When there’s so much choice and variety out there it’s hard to know what the best cat toys are for our beloved pets, and what the benefits are. This post gives recommendations for 5 of the best cat toys as voted for my cats (so, if your cats don’t like them, blame mine…they do tend to make things up a lot.)

We see a kitten playing, but to the little bundle of fur they’re learning coordination and social skills, and mimicking behaviours they’d need in the wild.  (Apparently, at 5-6 weeks of age, a wild kitten would be starting to catch and kill live prey. Who knew?) A pouncing kitten is recreating how they would naturally hunt.  When rearing up and wrestling with their furry siblings, they’re re-enacting how they’d fight out in the wild. We see it as cute, they see it as life and survival skills.  

Also, providing our kittens with fun toys allows them to learn what’s considered sociable and what’s not. For example, attacking a toy mouse is great, rearing up and boxing the family dog on the nose is not so great. Ask our dog Puglet!  

So, great for kittens, but are there best cat toys for adult cats?

It’s understandable to think that adult cats are content just sleeping all day (probably because that’s what they do, sorry cats, I don’t mean to shame you…). But all that sleeping gives them an energy supply they can use to play whilst awake. This could be outside, climbing trees and chasing birds, or indoors on a cat tower leaping up and down.  Cat toys enable safe and non-aggressive play, plus prevent adult cats from becoming bored.

And elderly cats, do they want to play?

Absolutely! But, just like humans, some elderly cats forget how to play and have fun. And we could be partly responsible for this because we can sometimes stop giving them toys, believing they’re too old to be interested. Just have a go though, and soon your older cat will join in. As with aging humans, an elderly cat’s mind and body benefits from keeping active and being young in spirit plus play and activity helps keep illnesses and disease away.

So, what are the best cat toys?

It’s any toy which is safe, appropriate to the age of the cat, and does the following:

The best cat toys help to reduce stress

because they provide mental stimulation, making puss work things out to reach an end goal

The best cat toys aid physical health and well-being

especially if giving puss a cardiac workout, or helping them stretch and build muscles

The best cat toys help to prevent obesity

by encouraging our furry friends to be active and nimble (e.g a cat tower)

Any toy that enables natural behaviour is purrfect and doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, cats love to wind us up by ignoring the toy we’ve bought for them, opting to play in the cardboard box packaging instead. However, there are some great toys to buy if you do want to treat your puss, and here’s 5 suggestions you’ll find on Amazon. Every single one is something we’ve bought for our own cats, and that they love.  I will never recommend anything that I wouldn’t give to my own cats. 

So, in no particular order (other than price maybe), here’s our cats’ (Freddie Mercury, Howard ‘Wally’ Wolowitz and our daughter’s cat (my grand-fur-child) Eggsy) best cat toys:  

You can’t beat simple, tiny mice replicas. These ones are our cats’ favourites. They’re made from synthetic fur and make a tiny rattle (not loud enough to wake us at 3am, despite our cats trying very hard). We find them all over the house and, for some reason, they accumulate under kitchen appliances and found months later. No idea what that’s about.

You’ll find them on Amazon here

Basically a stick with something dangling off the end. Easy to make at home but also relatively cheap to buy. Ours love the ones with a feather on the end, or a chunky caterpillar. You’ll find loads on Amazon. This type of toy does need human interaction, but it’s fun! That being said, our little cat Wally does play with his by himself  as he drags it around the house for some reason. Yes, he’s a little bit special…

You’ll find them on Amazon here

Our daughter’s cat Eggsy has one of these and absolutely loves it. It’s great value, available in a wide range of beautiful colours and built well. The purpose of this cat toy is that puss moves the balls around the tracks, often for hours, and somehow is greatly amused. Great for self-play, but it’s possible for humans to join in too by flicking the balls around the tracks, but prepare to be scowled at…

You’ll find it on Amazon here

Our cats had this for Christmas and it’s enjoyable watching them work it out. It makes them work for their cat treats, enabling their natural instinct to forage. Treats are placed under leaves and bugs, then they move parts around to get to them. They learn quick mind, but there’s enough puzzle parts to mix it up each time. This one is sturdy and washable. Well worth the money.

You’ll find it on Amazon here

I love cat towers, my cats love cat towers, and you can read a whole blog and review about towers / trees here. Brilliant for indoor cats as they can climb, jump and hide, as they would in a tree outdoors. We bought this one, a Homidec Cat Tree which is 151cm tall with scratching posts, cat houses, hammock and ladder. Great for their mental and physical health, and fun for us to watch them play.

You’ll find it on Amazon here

Whether you buy or make puss the best cat toys, you’ll be enabling them to play, exercise and explore. And, as importantly, to have fun. Plus, they don’t need to be expensive either.

Hope I’ve given you some ideas of toys for your lovely cats and, if so, then I’d really appreciate you using the links in this post. It won’t affect your purchase at all but the small commission I’ll receive helps me to keep blogging and reviewing items that I really do hope will be useful for other cat owners and / or groomers.

