Top Ten Best Cat Toys Ever!
As voted on by my rescue cats and their many foster friends.
Having hosted well over 500 cats and kittens in my household in the last 20 years, the cats in the household have had the chance to field test quite a few toys. These are the ones that remain hits, year after year. They are all very budget-friendly. Read through to the end to find the bonus supreme toy of all time.
These are safe cat toys but use common sense and if one becomes damaged, please throw it away.
None of the links below are affiliate links. Amazon is just where I buy most of my cat toys.
The ten are listed in no particular order since each cat has their favorites out of these, but in the spirit of a top ten list, here we go!
Be sure to add which toys your cats like the best in the comments so we can all get some new ideas.
#10 Crinkle Cat Tunnel
This one is especially entertaining if you have kittens. They will chase each other in and around it, hunker down to hide, and then LEAP out to attack! Crinkle noises accompany the entire spectacle. Adult cats enjoy it as well though.
#9 SPOT Ethical Pet Colorful Fun Tubes
I don’t get the interest myself but the cats love these. They move in an unexpected way as they are batted and are easy to pick up and carry off as pretend prey.
#8 HEXBUG Nano Robotic Cat Toy
When I turn one of these on, ALL of the cats come to see what’s going on. It freaks some of them out at first but they can’t look away. This is a toy to be used with human supervision.
#7 Ethical Pets Skinneeez
The cats toss these up in the air and catch them on the way day. Toss, catch, repeat. They’re the perfect stand-in for a live mouse without the death and dying.
#6 RC Pet Toys Wooly Wonkz Safari Toy
The cats act like this is a real snake and try to “kill” it. They toss it in the air and then catch it again. Then they leap and roll on it. It freaks me out every once in a while when I catch sight of it out of the corner of my eye.
We momentarily interrupt this list to show Chris and Bug demonstrating the snake toy.
And now back to the list….
#5 Cat Dancer
The Cat Dancer toy is great interactive fun for you and your cat. It’s hard to believe that something so simple is such total fun for the cats. They LOVE it. I used this toy many times to help newly arrived, fearful fosters learn to accept and later enjoy my presence.
#4 Crinkle Balls
Crinkle balls always delight both young and old.
#3 Plastic Springs
These plastic springs are surprisingly popular. My cats always love to chase them, catch them, pick them up in their teeth, and then carry them away as if they’ve killed their prey and are taking it off to their cat cave.
I do end up stepping on these fairly frequently since the cats leave them everywhere. Be sure to inspect for damage and toss them if needed.
#2 Pipe Cleaners
Super budget-friendly pipe cleaners are a surprising top hit as a cat toy. Buy the thicker ones so they keep their shape better. Pinch in the ends so there aren’t any pointy ends sticking out and then coil one around your finger to make a spring shape.
#1 Yeowww! Catnip Toys
Yeowww! makes the best catnip! This banana is always a hit! They come back to it again and again, even after the thing looks so dirty and nasty it needs to go in the trash. If you look back at the photo where Bug and Aidan are playing with the green snake toy, the other toy under Aidan’s paw is one of these in a fish shape.
But the Grand Prize goes to… boxes!
Ever met a cat who didn’t like boxes? I didn’t think so.
I have to end with this photo.
None of the toys in this photo made the list, but this is my cat Misty (upside-down gray cat), and a foster friend taking great delight in a batch of toy donations. Yes, there was some catnip involved.
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