Keep your cat happy and close to home with lots of play.

Toys don’t have to cost lots of money, in fact the best toys are free or cheap! Here they are - as voted by our cats…

FREE toys

Paper
Reuse that piece of paper before it hits the recycle! Crush it into a ball and roll it. Or cut the ends and twist it (as pictured). Even putting a newspaper on the floor with its spine upwards makes a great temporary cat cave to play in.

Toilet rolls
Loo rolls “au natural” are lots of fun. Or make regular 1 cm cuts at both ends and fan it out for a “springier” roll.

String/wool
Play chasey games or suspend string from a door handle. Tie a ball of crushed paper at the end of the string for more variation. String games should always be only used when you’re around to actively supervise though as cats can swallow string into their stomachs, choke, or possibly get wound up in the string

Boxes!
Every cat or kitten loves to hide and play in boxes. Cut a cat sized hole in the side and turn the box upside down, leave a toy in there for them to discover. Recycle a small box by leaving a few cat biscuits inside so your cat has to figure out how to get them out. I was very impressed with our little kitten for figuring how to get the crunchies out the first time and she had a wonderful time doing it too.

Cheap $2 toys

Ping pong balls
A packet of ping pong balls is paradise for our cats and lasts for months of rapid ricochet games up and down the hall.

Crinkly mouse
The crinklier the better. Some even have cat nip in them for jet fueled nutty play.

Laser Pointer
As much as cats love to chase the laser light along the floor and up the walls, keep this to a 10-15 minute game so your cat has more fun than frustration.

Keep in mind that just like children, cats learn through play, so think about what you’re teaching with each toy. I don’t want to teach my cats to chase green feathery things like our green and yellow budgie, Lemon, so I avoid feathered toys. For the same reason I never use green or yellow toys. I also avoid realistic looking mice - because they give me a terrible fright every time I see them on the floor!