Let me know what toys your cats love to play with and send some pics of any home-made pressies you’ve created for them.  Would love to see them and share ideas.

If you’re wondering ‘are cat towers worth it’ and considering whether to invest in one or not, this article will hopefully help you decide either way. In short, my answer is a big fat yes and my cats agree.  So, read on to see why a cat tower can be the purrfect pressie for your beloved puss.

Disclosure: I may get paid commission for purchases made after clicking a link in this post     

First of all, what’s a cat tower?

Will my cat love a cat tower?

Impossible to say if your cat will answer with a positive meow to ‘are cat towers worth it’, but highly likely. A cat tower satisfies the natural instincts and behaviours of a cat, whilst providing them with fun and comfort. Be patient, it might take them a while to get used to it, and be prepared for the cat to initially prefer the cardboard box the tower arrives in (that’s standard!). But, position it well and patiently wait… They’ll soon start to explore. Or maybe they won’t… that’s how a cat likes to rock n roll…

What are the downsides?

Not so much downsides, but definitely things to consider. First, the cost.  Towers can range from reasonable to ridiculous. Research carefully before buying, and choose which you think is best for you, your cat, the space you have in the home and your budget. Reviews definitely vary between each of the models. The one I recommend is, for me, great value and provides our cats with everything they need, but there are cheaper options out there which are smaller and with less activities offered. If you have a cat that goes outdoors, they’ll generally find all the activities they need out there in the big wide world. But for our indoor cats, the bigger the cat tower you can afford, the better as it will provide them with many hours of joy.   

And lastly, the cat tower needs to be safe for your cat to use. If you have a cat with restricted mobility or a physical illness / disease that could cause the cat to fall suddenly (e.g. epilepsy and seizures), think carefully about purchasing one of the taller models. It’s a long way down if they fall and they can seriously injure themselves.

Still undecided whether it’s a yes or no to ‘are cat towers worth it’?

Check out my top 5 reasons for providing your furry friend with a cat tower. Each of the reasons naturally link with at least one of the welfare needs which form part of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which is my go-to for anything related to cat care. Caring for our kitties isn’t just about fun and the cute stuff, it’s about how we allow them to follow their natural instincts and behaviours, and enable them to live happily and healthily.

2. It provides the perfect look-out

My cats love sitting on the top platform and looking down at the minions below.  (They actually think of themselves as Richard Gere’s character Edward in Pretty Woman, when he tells Julia Robert’s Vivienne that the reason he has the penthouse is because ‘it’s the best’. And we all know cats like to be the best…)

From high up they can spot potential enemies, like an approcahing killer vacuum cleaner or an annoying furry sibling. This behaviour relates to the welfare need: to exhibit normal behaviour patterns. Think of a lion in the wild, sitting up on a high rock looking out for prey and enemies. That’s how the domestic cat feels when standing proudly on top of the cat tower, and who are we to burst that bubble?

3. A cat tower offers a perfect place for a cat to hide

As we know, cats like to hide. Sometimes it’s because they feel unsafe, such as on Bonfire Night or when there’s a stranger in the house. Other times it’s because it makes their human run around, late for work, trying to shut the bedroom door and keep the cat out but not being able to as the cat is hiding under the bed mocking their human servant.  

A cat tower which includes a small cat house about half way up, or a high platform, is a way of providing  a suitable environment in terms of an alternative hiding place. Humans spot them quickly, but furry siblings not so much. 

5. A cat tower provides the cat with their own space away from other animals in the house

As another welfare need, this is especially important for cats as they are naturally quite solitary animals who generally prefer their own company. By providing a cat tower with a platform or small box style house, you’re offering your puss an opportunity to find their own space and chill.

Now, I must say that this works great for cats wanting to avoid the family dog, but not always as useful for keeping away from their annoying furry feline siblings. Ours do tend to have a little scrap on the tower every now and then, mainly because the youngest one likes to be King of the Castle and kick the bigger one off the top platform… but you can only try!

So, is it a yes or no to ‘Are cat towers worth it?’

As well as being great for your cat, a cat tower gives us humans an opportunity to do what we love too, which is watching our cats having fun. If I’ve convinced you that a cat tower is a great piece of equipment for your cat to enjoy, research before you buy, but I can highly recommend the one here in the photos which I bought from Amazon. It’s a great size, well made, offering several platforms and 2 cat houses, plus steps and planks. And it was worth the money.

I’m not recommending it just so you buy it and I earn a small commission – I’m recommending it because I did a lot of research and was really pleased with it, and I know others would be too. It works for my cats, and it therefore works for me. However, I will really appreciate you clicking the link if it is one you would like to buy – it won’t affect your purchase at all but the small commission I’ll receive helps me to keep blogging and letting fellow cat lovers know about anything I think they, and their furry friends, will enjoy.

Do your cats already have a cat tower? Let me know about your experiences. Plus, I’d love to see photos of any home-made towers – they can be just as good as the manufactured ones and great if on a budget. Plus, they can use up any materials that might otherwise be thrown away – great for the environment too!