Cat Toys

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Play, and the cat toys that make it happen, are not an extra for an indoor cat. Play is how a cat that never hunts spends the energy it was built to spend, and most of what gets called boredom or destructiveness at home is a cat with nothing to stalk. A few minutes twice a day beats a basket of toys left out permanently.

Wand toys are the ones you use together

A wand puts you at one end and the prey at the other, which is the only kind of play that reliably tires a cat out. Drag the lure away from the cat and let it disappear behind things rather than waving it overhead — cats chase what flees, not what hovers. The All for Paws interactive range covers the motorised end of this, where the toy moves on its own for the stretches when you cannot.

Catnip, and the cats it does nothing for

Roughly a third of cats do not respond to catnip at all, and kittens under about six months usually do not either — the response is inherited, so it is worth testing before buying a shelf of it. Yeowww! toys are stuffed with leaf rather than sprayed with oil, which is why they hold their potency longer; squashing one between your hands releases fresh scent when it starts to fade.

Puzzles for the cat that gets bored of everything

Food puzzles like the Nina Ottosson Puzzle & Play boards make the cat work a few pieces of kibble out of a hiding place. They suit cats who eat too fast, cats left alone during the day, and the cat who has already dismissed every feather on the market. Start on the easiest setting with the food visible, or the cat will simply walk away from it.

Rotating and retiring toys

Keep three or four out and put the rest away, then swap them over every week or two — an old toy that has been out of sight for a fortnight is a new toy. Retire anything with a loose bell, a chewed-through seam or a dangling string, and put wand toys away between sessions so the cord is never left with an unsupervised cat.