Cats Toys, Clothing, Supplies and Gifts
We don’t sell any products here, but we do have some recommendations for great wholesale and pet supplies. Check some of the suppliers below for great cat toys, clothing, and gifts.
Homemade Cat Toys
Here are some great homemade cat toy ideas, that will keep your cat happy and your wallet from feeling pinched. But you’ll have to supervise the play with homemade toys, if you don’t you might come back to find your cat hacking on a bit of swallowed feather or string! Remember to put away any homemade toys that might prove dangerous without your supervision.
Anything small enough that your cat might try to swallow it, for example. Feather on a stick. Find yourself a slim but sturdy stick, attach a string to one end and a feather to the end of the string. Just like a fishing pole, with the feather as your bait. And you can use it just like a fishing pole too! Jiggling your feather bait just over the cat’s head and watch as she leaps for it. Occasionally raise the height and drop it, or dance the feather as a moth might dance before a light. In and out, up and down, around and around. Let your cat actually catch and play with the feather from time to time or she’ll get frustrated and walk away.
This game is good for about five minutes, then you should try something else while you’re cat is still having fun. An alternative form to this game is removing the stick and just dangling or dragging the feather or other bait object before your kitty. If you drag it in jerky, flickering motions it will grab her attention faster. When she starts to give chase, race the bait like a mouse away from her, let her give chase as she would a real prey. But remember to let her catch it every once in awhile or she’ll get bored. Crumpled pieces of paper.
This one will require you to get down on the floor at your cat’s level. Lay down and use your arm or your back as a wall to prevent kitty from seeing the little balls of paper. You might also try crouching behind the couch or a chair. Something that makes it more a game of hide and seek for your cat. Now let a crumpled ball peek out so kitty can see, and hide it, then peek out, and hide it. When you have her attention, flick the ball up in an arch over your arm or back and over kitty’s head. She should try to jump, chase and catch the ball. Pouncing on it as it lands.
Another great game that will cost you nothing is a brown paper grocery bag. Very few cats seem to be able to resist such a play item. There’s something about being able to hide inside it, and swat at imaginary mice outside that appeals to them I think. To join the game, place the bag on it’s side with the opening accessible for your kitty. When your cat starts to explore the bag, very softly make little scritching noises on an outside corner of the paper.
Your cat’s eyes should widen with predatory interest and she’ll start looking around for the cause of the sound. Scritch on different parts of the bag, and she’ll start crouching down and trying to swat at each area. You can also try cutting a few small holes in the top and the sides (while kitty is not in the bag of course), and jiggling a piece of cloth or a feather through the holes for her to attack. She’ll love this game!
Play with your Cat!
While most domestic dogs seem to get out at least once or twice a day for a walk, or manage to place their head on your knee with such devotion you can’t seem to say no to a good pet and rub behind the ears, most house cats are unfortunately a bit neglected. They stay indoors all day long and do nothing but eat, sleep and maybe get an occasional stroke down the back. That really isn’t enough mental or physical stimulation for a cat, and may actually affect it’s health or state of mind.
Kittens and younger cats that have a stronger play drive and, sadly, are still “new” enough in the family to inspire more attention, may be alright for awhile. When they’re not getting sought after attention from their human they will let you know by any means they have, including racing full tilt up your pant leg, or attacking your toes as you try to sleep. But as a cat gets older, we seem to think that they no longer require this interactive play, that they are independent and will entertain themselves.
This is completely false! Even a cat kept indoors all it’s life will have a highly developed prey and play drive, that needs to be exercised in order for the cat to be healthy physically as well as mentally. If you can’t devote time to encouraging playtime with your cat, at the very least you should provide her with a wide variety of toys and play things. One or two toys will just NOT be enough. They will lose interest in them very quickly, especially if the toys are just left on the floor for them to play with alone.
A cat left with nothing and nobody to play with will not only be an unhappy cat, but he will often end up overweight or even obese, leading to more serious health problems later in life. I understand that we’re all busy, we have our own lives to live and demands upon our time. But by keeping a pet, you are agreeing to care for that pet, and 15-30 minutes a day of playtime is not too much time to ask for. You can even make your own free cat toys, so you don’t have to worry about placing a strain on your wallet. The best cat toy of all, is actually YOU. Your interaction with your kitty.
Cats play is a mimic of the techniques they’d use in the wild to hunt prey. They like to crouch, pounce, chase, swat and ambush their toys (or you). Try to encourage this behavior by using a toy to mimic the motions a prey animal might make. Darting motions, and quick, fleeing actions with a toy will draw your cats immediate attention, and it will be unable to resist the urge to chase.
Scratching Post or Cat Tree
Scratching is a normal cat behavior, and one that cats are highly motivated to display, so its unrealistic to try to prevent them from scratching. The best thing you can do is offer your cat a place specifically for scratching, and encourage her to use it. A good cat scratching post that’s tall enough for your cat to stretch out full length against is a good buy, but make sure that it’s sturdy and doesn’t wobble before making your purchase.
If your cat is anything like mine, that post will be well used, and should be capable of supporting the full weight of your cat bouncing off it’s side in pursuit of invisible moths, or racing full tilt up it’s length to sky dive from the pinnacle at maximum speed. Even better then a post however, is a cat climbing tree. They’ll cost you a little bit more, but they offer your cat a greater range of play and entertainment. A good cat tree will have more than one place to perch or sleep, and maybe a hole or two that she can play hide and seek in. There are also cat houses, hammocks, window shelves and even cat sized indoor gyms!
