Interactive toys for cats: why they are needed and how to use them

Updated: 02/26/2021 13:54:59

Expert: Rudenko Irina Sergeevna

*Review of the best according to the editors of expertology.ru. About the selection criteria. This material is subjective in nature, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before purchasing, consultation with a specialist is required.

Many domestic cats are quite active and adventurous. Their energy needs to be channeled in the right direction. Special toys for furry pets will help with this. They will allow you to occupy the animal for a long time even during the absence of the owner. We have selected 12 of the best products that kittens and adult cats are sure to love.

Rating of the best toys for cats

The best toys for adult cats

It turns out that adult cats are not as lazy as they seem at first glance. They are attracted to various labyrinths, mice and other mechanisms. We will talk about them in the first nomination.

Georplast Tricky cat toy

Rating: 4.9

In the first place is a toy in the form of a labyrinth with a ball. It is characterized by strength and durability. A simple and understandable design keeps the cat occupied for a long time. The animal shows ingenuity and dexterity, cunning and patience to get the ball out of the hole. This product helps develop your pet’s intelligence. Even the laziest cats will love it.

Some owners place treats or other bait in the maze to further attract their four-legged friend. You need to be prepared for the fact that your cat will want to play in the maze at night. Therefore, it is better to hide the toy during this time. Price – 500 rubles.

Advantages

• develops ingenuity and dexterity;
• Even lazy pets like it;
• You can put bait inside.

Flaws

• not detected.

Interactive toys for cats: why they are needed and how to use them

We all want to fill the lives of our little brothers with love and pleasant impressions. Many people know that they need to buy balanced food for their pets, special shampoos, and comfortable beds. However, not all people understand that a variety of games are also important for the health of cats. That is why in this article the Murkoshi team, drawing on many years of experience, decided to share the secrets of selecting toys for cats and talk about a new industry trend - interactive toys.

1) Should I play with older cats?

2) Why is it necessary to play with kittens?

3) What do we know about toys?

4) Interactive toys – keeping up with the times

5) What are the benefits of interactive toys for kittens?

Should I play with older cats?

What do you think your cat does all day while you are at work? That's right, in 90% of cases the cat just sleeps. But then, closer to night, you can hear the cherished “tygdyk-tygdyk” from the darkness. This is not surprising, because our purring friends tend to be nocturnal. Moreover, the energy accumulated during the day needs to be thrown out somewhere.

In addition, a cat, due to excess energy, can start acting up and tearing up furniture, carpets, and things.

Therefore, the answer is obvious: yes, you need to play with adult animals. Just 15-20 minutes of play 2-3 times a day will prevent:

- the risk of obesity, which is so harmful to any living organism;

- damage to property, which is inevitable in the process of uncontrolled release of accumulated cat energy.

Just at the end of the game, do not forget to let your pet catch the “prey” and treat him with a treat. If every game ends in failure and does not have positive reinforcement for the cat, then she may simply lose the desire to play with you.

Read more about games: Why do cats play and how to do it correctly with them?

Why is it necessary to play with kittens?

Well, the question “should I play with kittens” should not arise at all. It is unlikely that there are cat babies in nature who would not love to chase a mouse and a ball, or to hit a perky teaser with their paw. Playing with babies is really very important, because while playing, kittens:

— the nervous, muscular, and musculoskeletal systems are formed;

- acquaintance with the environment takes place, the kids copy the behavior of their authority figure - cat mothers - and learn to continue to act independently;

- hunting instincts are laid down - they were the ones that helped cats survive in the wild before they began to live in our homes.

What do we know about toys?

Currently, the range of toys for cats and kittens exceeds all expectations. Pet store windows are full of all kinds of products for every taste and budget. The most common are:

— balls (plastic or rubber, bouncing off any surface);

- textile toys - mice, fish, boomerangs;

— interactive toys (tracks, puzzles, mazes);

— teasers (fishing rods and ribbons).

