The Kong Refillables Beaver Catnip Toy can be refreshed to grab your cat's interest and reignite their play drive.
Catnip adds an extra layer of excitement to plush cat toys that are made for chasing and pouncing. Still, a cat's interest is bound to wane sooner or later. When your cat loses interest in their catnip toys, Ingrid Johnson, a certified cat behavior consultant at Fundamentally Feline, recommends rotating them out of play. "This makes old toys new again," she said. Just clean off fur and debris, then marinate them again in catnip, silvervine, or valerian.
With Kong's Refillables Beaver Catnip Toy and others in their refillable cat toy line, you can make these old toys even more enticing: A compartment in the belly can be emptied and refilled with fresh catnip. The toy even comes with its own vial of North American nip. The soft, plush beaver is 8 inches long and 3 inches wide and can be machine washed after removing any catnip inside.
The unique Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree engages your cat's brain as they forage, problem-solve, and chow down.
"Cats who do not have enough mental or physical stimulation [will create] their own stimulation by getting into trouble," said Andrew Moffatt, founder and CEO of VetnCare Animal Hospitals. In addition to playing with your cat regularly, feeding them from a puzzle toy engages their senses and provides an outlet for behaviors like foraging and hunting. "Interactive activity toys and puzzle feeders are great options as they allow cats to overcome a challenge by involving problem-solving behaviors," explained Rachel Geller, a cat behaviorist with Wellness Natural Pet Food.
We've tested a number of good food puzzle toys for cats, but we really like the unique Catit's Senses 2.0 Food Tree. The tree-like design includes three levels, each with horizontal slots so cats can paw and bat at food scattered inside. Kibble or treats poured into the top fall through small holes at each level until it eventually lands in the plastic dish at the base. The tree comes apart for handwashing.
Hartz Just for Cats Kitty Frenzy mice are the right size, weight, and softness for chasing and pouncing.
According to Johnson, there are three types of cat play: social, solo, and interactive. Small objects like mice fall into the category of solo play. Johnson recommends scattering toy mice around the home so that cats can discover and bat them around at will.
We've tested a variety of small mouse toys and Hartz Just for Cats Kitty Frenzy mice are my cats' favorite. Although they are lightweight, the fuzzy, ribbon-tailed mice have enough heft that they can be thrown or slid long distances across a room, upping the thrill of the chase. The multicolored rodents contain catnip and come in a pack of 12.
Smartykat's Leapin' Laser 2-in-1 Wand has a laser to chase and colorful ribbons to pounce on.
"I always recommend playing with a fishing pole-style toy," said Geller. "It allows you to interact directly with your cat, creating a powerful bond between you while triggering your cat's prey drive." Smartykat's Leapin' Laser 2-in-1 Wand elevates the experience with a laser that can be pointed at the ribbons dangling from the pole's end. This helps alleviate the frustration of chasing but never catching that little red light, a problem some cats experience with standard laser toys, according to Moffatt.
The Leapin' Laser Wand is inexpensive and, while it's not the most durable toy on the market, it's solid enough to serve its purpose. The laser turns on with a press of the kitty handle's heart-shaped nose and batteries come included.
The Hexbug Nano Robotic Cat Toy scurries around like a real bug to engage your cat's hunting instincts.
Some electronic toys scare and intimidate cats because they are noisy, fast, or erratic, Johnson told us. While testing electronic toys, I found this to be true for both of my cats. Once the switches of the electronic toys were flipped, my cats wanted nothing to do with them. All except for one, the Hexbug Nano Robotic Cat Toy.
Both of my cats absolutely loved this toy and Johnson recommends it, too. The Hexbug is small, quiet, and skitters across the floor like a real bug with a fluffy tail, navigating around objects and uprighting itself if it flips over. It comes with batteries included.
Bergan's Turbo Star Chaser combines the fun of chasing lights with a sturdy scratcher pad.
