Unique cat toys can keep your pet entertained, and they're almost as much fun for you as they are for your furry friend. From a robot mouse to a feline pizza pie, your kitty will love these creative and awesome playthings.
Beyond Ordinary Cat Toys
Your cat is no ordinary feline, so why should she settle for ordinary toys? What your favorite furry companion needs are unique cat toys that offer maximum stimulation to keep her mind and her body healthy and active. This, in turn, lowers her stress levels and may even lead to a longer life.
A Collection of Unique Cat Toys
Once you start looking for truly unique and entertaining cat toys, you'll be amazed at the choices waiting for you. Here is just a small sample of what you'll find.
Fling-Ama-String
A battery-operated, high-tech version of kitty's ball of string, the Fling-Ama-String will keep your cat entertained for hours. The unit is ready to hang over any door knob and when activated, it will tease your cat or kitten with a wiggling string. The string is short enough for your pet's safety, and it occasionally disappears back into the unit to titillate your pet, only to reappear seconds later. Most cats will find this unique toy irresistible. The Fling-Ama-String retails for about $37.
PetSafe FUNKitty Egg Cersizer
This egg-shaped toy is filled with your cat's kibble, or small treats, and placed on the ground. Cats will enjoy batting it around with their paws to get the food to come out. Aside from being a fun distraction for a cat, it's also a great way to feed your cat his or her regular meals. It provides both mental and physical enrichment and makes them work for their food. If you have an extra-active kitty, this is a great toy to tire them out. It's also a fantastic toy for a cat who's put on a few pounds and needs to lose some weight. The Egg Cersizer retails for about $8 and is durable and dishwasher safe.
Doc & Phoebe's Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder
Another toy that combines play with meal times is the Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder. Designed by a veterinarian, this toy works to stimulate a cat's natural desire to hunt for their food. Like the Egg Cersizer, you can use this toy to feed all of your cat's regular meals, or split up their kibble and place some in a traditional bowl and some in the toy. Small cat treats will work as well. The shape of the mice and the fabric coating gives the toy the feel of a real mouse for your cat and they can enjoy feeling like a true feline hunter without bringing in the mess of real mice on your pillow! The toys can also be placed in the dishwasher for easy clean up. A set, which includes three mice feeders, runs for about $20.
Our Pets Ball of Fury Cat Toy
If you're looking for a toy to excite your cat's hunting drive, the Ball of Fury is it! It comes in two versions, one with a small yellow bird and one with a mouse. The bird and mouse will vibrate and make squeaking noises to peak your cat's interest and they are also coated with catnip. This toy is designed to stimulate your cat based on sight, sound and motion and will provide a bored cat with hours of play time. The bird version retails for about $13 and the mouse version for about $10.
SnugglyCat The Ripple Rug
This strange looking toy is a ton of fun for the active cat and great for socializing litters of kittens. A cat can use the rug to lie on, scratch their claws, burrow through and even enjoy chasing play with other cats. It gives your cat a place to hide as well if they're feeling less social. You can sprinkle some kibble or small cat treats in the holes and tunnels to stimulate foraging and hunting behavior. The rug also helps to redirect cats away from using your furniture as a scratching post. The rug can also be shaped in multiple ways to keep your cat continuously surprised. The rug retails for about $40.
Cat Exercise Wheel
This toy looks like a giant hamster wheel and operates on the same principle. It's a great option for a high energy, athletic cat that wants to room to run around. They can get all the exercise they need while remaining safely indoors. The wheel comes in black and an attractive Cheetah pattern and retails for about $200. The wheel works so well for providing physical exercise that the manufacturers report they've had many shelters purchase them for their cats. It's also recommended by animal behaviorists for cats that need enrichment but aren't interested in other types of toys.
PetLinks Flitter Fly Cat Toy
The Flitter Fly focuses on exciting cats with fast movements. Encased in the clear plastic bowl are small, colorful feathers and butterflies that move about quickly when the fans are activated. The toy comes with a bag of cat nip you can use to scent the feathers and butterflies for more feline enticement. Your cat will be fixated on reaching his paw in the bowl to try to catch the fast-moving feathers.
Catit Senses 2.0 Super Circuit
The Super Circuit is a long covered tube with openings that you can arrange in over 100 different layouts. A ball is included in the kit that rolls inside the tubes for your cat to chase and play. It's a great source of exercise for cats to chase the ball and try to bat at it through the small openings. Many Catit toys can be combined for even more mental and physical enrichment. The Catit Senses 2.0 Fireball is a motion-activated flashing ball that can make cats even more excited to chase the ball in the Super Circuit, and the tubes can be wrapped around and combined with other toys to create multi-level toys designed to stimulate all of a cat's senses. The Super Circuit retails for $25 and other Catit Senses toys range from $5 to $30 for more expansive play for your cat.