In the end, you can make a toy for a kitten yourself. Remember your childhood. Surely, once upon a time you already made bows from paper with an elastic band. An alternative replacement for the ball can be a Kinder Surprise ball. More complex toys can be made from cardboard boxes of different widths and depths. Cats love cardboard boxes, as the world famous cat Maru, who lives in Japan, proved to us. Videos about his “boxed” adventures gain millions of views and charge observers with positivity for a long time.

The most important rule: under no circumstances decorate a made toy with beads and sequins. Animals can be very gambling during the game, and do not even notice how the “prey” ends up in their mouth. A kitten can simply choke if it swallows small jewelry. If the jewelry is swallowed, the pet's esophagus and intestines may be damaged, because beads and sequins severely scratch the skin.

Interactive toys – keeping up with the times

Do you want to pamper your pet? Buy him an interactive toy! It is not for nothing that such products are recognized as developing ones, because with their help the animal “pumps up” both mental and physical activity. Interactive toys for cats are divided into 2 types:

1. devices for independent games;
2. gadgets for spending time together with the owner.

The first type includes the famous single-story and multi-story tracks, which an entire cat family can play at the same time. The essence of these games comes down to the fact that a bright object moves along a single-level or multi-level tower, and the cat himself, one might say, “with his paws,” can at any moment change the course of the game and the trajectory of the moving object. In fact, moving objects can be located not only in a tower, but also in an ordinary box with holes, and in any other structure, the main thing is that the cat itself can control the movement of the elements that are placed inside. And if they still rattle or squeak, you simply will not be able to tear the cat away from such a toy.

In addition, pets really like toys equipped with motion sensors. They are created differently in appearance: such toys can be made in the shape of a spider, mouse or snake - the main thing is that when a cat approaches, they begin to make sounds and move around the room, which instantly intrigues the cat. Interactive labyrinths, in turn, also conceal a tasty surprise in their design - as soon as the animal solves the puzzle, a certain dose of treat falls out of the bowels of the toy.

The second type of interactive toys for cats includes a variety of games on tablets. In such games, the main task of the cat is to catch as many fish, mice, butterflies, and spiders as possible, which move faster and faster across the screen. Now you can even arrange speed competitions with your pet, because the developers of such applications have introduced a cooperative game mode. For example, with the Crazy Cat app and 2 Bluetooth-enabled gadgets, you can connect devices and control animated characters for your cat to catch. For each target caught, the cat is awarded points. At the end of the game, you can look at the statistics and understand who in the group has a better reaction: you or the pet. Just don’t forget that during such battles a protective film should be glued to your phone or tablet, and in general, for joint games it’s better to buy an inexpensive device that you wouldn’t mind throwing away, since after an interactive hunt the appearance of the device can be significantly damaged.

What are the benefits of interactive toys for kittens?

These modern toys have the following important properties:

— satisfy the animal’s need for hunting, strengthen its muscles and make it stronger and more resilient;

— train dexterity and ingenuity;

- keep your things in their original form, because the kitten does not tear wallpaper and furniture, he is busy with something more interesting;

— prevent stress in the animal;

- help release energy, after which the kitten begins to sleep at night.

And most importantly, such toys help you keep your arms and legs intact. Teach your pets from a young age to play only with special toys, and not with your limbs, otherwise, in adulthood, “cruel games” will already become a habit. Under no circumstances should you allow the kitten to run after your legs and expose your own hands to play. The staff at the Murkosha shelter know many cases where this resulted in serious problems in the pet’s behavior. So serious that sometimes the owners even abandon the cat and hand it over to a shelter, although they themselves have trained it to play just such games.

Read more about this: Why can a cat scratch?

Games allow even older cats to remain cheerful and active. That’s why all cats love to play – you just need to give them this opportunity. If you have already visited the Murkosha shelter, you have probably noticed that our charges, even while in their limited enclosures, constantly entertain themselves by playing with their favorite toys. And if you don’t live in Moscow, it doesn’t matter, now you can watch our students live, you will find the broadcast schedule in our VK group: https://vk.com/event180543530.

