Best Cat Toys: Reviews & Buyer’s Guide
If you are a cat owner, then you already know how important play it is to a cat’s health and general well-being. Unfortunately, finding the best cat toys for your kitty can prove difficult. Each toy claims to be the best but when you buy them, your cat looks at you as if you’ve lost your mind and you are left wondering what you did wrong. Some toys have even been known to scare the crap out of cats. The reasons for this vary but the most common one being put simply: not every toy appeals to every cat. Some appeal more to kittens while others are ideal for more active and docile cats. Knowing what to look for when purchasing cat toys can help you choose the best.
Overview of the top 10 cat toys
Cats love playing with toys and part of the fun is you playing with him. Like dog toys, there are plenty of options in the market designed to stimulate your kitty’s senses. There are also toys designed for different age groups. Regardless of the nature of your cat and her preferences, you will find the following toys quite useful.
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Product Name
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Type of toy
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Size
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Price
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Rating
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Bergan Star Chaser Turbo Scratcher
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Cat scratcher
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One size
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$$
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Toys “R” Us Tunnel Pop Up Cat Toy
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Play house
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One size
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$$
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| Motion toy
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One size
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$
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The Natural Pet Company Ultimate Cat Toy Collection
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Feathered toys
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Variety of sizes
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$$
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Cat Charmer Wand
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Charmer wand
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1 pack, 2 pack, 3 pack
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$
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KONG Squirrel Catnip Cat Toy
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Catnip toy
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One size
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$
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SPOT Sponge Soccer Balls Cat Toy
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Sponge soccer ball
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Pack of 4 and pack 8
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$
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Kitty City Starter furniture set
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Playhouse
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One size
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$$$
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Petlinks Electronic Mystery Motion Cat Toy
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Motion toy
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One size
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$$$
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Petsafe Pounce Toy
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Motion toy
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One size
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$$$
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Top cat toy brands
Whether a dog or cat owner, pet owners want the best for their pets. The good news is that there are plenty of good options out there. And while choosing the perfect toy may seem overwhelming, part of easing the process requires knowing which brands to purchase from.
KONG: In addition to pet toys, KONG is a producer of garden tools, kids & baby products as well as sports and outdoor products. The company has been manufacturing interactive cat toys for a long time and their expertise in this field is incomparable.
PetSafe: This brand is particularly famous for pet-friendly, safe containment and feeding systems. Needless to say, most of the cat toys designed and manufactured by PetSafe are food dispensers. They also make an interactive water fountain.
SmartyKat: This brand is credited with making toys that are designed to fulfill the physical, emotional and instinctual needs of your cat. In addition to being environmentally friendly, SmartyKat toys are rigorously tested for pet safety.
HEXBUG: The robotics experience of this company has put it at the forefront of the toy industry. It manufactures toys of innovative designs that are sure to keep your pet occupied for long. Its goal “to provide a positive experience for your pets” is one of the things that propel the company to produce quality, safe and interactive toys that offer value for money.
PetLinks: Perhaps the reason why PetLinks has grown to become an industry leader is because they view pets as family. This has served as enough motivation for the company to put their all into designing useful and innovative products for pets as well as pet owners. PetLinks was established by a community of pet parents, pet experts and vets to help consumers find the best products for their pets.
Types of cat toys
There are many types of cat toys available today. Some are designed in a puzzling manner while others are food dispensers. Others have catnip for additional appeal. There are toys that allow your cat to play alone while others allow you and your kitty to play together.
Food dispenser cat toys
As the name suggests, these toys require your cat to figure out some puzzle for a prize, which in this case is food. There are also food dispensing toys that only dispense food after a given duration of time. They are a great option for cats that have weight problems.
Catnip toys
They come filled with catnip to entice even the laziest cats to play. They are usually shaped like small animals such as mice, and often fuzzy, thus making cats feel as if they are chasing real prey. Most of them are refillable, thus a great option for thrifty cat owners.
Individual cat toys
These are basically toys that allow your cat to play by themselves. They come in many forms and popular ones include climbing towers, noise making toys and tunnels. The 46” Mega Kit Claw Perch is a personal favorite of ours.
Interactive cat toys
There are many types of interactive toys such as classic mouse on a string and laser pointers. The whole point of interactive cat toys is that you and your cat play together. And while they can be tiring, they can be fun for both of you. Interactive toys also increase the likely hood that your cat won’t roam due to boredom. Make sure you’re thinking about a cat tracker if your kitty is prone to spending days away from home.
Bergan Star Chaser Turbo Scratcher
This classic, ubiquitous cat toy from Star Chaser is one of the best sellers in Amazon’s Cat Scratching Pads category. It comes with a small toy ball on a track that keeps your kitty entertained for hours. For a toy so simple, it is highly effective especially for pets that are left at home alone for long hours. The toy also comes with a large scratching area and you can apply cat nip spray to either the ball or pad for a little more fun.
