Cat toys & play
Wands, balls, tunnels, kickers and puzzle toys. Cats play the way they hunt, so the toy has to look and move like prey. Buy small. In controlled tests the most intense play came from toys around 7 × 5 × 1 cm that move...
How to choose
Wands, balls, tunnels, kickers and puzzle toys. Cats play the way they hunt, so the toy has to look and move like prey.
Buy small. In controlled tests the most intense play came from toys around 7 × 5 × 1 cm that moved and had a furry or feathered texture. Cats played noticeably less with larger objects. If it is bigger than a mouse, your cat may simply be reading it as "not food".
Buy for the hunting style: tunnels and mice for ground stalkers, wands and feathers for cats that leap, rolling balls and tracks for chasers, kickers for cats that grab and rake with the back legs.
Then rotate. This is the part most owners miss and it costs nothing. Cats habituate to an unchanging toy within about three play sessions; swap in one with different color and texture and intense play returns. Keep three or four out and box the rest.
Safety: put wand toys away between sessions. String, feathers and small attachments are swallow hazards for a cat playing alone.
Also see Cat scratchers & trees, For indoor cats, and For anxious cats.