The best toys for kittens

Toys for kittens are characterized by their simple design and the absence of small parts. Some of them may appeal to adults.

Teaser with a ball and 6 Beeztees pompoms

Rating: 4.9

The category opens with a simple toy, which is a plastic stick with a ball and fur pom-poms. She delights any kitten. By playing with a stick, the pet shows its predatory nature, splashes out adrenaline and develops physically.

This product will allow you to establish contact between the animal and the owner and have fun together. You can make the teaser at home yourself. However, the purchased model will last longer and looks more impressive. The toy costs about 250 rubles.

Advantages

• establishing contact with a person;
• strength;
• attracts any kitten.

Flaws

• enough for 2-3 months of play.

Trixie Running Mouse

Rating: 4.8

The next line of review belongs to the Running Mouse plush toy. It runs on batteries and is covered in soft plush. The product moves in any direction. It stimulates the hunter's instinct and captivates the pet for a long time.

The main advantages of the toy include a reasonable price and an imitation of real mouse running. The cats are actively chasing the mouse, which is running away in an unpredictable direction. Buyers say the toy is “hard to kill.” Its vibration resembles a heartbeat and thus arouses great interest in the cat. Price – 390 rubles.

Advantages

• adequate price;
• active change of running direction;
• a lot of good reviews.

Flaws

• No.

He is a domestic cat, of course, very cute and cuddly, but you must admit that sometimes he can be too annoying. Certain breeds have a hyperactive temperament. Others need close and constant contact with the owner. And how we want to keep our cat busy when she actively begins to attract attention to herself, interfering with communication with another pet - the computer.

A cat’s body is designed in such a way that it either sleeps or dozes, gaining energy, or gets active, releasing accumulated energy. In nature, cats spend this energy on getting food, and those living in human houses with everything ready - on games and various mischief.

Cat toys are now available in large quantities and are very varied. Recently, interactive cat toys , but they are not cheap, and there is no guarantee that your pet will be interested in them.

You can easily make interactive toys for cats . In the West now this is quite a fashionable topic; toys are built in a variety of ways, demonstrating miracles of ingenuity. To make such toys, all sorts of rubbish, recyclable materials and garbage are used. This article will look at some of the so-called "smart toys". The point is that the cat must get the treat using intelligence and intelligence. (For information about which treats and food are best to give to cats, read the article “Food Rating”)

The simplest toy is made from a low cardboard box or plastic container. Small holes of various shapes are cut at different levels, so that the cat can only stick its paw through. A little dry food or some tasty-smelling tidbits are poured into the box.

Cat chasing a toy inside a box

This toy is worth paying attention to. Cardboard cylinders with holes cut in them are stacked in a woodpile. Simple and tasteful.

This is an interesting toy that can be made from plumbing pipes. This video shows in detail how to do this using four plumbing elbows. A rattling or rustling ball is placed inside.

But this is a more complex interactive toy for cats, a whole smart board. All sorts of rubbish is attached to a sheet of plywood or cardboard using a glue gun - egg containers, plastic jars, yogurt cups, cut plastic bottles. A labyrinth is built from planks and pegs. Balls of crumpled paper are poured into the box. And there are treats scattered everywhere that the cat must get. The video shows examples of such game boards.

Here they even used wine corks, and in the background you can see a labyrinth of cardboard cylinders. Probably empty paper towel reels.

Interactive toys can be made to varying degrees of complexity. A plastic CD container was used.

A very simple camping toy made from a cardboard tube and crumpled napkins inside.

Here’s another fun thing for a cat: cups of food float in a large basin of water, and the cat tries to catch them.

If you prefer ready-made interactive toys for cats, you can buy them at the online pet store zverek-shop.

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