K&H Kitty Tippy Cardboard Toy
This toy combines chasing a ball through a track with a balancing surface which can be removed if you choose. The toy will teeter and totter like a seesaw, making it harder for your cat to get at the ball and encouraging him to continue playing for continuous fun. It also combines a cardboard scratching surface so that your cat will maintain his nails while having fun and keep your furniture safe. A bag of catnip is also included to spray on the balls. The product comes in several shapes, including a wavy "line", a circle, a triangle, a ramp, and curved a platform for resting on. The wavy line "Tippy Track n' Roll" sells for about $21 with the other shapes ranging from $32 to $39.
Snuffle Mat
Snuffle mats are sold under various names and manufacturers and the designs will vary slightly. They also are usually marketed for dogs but can be an excellent foraging toy for cats. The mat usually is made with strips of fleece or other soft fabrics and you hide the cat's kibble or treats in the strands. The toy works by encouraging a cat to use their natural hunting behaviors to search for the treats. Aside from simple fun for any cat, it's great to use for overweight cats to help them put more energy into looking for their dinner and it's perfect for cats that need enrichment but aren't up for more physically demanding activity, such as an older cat. Snuffle mats are usually machine-washable and easy to care for. The FREESOO version of the toy retails for about $34.
If you're feeling ambitious and love being crafty, it's also very easy to make your own snuffle mat. You can use whatever color combinations you like to even coordinate it with your home! It's also a great project to make snuffle mats for your local shelter's dogs and cats (and other small animals love them too!)
Easyology Cat Toy Interactive Pizza
This whimsical toy is sure to delight cats and their human pizza lovers. The toy is made of the "pizza" which your cat can use as a bed or lay on while playing with the other elements. There are five "ingredient" toys which are small pillow toys made from sturdy material that your cat can bat around. They are also pre-scented with cat nip. And the best part of the toy for any cat is the box as anyone who owns a cat knows just how much cats love boxes! The bed and ingredients are made with durable, machine-washable fabric and will hold up to a lot of play. The Interactive Pizza retails for about $10 and gets 4.6 out of 5 stars from cat owners who rave about the quality of the toy and their cats' enjoyment of it along with how funny it is.
A Cat Thing Modular Cat House
This toy is a great choice for cats who love to explore and climb. It also can be a favorite for cats who want to have a place to hide in when they're feeling the need for a nap and quiet time. The design for the toy has won awards and been featured in magazines such as Wired and Elle. It's made entirely from heavy duty cardboard that will hold up to a lot of wear and tear from your cat. You can place it in different configurations to change up your cat's environment and stimulate him both physically and mentally. The cat house sells for about $40.
Iconic Light Chase Interactive Toy
For most cats, chasing a laser pointer never gets old. Sometimes though you're too busy working or caring for the house to sit and move the pointer around for them. Your solution is the Iconic Light Chase Interactive Toy which will handle the job for you! The laser pointer head, shaped like a diamond, rotates 360 degrees around the base and has three speed options. The toy can keep a cat well exercised and tired out. It's also great to use when you need to keep your cat occupied and can't supervise them closely, such as when you're cooking dinner or working on your computer. The construction of the toy is durable and users on Amazon relate how unlikely it is to tip over, which means more uninterrupted play for your cat. The toy retails for about $23.
Prosper Pet Cat Tunnel
This tunnel has multiple entrances and exits for cats. It's a fun toy for one cat but even more for a multiple cat household. Your cats can chase each other in and out of the tunnels and have a kitten hide-and-seek party. In addition to working on a cat's natural instinct to hide and pounce, cats also enjoy the crinkly sound of the tunnel's fabric. The entrances also have fluffy hanging balls toys they can roll over and enjoy batting at. The toy is collapsible for easy storage and the polyester material is easy to clean and can stand up to lots of cat claws. The tunnel gets 5 stars from users on Amazon. It sells for about $30 and comes in many colors and patterns.
Petronics Mousr Interactive Toy
This toy was named the best new cat product of 2018 by the American Pet Products Association. It features a motorized "mouse" shaped robot that tails a furry string behind it. It can be controlled remotely with your smartphone and can be configured to work with an interactive program or manual control by you. The interactive programs all work to fit different types of cats' play styles and personalities and these can be altered to move faster or slower based on your own cat's athletic prowess. The Mousr can also move well on any type of surface, whether your home as hardwood floors, tiles or carpet. The tails can be replaced once your cat has worn them down and you also have different options including string and bouncy tails. It also features sounds that can help excite a cat to hunt further for it if you hide it, such as behind a couch or in a box or tunnel toy. It sells for about $150.
Choosing Toys for Your Cat
There are so many fun options for cats on the market that it's a great time to be a cat! When choosing a toy for your cat, think about your cat's personality to find one that fits him the best. Does he love to chase? Is he a climber? Or does your cat enjoy showing off his hunting prowess? Is he athletic or does he enjoy playing in a more low stress position? The best cat toys work to stimulate a cat's natural behaviors and channel it in appropriate ways to give your cat all the physical and mental enrichment he needs.
