Cats are naturally playful animals, and as you likely have experienced, they rarely sit still for more than an hour unless they’re asleep. Interactive toys can help keep your curious cat happy and healthy. An indoor cat lives a life of luxury, but that can become dangerous for the cat when they aren’t experiencing enough mental stimulation or physical activity.
Why does my cat need interactive toys?
Interactive toys help keep your cat’s body fit, and their brain stimulated. It’s not only the cat that will be happy with these toys; it’s you who’ll be happy when they’re too occupied with their new toys to claw at your sofa. Interactive toys are particularly good for indoor cats to help occupy their minds whilst you are out of the house and work well when coupled with cat play tunnels or a cat scratching post.
It’s up to you to decide what your cat really needs, whether it be exercise or mental stimulation, so we made a list of the best options and what they’re good for.
Best Cat Toys
An ordinary ball will not fascinate a cat for long and they will soon get bored. Below we have reviewed the best interactive cat toys available in the UK.
Vealind Pet Interactive Fun Roller Exerciser 3 Level Tower
Standing at only 17 centimetres tall, this pet tower is the perfect toy for both kittens and cats. The tower has three different levels, each with a brightly coloured ball. The colours will encourage your cat to bat them around, and the constant movement will keep them enthralled. The balls will go around and around the towers’ different levels, and having more levels allows for more than one cat to play at once. This toy will keep your cat mentally and physically involved.
It also has a non-skid bottom, so you don’t need to worry about a stronger cat moving the whole toy around. The balls are secure in their tracks and will not pop out.
CatIt Senses Play Circuit
This is a wonderful toy for both cats and kittens. It requires more movement from your cat than the previous toy, but it has a similar basic concept. It consists of a tube that has both covered and uncovered sectors so your cat can pat the ball throughout its entire length. The 24.4cm tube undulates, and you’ll need a good bit of space for your cats or kittens to play effectively.
Your cat will enjoy watching the ball rush around the tube, and some cats enjoy it when the ball bounces back at them (though others may find themselves a bit scared!) These are things that stimulate a cat and prevent boredom. They’ll likely try to pounce on the ball and catch it, and we’ve found that they love the sound of it whizzing down the tube. This is something that your cat will want to play with again and again, and they never seem to get bored with this because it triggers their prey drive. It lets your indoor cat feel a little wild like their ancestors without causing any mess or chaos.
The toy comes apart for easy storage, and because it has four sections and two endpoints, you can make all kinds of different shapes. Changing the toy’s layout will keep your cat interested and entertained for a long time, particularly when you’re away from home for an extended period! It comes from Catit, who manufactures many different cat toys that interlock, opening up a whole variety of combinations for your cat.
It comes with grey and green balls, which will work just fine, but you might want to look for the flashy red light that’s available with other Catit products. It just adds another dimension to the toy that your cats might appreciate.
Trixie Cat Activity Fun Board
This is a well built and robust cat toy with multiple different interactive toys on one square board. It has rubber feet, so it’s a practical toy for hardwood floors. You can add treats of all sorts and not worry about a mess because it can be put through the dishwasher, ensuring it gets really clean.
The board consists of four different paths or activities for your cat to play with. You can put treats in, and your cat will have to use their mind to figure out how to guide them through the paths and into their mouths. The four clear bowls that look like fish tanks are great for your cat to scoop treats out of, while the other pegs and runways require that your cat work out how to get the treat through a small maze. This is a toy that will keep your cat entertained for hours. There are so many different ways they have to work for their treats, physically and mentally.
It’s very sturdy and well built, so it’s ideal for bigger and stronger cats. Although the rubber feet keep it fairly steady, if your cat is particularly strong, they might manage to move it.
The bowls click out of the tray, so they’re easy to clean by hand or with a dishwasher, whichever you prefer. This is a fabulous way to slow down a cat that bolts for their food. A greedy cat that eats too fast will be forced to slow down, as they’ll need to actually ‘catch’ their food before they can devour it. It’s great for mental stimulation, and it helps them stay entertained (at least until they figure out the puzzle consistently.)
Cats tend to like puzzles and LOVE food, so when you put the two together, this toy is a real winner.
If you have a cat that’s a fussy eater, but they love to play with the board, you can substitute the treats with dry cat food and sprinkle some treats on top to lure them in. This is really a win for everyone, as your cat will end up eating their food as they continue to play and get some stimulation in.
FIRIK Cat Toys Automatic Rolling Ball – Interactive Entertainment Exercise Toy
This toy is quite small, consisting of just a ball with a light in it. So simple, yet so effective in maintaining a healthy cat. It rolls around the floor and bumps into things, changing direction every time it does so. There are two toys for the top of the ball, a shiny pom-pom or a feather. If you’d prefer that it has neither, you’re by no means required to connect them.
The ball comes with two sets of batteries because it requires quite a bit of energy. If your cat is particularly playful, you’ll be thankful for that second set! The light is not exceptionally bright, but cats will still take notice, and they’ll love to watch it roll around, pouncing and jump as it goes.
It works really well on laminate flooring, although some people have found it is a bit noisy. It’s effective on thinner carpet, but it’s best to avoid this toy if your home is covered in thick carpeting.
