Cats at play, what toys and activities do your cats like?

I bought a whole range of cat toys ranging from battery controlled automatic whirling feather balls, to jingling string sticks, whicker balls etc, but my cats get more fun out of playing in paper boxes, chasing shoelaces and screwed up paper balls which they paw around the floor in that charming cattish way...what do your cats enjoy pouncing at?

Oh yes, one thing I did buy they like is a lazer pen, but other than that it isn't things I have bought rather simple everyday things they enjoy playing with, so maybe you make toys for them to play with?

 

I agree that although toys are great, sometimes the cheapest things are best - like cardboard boxes! My friend's cat goes mad for shoelaces and toggles on clothing.

 

My baby is exactly the same. She does like her feather wand and will occasionally bat at mouses, but nothing gets her more excited than a cardboard box, yarn, or pieces of balled up paper. I'm not sure what it is.. but most of my past cats were the same way. I find it adorable.

 

My cat will pretty much play with anything from a paper clip to a cat nip toy! You really do not need to spend a lot on cats.. they find amusement with the simplest things.

 

I did try to give Green Seven some toys. However the toy he likes best is my hand. He loves it when I play slap with his paws.

 

All of my cats seem to like balls with bells in them. They really do like string to, when I pull it and they come after it... so funny!

 

My cats like playing with our hands, and mice. Not toy mice, but real mice. Every day they leave a few on the front porch for us to find. They get moles, squirrels, rabbits, birds and all sorts of things.

 

Hi. I used to give my cat old toys from my nephews such as balls and little soldiers. They just loved playing with it and it keeps them active all day.

 

We have wind-up toys in our novelty toy section at the Walmart where I work, and one of them is a squirrel that flips over. I'm thinking about getting one of those for their next cat birthday (we celebrate a general cat birthday every April, since of the six cats I've owned, half were born in April).

 

My cats have a few toys but they never play with them. Booger and Tigger mostly just chase each other around and play fight. Bella plays with anything from a tissue box to my comb that she regularly knocks off my bathroom vanity. When she was small I gave her one of the grand kids little stuffed bears. I thought she could cuddle up to it and it would be like a sibling since she was taken away so early. She still to this day sleeps with that bear.

 

In terms of activities, one of my cats would like it if I just petted him all of the time. Or at least until my hand fell off.

And you know what?

After that hand falls off, there's another hand on the other side! More petting!

 

I think next to hands, the most favored toy is feet, specifically toes, especially for kittens. I have had kittens that thought my toes were perfect for batting with their paws and just the right size to sink their little teeth into. Ouch!

 

I once bought my cats a battery operated mouse and they hated it. It was too loud and they were afraid of it. They have the best time with ribbon. They love it when I dangle some ribbon in front of their faces. If I tie it to the back of my dining room chairs, they just go nuts.

 

Ribbons? That's an all-time favorite with cats. Actually anything that's long and ribbon-like is fine. Maybe it's something to do with the mousing instinct. Kind of like cats can't resist the sight of anything that even remotely looks like a mouse tail.

 

My cats will make toys out of almost anything!! They love shoelaces, crisp packets, christmas baubles and bottle lids. I do buy them toy mice as well as they seem to enjoy throwing them around.

 

I have found my cat goes crazy for chasing lasers. I bought a really cheap laser pen off ebay and he loves to chase it though I'm beginning to think he's working out where its coming from!

 

This has always been the case for me as well. The simplest things can be so amusing lol

 

Bubbles seems to go down well too, he always looks so confused!

 

Anything with a string... Or just plain string! My cat loves to bat, chase, and play tug of war with amything she can get her paws on.

 

They all love the things you don't buy specifically for them! Paper bags, yarn, my work papers, whatever, lol. I gave up buying toys for them long ago. That being said, the laser pen can still get some attention, but it only lasts so long.