There's no better way to enhance your cat's well being than encouraging play activity. This can be a great way to keep cats mentally stimulated and physically active. Play is not just for kittens, it forms part of cat's normal hunting routine. Dedicating a part of each day to playtime with your kitty is a purrfect way to cement that human - cat bond! This is particularly important for all indoor cats who may otherwise lack the opportunity to exercise their bodies and minds in the way it is healthy for every cat to. 

Some cats like to initiate the play themselves. You might notice things like erratic running around, or the frisky tail and wide eyed look they get as they run like a "crab". Mine hare up and down the stairs when they're having their nightly "mad moment". There are cats like several of mine, that walk around suddenly making a different yowling call or little chirrups if they have seen a bird outside. Out of the blue sometimes cats decided to make their own fun with inanimate objects like pens on your desk or screwed up paper that missed your study bin. So the moral of the story is that you don't have to buy all singing and dancing commercial cat toys. Some of the most entertaining playtimes I've had with my cats have been with a foil sweet wrapper, the reflection of light from my watch on a wall or a plain old paper bag! Children's bubbles are also a cheap and cheerful way of spending time in the garden with your cat on a warm day.

If you are after some cat toys worth of purchasing, then here are a few that either my cats or my client's cats recommend!

Kong Refillable Cat Nip Toys

These come in all sorts of poor little creatures from beavers, squirrels, turtles, mice, the hedgehog (as pictured) and others. They have little velcro seal on their underside that allows you to fill them with your cat's favourite cat nip. You can simple empty out the debris and top them up with fresh catnip as the need arises.

They even do a mouse with feathers - anything with feathers seems to really get my cats in the mood for play!

Yeoww! for the Catnip connoisseur

These cat nip toys come in a range of shapes and sizes for catnip connoisseurs. I have been reliably informed by several clients that these seem to last longer than most other catnip style toys.

I will have to give them a go when I am due to refresh my cats' toybox!

Kong Kickeroo Toys

These are great for cats to grip and hug with their front legs and kick with their back feet (like a kangaroo). They are impregnated with cat nip (which cannot be refreshed but you can always use a catnip spray on the outside to achieve the same effect), The original Kickeroos were made out of faux furry cow hide and big cat prints but now they make one with a burlap which is great for scratching on.

Rattling mice and balls

​Try looking for cat toys with a rattle noise or imitation bird or mouse sounds to really get their instincts running wild, like the Good Girl 4 pack .

I did have some little rattling sissal/rattan mice with feathers in the end (a bit like the Jolly Moggy ones pictured left, which don't seem to rattle) but I can't seem to locate the make of them. When I do I'll update them here (or if anyone finds them in the meantime do contact me!).

The Backyard Birds toy (left) that I found in Pets At Home work really well as they have a mix of faux fur, feathers and they tweet too.

Some cats like the fleecy balls laced with catnip (like the Jolly Moggy ones, right). They seem to enjoy how easily they can sink their teeth into and carry these balls about the house as their prize "kill".

Foil Balls

I have never known a cat like these as much as my dear little old Burmilla, Ty. Even when she was 19 and full of arthritis, she would still find one of these under the furniture and bring it proudly to me yowling. Then she'd wait eagerly for me to throw it down the corridor so she could play fetch like a dog until she decided she had had enough for that day.

​I come across plenty of cats on my travels that like these too so she was not along with her foil crinkle ball fetish! I think they are a lot like a screwed up foil sweet wrapper which they also love!

Lasers

If your cat likes chasing moving objects then I'd definitely recommend adding a laser to your playtime repertoire! It can be hours of entertainment. I love the 5 in 1 lasers & I think I either got mine from Ebay or Pets At Home. These have the standard red dot but a rotating head that allows different shaped projections like stars, mice, butterflies etc. There are some LED (non laser) type products out there that seem a bit more like glorified torches to me. I'd never aim the laser light into your cat's eyes or leave it around for children to play with though.

Wand & Dangling Toys

Dangling a wand with a piece of fleece on the end in front of some cats provides plenty of fun and exercise. Some cats leap and perform the most agile mid-air acrobatics that you'll cringe as they land. You can find some that attach to the top of a door frame so that your cat can initiate play on their own too.

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Note: Although real fur cat mice are available - these are mass produced in countries with poor to non existent animal welfare standards so I do not purchase real fur cat toys anymore. It does make me uneasy using feathered toys too to be honest. Perhaps I'm being naive but I think the feathers are more likely to be byproducts of the petfood industry? I am sure PETA knows the answer!

iCatCare have some more helpful Cat Play information