CatIt Senses Food Maze
Many cats face the common issue of eating the food out of their bowl too quickly and making themselves sick. This toy serves to save yourself the cleanup and keep your kitty comfortable by slowing them down.
It consists of a three-layer maze for dry food to be pushed down until it reaches the tray at the bottom. Your cat will be able to smell the food at the top, but they have to get the food down to the tray in order to actually have any. This helps with digestion because rather than eating one large bowl quickly, the cat will have to eat smaller bits of food over a longer period of time. Figuring out that they need to move the food stimulates their brain, while eating keeps their stomachs happy.
Not only that, this is great for your cat psychologically. They get rewarded for their actions, which is how it works in nature; animals have to do something to get their dinner. Indoor cats, in particular, can get very lazy about their food, training their humans to put food in front of them and while worrying when food isn’t exactly to their liking.
This toy attempts to reconnect your cat with their natural instincts, and it’s a great answer to lazy cats who demand food just to get sick and throw it up a few minutes later. When they eat a little at a time, their tummies have an opportunity actually to digest the food before they’re overstuffed and sick. They have to think hard about getting their food out, playing the game, and getting the reward.
This food maze combines with other toys in the Catit range, so be sure to test out all sorts of combinations and see what keeps them the most entertained!
Interactive Flutter Bug Cat Toy
This cat toy has a base with a wire and a butterfly attached to it. The wire spins quite quickly, but those who bought it have found that if you bend the wire down to the point that it’s curved, the butterfly flies at a more realistic speed that cats have more fun with!
This sort of toy is perfect for stimulating your cat’s prey drive, and it serves as excellent practice for catching prey outdoors. Kittens love it because they can zoom around and go crazy, while it can also be a great tool to give overweight cats a bit of exercise; the temptation of a fluttering butterfly to catch and play with just too much to resist! It takes quite a bit of speed and skill to catch the butterfly in the first place, and your furry friend will no doubt be entertained for hours on end.
Some cat owners have found their cats are strong enough to pull the whole toy around once they get a hold of it, but this seems rare. Most cats love it, and that said, owners have found they need to replace the butterfly quite quickly. Fortunately, the set comes with four butterflies, and more are available if you need them.
CatIt Senses 2.0 Digger
This toy is very simple, but it stimulates your cats to be active as they fish for food. This toy consists of a bowl with five small tubes sticking up that you fill with food or treats.
The feeding tubes are wide enough to ensure your cat’s paws don’t get stuck as they try to retrieve the food. It’s easy to clean, and regular cleaning is advised to prevent food poisoning.
It’s very sturdy, and it won’t topple as cats try to reach for the food inside. The only downside to this toy is that the cats can create a big mess, so be sure you have a mat placed underneath for easy cleaning. Outside of that, it’s a handy toy as the cats learn how to coordinate their brain and tiny paws.
CatIt Senses Super Circuit
This toy is very similar to the CatIt Senses play tube, just bigger and better. This play and wave circuit is very affordable, easy to assemble, and weighs only 1.06kgs. You can rearrange different layers of the circuit to come up with different shapes to will keep your curious cat intrigued at all times.
Cats love playing with the balls inside the circuit, and you can also purchase extra light up balls for added fun!
You can buy different circuit sizes depending to suit your cat. If you have a kitten, you probably won’t need a big circuit, but if you have an adult cat, you can buy two circuits and combine them to form a large circuit. It is very durable and safe too.
Best Kitten toys
The smallest and simplest toys are often the best toys for kittens with their new explorative minds. Sometimes a basic feather or pen can keep a kitten entertained for hours.
Our favourite ‘toy’ for kittens is the Vealind Interactive Fun Roller Exercise Tower, but we have listed a couple of smaller and simpler options below, but we prefer to use some Catnip toys with our playful kittens.
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- 😼Each toy is made of high-quality materials, such as natural wood, catnip, sisal, elastic materials and feathers. They are non-toxic and tasteless, which will not harm the cat and can be safely played to cats.
- 😼Best Cat Toys- 26 Pcs kitten toys including collapsible tunnel, cat teaser wand, interactive feather toy, fluffy mouse and mice, variety colorful crinkle balls and bells.
- 😼Release cat's energy, stabilise their nervous emotion, increasing their movement to achieve weight loss & keep fit healthy.
- 😼Interactive and entertaining toys for your kitty- keeps your cats occupied for a long period of time without your active participation, especially, you have to leave and let them stay alone.
- 😼Your kitty will have hours of fun playing with these toys, chewing, chasing, scratching, catching, cheer up our cats out of boring.
Last update on 2023-11-30
Conclusion
Cat toys are not only crucial for keeping boredom at bay; they also help a lot to develop some of your cats’ senses. Toys are a must for strictly indoor cats since they rarely interact with nature, unlike outdoor cats that experience a whole different set of stimuli. It gives your kitty a chance to exercise and get back in touch with their wild side.
These toys are all an excellent way to help cats develop their skills. That said, be very careful as you pick the toy that’s best for you. If your cat is particularly lazy or disabled, they might not be all too interested!
