Interactive Toy Ideas?

I have 2 cats one a year old and one 7 months. They are mostly indoor besides supervised outdoors time in the daylight only. I worry they don't get enough exorcise or stimulation and I'm staring school again soon and want to find some good toys to help them keep busy while I'm gone in the evening.

A little about them:
They LOVE the ball on a track circle thing with the scratcher in the middle, Da bird, and kong moppy heads. They also have a toy that makes this cheering squeak noise and attaches to the top of the door and they love that. Oh and the catnip "paw breakers" balls make the little one go nuts! I got them one of the treat balls that drops treats when they roll it and a cat kong and they were not interested, I also tried the pet stages fire fly mat and they were not into it.

I need something that will stimulate them while they are home alone for 4-5 hours in the evening and I would also live suggestions for some interactive toys I can play with them to get them exorcise. (They love da bird but they keep killing it!)

Oh and suggestions for night time toys? They sleep in my room with me and the first part of the night they sleep, then around 2am they are up to play and the sound of that ball on the track at 2am is awful! So are the little bells and hard toys they fling against the wall. I need something to keep them busy that isn't going to keep me up (some noise is ok, I accepted noise as a part of my life when I became a cat lady)

My cats like to play with their furry mice toys at night.  Just don't leave one out that has a 'squeaker'. 

That's a good idea, I just have to make sure they are really soft, my youngest will fling toys against the wall and make a ton of noise.

My guys like the cat amazing.  It's a cardboard box, with different size holes and baffles on the inside.  I put ping pong balls or other small toys inside, as well as freeze dried treats.  Keeps them occupied for quite a while, and not too noisy.

catamazing.com

All my kitties love batting around this style of furry pompom, and except for the cats thumping about, the toy itself is silent:


Soft rubbery balls and crotched or felt balls are also popular here (although the furry pompoms are the favourite) (yes, my cats have a lot of balls):



For something more interactive while you're away, consider a tunnel or 2 (fabulous for multi-cat households with kitties that like to play with each other):

HarleyDiva said:

My guys like the cat amazing.  It's a cardboard box, with different size holes and baffles on the inside.  I put ping pong balls or other small toys inside, as well as freeze dried treats.  Keeps them occupied for quite a while, and not too noisy.

catamazing.com

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Oh I just ordered this earlier today!  I'm really excited to get it.  I know our younger one will go nuts for it; she needs a lot of mental stimulation and she's great using her paws.  The older one, I'm hoping that by hiding treats and things in it, might get him interested also.

sivyaleah said:

Oh I just ordered this earlier today!  I'm really excited to get it.  I know our younger one will go nuts for it; she needs a lot of mental stimulation and she's great using her paws.  The older one, I'm hoping that by hiding treats and things in it, might get him interested also.

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Gideon (Siamese) figured it out immediately.  Nico (Persian) stood back until he saw treats being eaten, then dived in.  Foo (Himmie) kept waiting for someone to give him the treats.....but after a couple of weeks, finally figured out how to get them out.

We have a plethora of fuzzy balls and little stuffed mice around here.  Cocoa is our huntress, and will stalk these all night long.  Her favorite, is one I bought the last time I got my Da Bird refill, it's a little rattlypong ball with fur attached to it.  She adores that one, carries it in her mouth all over the place if she's not tossing it in the air or chasing it around.  It doesn't make all that much noise - or at least, not so much that it would keep a cat lover awake if you were in your bedroom and the cat was not.  Best $2.50 ever spent.


There's also some larger catnip toys, Casper likes battling with those.  

And boxes.  Plain old boxes.  I can't seem to toss them all out at once.  Right now there's one in the living room that Cocoa uses as her toy box, literally.  

Harleydiva, 

I've always wanted try one of those with them, that would be great for when I'm at work/school

Sugarcatmom, 

those rubber balls look like my youngest would love them! He likes to chew on things. I have a tunnel they love, but that three way one looks like a blast!

Sivyaleah,

My oldest loves that toy! she will fling it around and cuddle with it.

boxes are a great idea! When I move in a few weeks I will have tons and more room to leave some out. They both LOVE boxes,


I built them this back when I worked at a coffee shop and had left over boxes from shipments. It was a huge hit!