Toys to Keep Your Cats Busy
As a pet parent, you already know how vital playtime is for your cat’s health and well-being. Your fur babies need a stimulating and engaging environment for them to thrive. That’s the reason why you need toys to keep your cats busy and entertained at all times.
Regular playtime is an essential component of a healthy environment. But with all the toys available for your cats, it can end up becoming a challenging experience.
Generally, selecting the best toy can be tricky. Plus, not all these toys and their gimmicks being marketed are great or ideal for your felines. There are even times when your cats won’t respond to it.
If you’re tired of the trial and errors with their toys, that’s totally understandable. So to make it easier for you, we’ve compiled the best toys to keep your cats busy.
Ball and Track Toys
One of the best toys for your kitties include the ball and track toys. These have a ball within a circular track.
When your precious fur babies attempt to get the ball out, it’ll spin around the tracks instead. This will keep your kitties entertained as they watch the ball spinning in circles as they try swatting it out.
There are triple-level balls and tracks that can entertain numerous cats.
Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard boxes aren’t necessarily toys, but they love playing and jumping in them. Whether it’s playing hide & seek or bouncing in and out of these boxes, they’ll definitely love these.
These aren’t only easy to come by, but cardboard boxes pose little risk to your feline friends. Just make sure that you’re giving them opened cardboard boxes and not those enclosed ones to avoid suffocation.
Catnip Toys
Toys to keep your cats busy include catnip toys. The scent of catnip releases pheromones, which are feel-good brain chemicals. These give your kitties a sense of euphoria that’s quite similar to hallucinogenic drugs.
These are safe for your cats, and they make your felines happy and busy. The catnip toys come in various styles, and you can choose one depending on your cat’s preferences.
Paper and Paper Bags
The crackling and crunching sounds of paper makes for a fun and engaging toy for your cat. Again, these aren’t toys, but you can crumple paper into balls and have your kitties play and paw at them.
Leave a few pieces scattered around your home so your cats can dive, slide, and roll on them all day.
Paper bags are also enjoyable for your cats. Like cardboard boxes, they can pounce in and out of it and even tear holes to make paper bag tunnels.
Just remember to remove handles that may be linked to the paper bag. These little pieces can come off as hazardous to your felines.
Food Puzzles and Toys
If your fur baby is food-motivated, then food-based puzzles will be an enjoyable way to keep your kitties happy.
Typical food puzzles come in spheres that can be filled with treats. These can only come out when your cats figure out how to get them properly. It’s ideal for curious felines since it’ll stimulate both their mind and body.
For fur babies that are more into the hunt than the prize, that’s fine. Some toys let you stuff boxes with plush toys, allowing your kitties to hunt. They’ll flip these plush toys out of the box through the available holes.
These kinds of toys engage your pet’s instincts while keeping them playing for longer times. Cats are smart, so they can figure these puzzles out over time.
Note that factoring the treats into your kitties diet plan is necessary to avoid chances of overeating.
Hanging Teaser Toys
Some cats like playing with toys that are above or higher than them. It makes them feel like they’re hunting for birds.
These are excellent toys to keep your cats busy. You can hang them on your doorknob so they can play even when you aren’t home. Even when they’re lying on their backs and being lazy, they can reach and play for these hanging teaser toys.
Treat-dispensing Toys
Treat dispensing toys are ideal for cats who love eating and hate exercising. It can be a great way for them to stand up and get moving.
As they interact with these toys, it releases kibbles or treats at different rates. These will surely keep your cats interested for lengthy periods.
If your kitty mainly feasts on kibbles, much of their daily food intake can be set in these treat-dispensing toys. With these, your pets will be forced to work to get their food as if they were in the wild.
Wand Toys
Arguably the best toys to keep your cats busy are the wand toys. These let you urge your cats into hunting and chasing the toy.
The wand toys are great items to help you bond and interact with your cat while letting them exercise simultaneously. Additionally, it gives you the satisfaction and enjoyment of watching your felines have fun.
The best wand toys are those that utilize flexible and thin pet-safe wires to give your kitty’s toy more bounce.
Cat Scratchers
Naturally, cats scratch to mark their territory. It’s also their way of telling other cats to stay away from their area. Scratching also helps keep their claws sharp yet short.
Even if your furry baby is an indoor cat, they’ll still have the urge to scratch. To prevent them from ruining your furniture, give them cat scratchers to encourage their natural scratching behavior. It’ll also divert their attention from attacking your things.
Mice Toys for Cats
One of the best ways to get your fur babies to play is to stir their desire to hunt. Mice toys are natural prey for them.
The toy mice come in different colors, and they also come in bouncing or mechanical varieties.
Final Words
In the end, the choice of toys to keep your cats busy doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that they’re safe to play with and make your precious cats happy and engaged at all times.