Toys “R” Us Tunnel Pop Up Cat Toy
Once emptied, cardboard boxes make for one of cat’s great hiding places. However, this tri-tunnel shaped toy offers much more fun as compared to makeshift cardboard boxes. The best thing about this toy is that it folds down or pops open depending on whether your cat is taking one of their classic naps or if it’s in play mode. The inside of this tunnel pop up toy contains a dangle toy that allows for more fun during solo playtimes.
HEXBUG Mouse Cat Toy
If ever there was a perfect cat toy, it is the HEXBUG Mouse Cat Toy. It is equipped with two modes and propels itself around the house thus stimulating the appearance of real prey running away from a predator. The chase mode is a great option for active kitties while the paw mode is ideal for docile cats. The toy has a rubber tail that twitches as it moves in a bid to entice your cat to chase after it. In addition, it can right itself in the event that it falls on its back. Simply turn it on, set it loose and leave your kitty to do the rest.
The Natural Pet Company Ultimate Cat Toy Collection
If your cat’s toys are always going missing, you may find this toy collection quite useful to have as backup. It comes with a mouse from which you can dangle a dowel. There are also five additional toys made from sisal, natural wood, elastic as well as feathers to ensure safe playing. And in case you are in the market for a present for a cat owner, this is a great option since it comes in a gift box.
Cat Charmer Wand
The Cat Charmer is one of the great classic cat toys available today and is a must buy for every cat owner. And while it’s more work than any of the toys reviewed here, that only adds up to more fun for your cat. It lets you run around the house as it trails behind you and the cat chases you, making for fun bonding time. You can use it to get you cat to do all sorts of stunts including back flips. It also allows your kids to get in on the fun.
KONG Squirrel Catnip Cat Toy
You may be used to seeing dogs perk up at the sight of a squirrel but wait and see what happens when you get this toy for your cat. It makes your cat bounce around as if it saw a real live squirrel. It comes with two pouches of catnip and can hold one pouch without making a mess or getting loose and leaving catnip leaves all over the place. This is the cheapest toy in the list – it’s worth grabbing just to see if your kitty is in to catnip.
SPOT Sponge Soccer Balls Cat Toy
If you won’t be getting the mouse toy, the SPOT Sponge Soccer Balls cat toy is a great alternative. The balls have the added advantage of being able to roll down the stairs and around the rooms. It comes as a pack of four balls, but you can also get an eight pack; hence feel free to deploy more than one at a time. The balls can bounce off walls, making them effective for enticing your cat to jump into the air. They are simple toys ideal for the active cat.
Kitty City Starter furniture set
Any cat loving home wouldn’t be complete without a cat tower. The Kitty City Starter furniture set is a slightly more modern take on the standard cat city complete with joints and plastic pipes for construction. It enables you to connect several units, thus creating the ultimate cat-enjoyment complex. It comes with multiple hanging toys as well as four scratching posts. It is the perfect kitty city for cats that love the indoors.
Petlinks Electronic Mystery Motion Cat Toy
Moving into the realm of automated cat toys, this one is a play mat with a mouse that moves in unpredictable patterns at four different speeds. This powered toy is a great option for the simple reason that you can turn it one and leave your cat to play. It runs on three AAA batteries that keep your cat entertained for hours.
Petsafe Pounce Toy
It’s another powered cat toy that works more or less like the Petlinks Electronic Mystery Motion cat toy. It has a small plastic mouse that moves at four different speeds and in unpredictable patterns. It is an interactive cat toy that shuts off every ten minutes to preserve the batteries. Despite this drawback, it still makes for a great investment when it comes to buying a cat toy.
How to buy a cat toy
Buying cat toys can prove intimidating even for the most creative shoppers. This is primarily because cats are active pets that get bored easily. You may be forced to replace cat toys every now and then to ensure that the activeness of your cat isn’t diminished. So what should you do to ensure you buy the best for your cat? That you never have to go to the car toy store every few weeks?
Sturdiness
The first consideration you should make before purchasing a cat toy is its sturdiness. Pull on the toy gently and make sure that it comes apart in your hands and returns to normal shape when you let go. There is a good chance that your cat will put it in its mouth and in that case you don’t want it to choke on something.
Should you catnip?
Catnip toys are a great option and your cat will be drooling over, chewing, licking and sniffing such toys. You may want to buy these to keep your cat entertained. It’s however important to note that cats that are female or less than three months old may not find these toys amusing.
Furry toys
If you prefer furry toys, keep in mind that you will have to check them regularly, perhaps on a weekly basis to ensure that the fur is not so loose that some of it could be swallowed by your cat. These toys are, however, not recommended for cats.
Boredom busting
Always ensure that you purchase a variety of toys. The reason is because cats get bored easily and as such, having a variety of toys at hand helps ensure that your cat is never bored. You can rotate the toys easily. At the same time, you want to make sure that you buy toys that fit your budget.
Conclusion
Purchasing a cat toy should be a fun and rewarding experience for both you and your cat. Cats are more than just pets – they are our friend, our family and so it’s worth considering their needs when choosing a toy.
This guide covers everything that will aid your quest for the best cat toys. The most important thing to remember when buying cat toys is their safety and comfort when playing.