Scratchers are part toy, part instinctual necessity. Clawing at a scratcher can help a cat release pent-up energy while conditioning their claws, stretching their muscles, and spreading their communication pheromones.
The genius of Bergan's Turbo Star Chaser is that it combines a sturdy scratcher with the excitement of moving LED lights. Each time your cat bats the ball, it flickers and flashes red as it rolls in its circular track. Kitties will bat at it again or unleash their excitement on the surface of the interior scratchpad. After more than a year of use, this toy remains a favorite for my two cats and the scratcher pad has held up. Replacement scratcher pads are sold separately.
The Catit Vesper Cat Tunnel has a semi-circular design for optimal hiding, seeking, and snoozing.
Play tunnels are a great place for hide-and-seek and for engaging in other small toy play. Weaving in and out of the openings can add an extra layer of excitement to everyday games. Johnson also likes tunnels for shy cats because they give them a place to hide if they're feeling overwhelmed and a place to snooze when the fun is over.
The Vesper Cat Tunnel was the one my cats' favorites out of the six tunnels we tested. It's made of a high-quality polyester curved into a semicircle with a faux fur-lined window and dangling plush ball at the center. A detachable plush cushion fastens to the tunnel on the concave side. The whole thing folds up like an accordion when it's time to be put away. While the Vesper was the most expensive tunnel we tested, it was also among the most durable options.
The colorful, mesh-covered Petstages Mice Cat Chew Toy will hold up to cats who like to sink their teeth into soft material.
Cats don't require toys for chewing the way that dogs do, but some enjoy sinking their teeth into plush prey. For these kitties, a cat chew toy can be stimulating. Moffatt recommends preventing chew toy boredom by moving them around and hiding them from time to time.
Although my cats are not big chewers, we liked the small size and bright colors of Petstages Mice Cat Chew Toy, which were the best of the three we tested. Covered with durable mesh, the stuffed polyester mice are sturdy enough to withstand regular chewing. There are two 6.5-by-3.5-inch mice in every package and each contains catnip for a little extra stimulation.
Lightweight Ethical Pet Sponge Soccer Balls are extra bouncy to entice cats to jump and chase.
Balls are fun for cats to push, chase, and bat. Some cats will even play fetch! They may do these things on their own, but they'll get even more out of their balls if you play, too. "Human involvement initiates your cat's natural prey drive, so you should always finish the game with a successful capture," explains Geller.
Ethical Pet's lightweight Sponge Soccer Balls bounce high and roll smoothly. They're made of soft foam material, so if your kitty happens to get in the way of a toss, they'll feel no pain. A set comes with four brightly colored balls, which are each a little less than 2 inches in diameter — large enough to rumble with but not so small that they pose a choking hazard.
The durable Hartz Cattatraction Unicorn Kicker is a super cute stuffed toy for wrestling, snuggling, and rabbit kicking.
Plush toys aren't just fun for cats to chase and pounce on, they're fun to wrestle into submission, too. "Kick pillows," plush toys that a cat can easily grip with the front paws while pummeling with their back feet, are just the right size.
After testing three catnip kickers for this guide, we settled on the 14-inch-long Hartz Cattatraction Unicorn Toy as our top pick. The adorable unicorn has a feather tail, crinkle lining, and a belly full of catnip and silvervine. Its body and shimmering spiral horn are made of durable canvas.
Kong's Active Curlz Cat Toy has a novel shape and makes unexpected movements to stimulate your cat's senses.
Novelty is one of the keys to unlocking a cat's play instincts. If all you have at home are cat balls, you're just scratching the surface. Unusual shapes like springs move differently and may be more effective at piquing your cat's interest. It all comes down to what motivates them, explained Johnson. Shoelaces, crinkled paper, wine cork, and milk jug rings also make great affordable toys.
Active Curlz Cat Toys are springy plastic spirals that have been sprinkled with catnip and wrapped in brightly printed fabric. Because of their corkscrew shape and light weight, the 4-inch-long toys move unpredictably, enticing your cat to play. Active Curlz come in a pack of two.
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