Why do cats need toys?
Cats are predators. Their instinct is to hunt, and most of their day consists of playing with toys. If you’ve ever owned a cat, you know that they can be incredibly lazy creatures. You’ll often find your cat sitting in the window staring longingly at the birds outside… But if a toy comes near them, they suddenly become very interested in it! They attack it from every direction and love to carry it around with them. It’s pretty funny to watch! Besides that though, a good toy will help keep your kitty entertained throughout the day while relieving stress and helping her get some exercise. Lego can be used for many things, including jewelry and – you guessed it – cat toys!
Cats often need exercise. They’re not runners, and they don’t like to climb things. If you ever see your cat climbing something, you should probably call the fire department because that’s a pretty weird behavior for a cat! Your kitty needs toys that will help them burn off some energy and get their heart pumping. One of the best ways to do this is by throwing toys around for her. If you have two or three cats interacting with each other, make sure no one gets hurt! And if your cat is old or sick, make sure she doesn’t overdo it either! I love my “catapult” (pictured below), as well as laser pointers and puzzle feeders (a few examples are pictured below).
Now lets talk about toys for younger cats or kittens: I’m going to be honest here; kittens can be quite destructive sometimes (and even adult cats!). Sometimes they break things and ruin furniture. My best advice: try to keep away from expensive objects like vases and lamps if possible! It’s inevitable that they’ll scratch at walls too… But what can you do? A lot of parents of young children use soft animals made out of fabric as playthings rather than plastic ones because fabric items are likely less damaging when being thrown around by an excited kitten. You might also try giving them rubber balls filled with dried food treats inside so they have something new to hunt down.
They also like to play with laser pointers. You can make your own by using a little bit of tape and either a pen or pencil (both pictured below). Cats love to chase the red dot! If you’re not much of an artist, I’ve seen some people use old mouse-traps (pictured below) filled with catnip as toys for their cats.
Now let’s talk about toys that help keep them healthy: Puzzle feeders are great for keeping your kitty occupied when you’re away from home, but they can also be great at keeping your cat’s weight down as well as keeping her entertained! If you want to read more about those, check out this post. You can make them at home very easily or buy one online (pictured below). Just make sure it comes in different sizes if your cat is overweight because she might get stuck inside otherwise! Of course there’s always the old standby: the treat ball (pictured below) and regular balls and mice that we all know and love too.
Now we’ll move on to talking about some tips on making new purchases before we finish up: When buying something new for your kitty, think long term – what will be more fun? What will they spend most of their time doing? It would be nice if our cats would just sit around eating treats all day under the TV set… But unfortunately this isn’t so easy these days. If you want to keep your cat entertained, try to find something that will keep her hunting instincts going. If she has the option of doing more than one thing at once, she’ll be less likely to get bored and give up on it. I also recommend not buying too many toys – you don’t want your home looking like Toys’R’Us!
Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:
Treat Ball: This is a classic toy that most cats love! It’s a long tube with a hole at one end and a ball inside that your cat can push around by pawing it. The hole is just big enough for kitty to shove her head in and out of it as well as getting the treats out from inside too! These make great gifts for friends who have cats as well. Some people might say this looks like an easy way for cats to get stuck – but if your cat is bigger than the opening, she’ll be fine! You can take off the cap if there’s any concern though.
If you have a cat, I highly recommend you try making your own toys! You can use anything from old cardboard boxes to plastic bottles or egg shells. Just throw a small piece of food inside and go nuts with it. Your cat will love it! If you enjoy making things as much as I do, take a look at this post as well as the one about homemade puzzle feeders for more ideas. Good luck!