What sort of toys should you choose for your cat?

Anyone who has a cat at home knows just how active their pets can be. For them, play is both entertainment and exercise, as well as the key to a good mood and good health.

Through play, kittens explore the world around them and develop, whilst adult cats maintain their innate hunting instincts.

At home, you can encourage an interest in active play and make-believe hunting using special toys, which are available in a wide variety at pet shops.

Finding the right toy for your cat isn’t that difficult, provided you take your pet’s personality and preferences into account.

Cat teaser

A teaser toy is the favourite toy for both kittens and adult cats. Its popularity stems from the fact that it encourages pets to engage in active play, satisfies their hunting instincts and has a beneficial effect on their overall health.

There are several types of teaser toys, which differ in terms of the materials used, their colours and additional features.

Types of teaser toys for cats:

• a teaser on a plastic or wooden stick with a toy attached to it by a string — such as a mouse, butterfly or fish, as well as feathers or bells;
• a teaser on a bendy stick with a toy attached to it;
• a glove-style teaser, with small toys attached to each finger by a string;
• a teeter-toy that attaches to a door handle or pieces of furniture;
• a scratching post teether;
• an interactive teaser that mimics the sounds of rodents;
• edible teases.

You can make a teaser toy for your pet yourself using everyday materials — rope, thread, a wooden or plastic stick, as well as paper, sweet wrappers or feathers.

Scratching post

A scratching post will help satisfy cats’ natural instincts to climb and scratch. This useful toy, covered in special sisal fibre, will delight your pet and protect the corners of your home, curtains, carpets and furniture from sharp claws.

When choosing a suitable scratching post, it’s important to consider the type, dimensions, height, design and material of the scratching surface. Scratching posts serve as both toys and pieces of furniture. You should have several scratching posts in your home; they are durable and require no maintenance – although, if necessary, you can treat the surface with catnip.

Types of scratching posts:

• post-style scratching post — fits perfectly into your home décor and will last for quite a long time;
• wall-mounted scratching post — a compact device for sharpening claws, which can be fixed anywhere in the room; as the cat grows, you can adjust its height;
• floor-standing scratching post — this type of scratching post is placed on the floor and looks like a mat;
• toy scratching post — the surface of the toy is designed for scratching; the toy itself doesn’t take up much space and can be used both indoors and outdoors;
• scratching post with a sleeping area — this is convenient because, after energetic play and vigorous scratching, a tired cat can settle down in it to sleep.

If you’d like, try making a very simple post-style scratching post yourself. To make it, you’ll need a log that’s been stripped of its bark and dried, which must be secured vertically to a wide base.

Filled toys

Stuffed toys can help liven up even the laziest cat. Catnip is added inside these toys; cats are absolutely delighted by its scent.

Catnip has an effect similar to valerian — it can either calm your pet or, conversely, have a stimulating effect.

The dried plant used to fill cat toys has a behaviour-modifying effect, encouraging cats to play with them more readily. You can also get a kitten used to a scratching post or cat house by using catnip – either by rubbing it onto the surface of the item or placing a few leaves inside.

Benefits of catnip toys:

• they relieve stress;
• encourage activity in a lazy cat;
• have a calming effect on overly playful pets;
• have antibacterial properties;
• relieve stomach cramps.

Catnip can be grown indoors or planted in the garden. The plant takes root quickly, is fairly easy to look after and propagates well.

Cat play centres

When there are several cats in the house, a cat play centre is the ideal solution for keeping them entertained. This is a set comprising various useful toys — scratching posts, a cat house, a bed, rope and tunnels — which can be mounted on the floor or wall.

Advantages of cat play centres:

• pets have their own personal space, their own cat house, where they’re in charge;
• a place for active play;
• a place for sharpening their claws, climbing, scratching, biting and getting a good night’s sleep;
• protection against damage to the home and the owner’s belongings.

Cat play centres vary in construction, design, scent (valerian, catnip), size, number of levels, resting areas, scratching posts, etc.

Sales assistants at pet shops usually help pet owners choose play centres based on each cat’s individual characteristics and preferences.

Interactive toys

Unfortunately, owners do not always have the opportunity to set up a play area for their pet, and there is usually very little time for playing together either.

Without play, the chance to run, jump and express their hunting instincts in every way, cats become less active, sleep more, become irritable and may even fall ill.

To prevent this from happening, buy your pet an interactive toy.

Types of interactive toys for cats:

• an interactive laser pointer — simulates hunting mice and birds for your pet (including those not used to going outdoors), engages all muscle groups, relieves stress, and encourages running, jumping, pouncing, etc.;
• interactive maze — attracts the cat’s attention with sound and a ball moving through the maze, which the cat can chase, swat with its paw and try to catch;
• an interactive toy with a mouse — the mouse’s erratic movements will prompt the cat to try and catch it, following the ‘tease-and-chase’ principle;
• an electronic mouse under a mat — the ideal toy for particularly active cats, who will spend hours chasing it and running around trying to catch it;
• an interactive puzzle feeder — this develops and trains your pet’s mental abilities by offering various levels of difficulty, with a treat as a reward for correct actions.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of interactive toys that can keep your furry friend occupied and entertained. Don’t forget that even with plenty of toys, you need to make time for daily interaction and play with your pets. It’s very important for them.