Best type of "mouse?"

I hope this is the right place to put this--mods, I'm sorry if it isn't, and definitely move it if I've erred.


So, everyone. I've been wondering.. what is your cat(s) favorite type of "mousie" toy? And where do you get them from, or do you make them yourself?

Mine go nuts over the furry ones. Real fur preferred. Chili likes the ones with long tails and things inside that make noise, while Emma prefers tail-less and stuffed with catnip. Tom isn't too picky, if it looks like a mouse, he's all for it.

They also like the fabric-covered ones, but I'm a picky shopper and really don't like them.. so most of what they get are the furry ones. The furry ones really are nicer to have around than the fabric ones, IMO, because in my house fabric gets destroyed quickly. My mousies have mostly survived, although many have their tails, ears, and plastic eyes (!!!?!) neatly sheared off and eaten. I've only had one incident where a tail has been thrown up, but I know Chili eats them.

My guys don't really have a preference. If it's small and bounces around (or rolls, or can be carried in the mouth, or they're not supposed to be playing with it), they'll like it.

My big thing is, every time J brings home the laundry and there is either a sock missing, or a new sock acquired from the previous person's load, I turn that sock into a catnip-filled cat toy. Spike and Oz think it's just pure-dead brilliant.

Otherwise, they also have a big carpet-covered block of wood that rattles, a wind-up mouse toy, some bouncy balls (most of which are currently residing under my dresser), and each other. Oh, and the "fishing rod"-style toys that they only get to play with when we're playing with them. (I worry that they'll get tangled up in the string. Okay, I really just worry that Spike will get tangled up in the string.) They tend to lose interest in toys really quickly, so I don't spend a lot of money on them; I have more fun making my own, anyway.

I have gotten a few different kinds for my cats and I have learned my cats will only play with the ones made out of real fur. They do perfer the small ones but they will play with larger ones just not as often.

I like the larger "real fur mice", I always worry that the small ones will be choked on since I had a close call with a cat many years ago.

Eyes and noses go, I snip/pull these off with a pair of nail clippers. Tails stay until they look like they may come off soon, then they get cut off too.
Tomas currently has three furry mice, two he won't play with and one that is beat up, missing it's tail, and is nearly bald. It's the ugly mouse he always brings to me to play fetch with.

Other toys that get a lot of play are plastic practice golf balls (light plastic with holes in them), plastic easter eggs, and ice cubes.

Angel loves the feather wand with the bell! She even jumped out of the litter box to try to get it!
Tiger loves to tackle Angel more than his toys!

My cats love the mice I made by hand. They are 2 to 2-1/2 inches long, triangle shaped mousies with a looped ribbon tail and black beads for eyes. They are made from scraps of polar fleece. I think the cats like them because the tails really flip when they get thrown around and they're soft and squishy so they're easy to bite into and "kill" or just carry around. They do not have cat nip.

It seems so hard, if not impossible to find cat toys without cat nip! Miggy is so sensitive to it, that even years-old dried up stuff leaves him rolling around the floor, while Jaden seems immune to the stuff. Petal is somewhere in between. But if I want to encourage playtime, the cat nip doesn't do it, so why put it in there?

Jaden used to go nutso for the real fur mice, but since the adoption of the other two cats, she's chilled out and only plays occasionally. Though early this morning, she rolled a noisy cat ball into the bedroom and was batting it around for about an hour. Oh my golly I wanted to rip that rattle away from her so bad!

Sonic will play with anything but for Radar it has to be a game of catch with a real fur mice

Boog loves the large fur mice for general play. (The kind you can open by a velcro slit, that has a pocket inside for catnip.)

For big time play, he prefers wadded up paper. Hey, its cheap. I just have to watch him to make sure he doesn't eat any of it.

He's a fetcher too, so he likes things that are light enough for him to carry in his mouth.

They like the fur mice. Being a generally overprotective meowmy, I always pull off the ears and tail before I give them the mousey. Most end up under an appliance within 5 minutes.

I refuse to buy the ones with real fur on them, but Zissou's favorite toy is hair ties so I don't think she's missing out

She really likes the fuzzy kind with a little pocket for catnip in it though!

The ones that come three in a pack from the dollar store are a bit hit in our house. They make three different kinds, we don't buy the ones that are made out of rope and it's wrapped around a piece of plastic to form the "mouse" (hard to explain!).

Originally Posted by JellyBella

Most end up under an appliance within 5 minutes.

Click to expand...

Yeah! What's the deal with that? Once or twice a week, when I notice that there are no more toys around, I have to pull the bottem drawer out on the stove to harvest all the mice.

Small real fur mice. I remove the plastic nose and eyes. The first thing that goes by the girls is the tail. I'm not sure who eats it and they never seem to show up in the litter box.

Lola's favorite toy is a kind of soft pom-pom like ball that she carries around the house in her mouth while meowing at the top of her lungs....usually in the middle of the night.

Cleo's favorite toy is a feather wand.

Maggie loves wadded up paper balls, milk jug rings and some little stretchy rubber fish that I found at World Market.