Sometimes they are mercilessly drowned in the cat's water bowl. We can only recommend that you have a supply of mice in different colours and sizes at home, because cats love playing with them, due to the fact that they look and smell real. But cats also love to destroy or "kill" them and so mice are not long-lasting toys, but luckily they are not very expensive.