We see things differently to cats 😉 – of course; but an area where this simple statement applies very strongly is in commercial products for cats. There is a huge market in cat products of all kinds: colorful toys that do extraordinary things, cat trees that are very intricate and cosy and cat beds that look wonderfully comfortable to us. But…
We see these cat products through the consumer-orientated lens of human eyes. They are manufactured for the use of cats but also, and importantly, to catch our attention. We are the buyers. The first task of the manufacturers and sellers is to get us, the retail consumer, to buy the thing. Therefore it has to look attractive to us. The second and less important objective for the sellers is to please the cat.
This amusing and well made video supports that proposition. “Cat Logic” is the wrong title. For me, it should be “Illogical Human”.
Have you experienced the situation where you like the look of something for your cat but are reluctant to buy it because in the back of your mind you think, “will he use it?”.
Are you wasting money? Cats don’t see attractive (by human standards) toys, they see a place to hide and feel secure (bed or tree) or prey (cat toy). You can make toys and beds very easily from house waste.
I am no exception. I’d rather buy a fancy toy than make one! Pathetic really but very human nonetheless.
Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.
My cats love crispy paper, the lazer light and gift bags big enough to crawl into 🙂
Furby says don’t forget the paper that comes in boxes. He LOVED paper.
Just making a mess on the floor with wrapping paper causes intense excitement in a cat 😉
Cat toy homemade:
No work required: empty clean plastic pill bottle with cap on (you can put dry food inside to make it rattle); empty clean plastic bottle of liquid tears, eye drops: cat spins it
empty paper towel roll, punch hole at end tie shoelace and you can play with cat at safe distance from claws
Yes, good ideas. The truth is home made is best very often.
Cats do get tired of most toys pretty quick. Here is the best cat toy I’ve ever found. Take 4-5 wide large rubber bands and tie a string, about three feet, tightly around one side of all of them. Now cut the other sides into making it a spider like toy. Cats love it and it’s free. It works best with the other end of the string tied to a 2-3 ft. stick. Bob
Fantastic cat toy tip. Thanks Bob. Homemade cat toys are the best really.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/homemade-cat-toys.html
Great idea! My Oz loves elastic bands anyways so he should really like this idea!
One more thing…had a cat that went crazy over brillo pads…those soapy steel wool things you clean your pots and pans with.
Forget the fancy toys…my cats love cardboard boxes, the empty litter bags that are made of heavy paper, the little cups that cover the bolts on your toilet, and any other odd thing that just left laying around.
Thanks for your comment.
I had fogotten about the toilet bolt covers.
Where in the hell are they now? No idea. Probably wherever my bank debit card is.
My cats occasionally play with the small plastic ball which i through around the house.They are also exercised for agility with a broomstick that attracts their attention and makes them stand on their two legs .This is normally exhibited on the “Cat Show Table” in cat shows as i witnessed in my first cat show in Mumbai.The cat shown in the photo is the normal Mumbai street cat which the “Indian Cat federation” is trying to set up as a new “BILLIE BREED” .
The cat tease is the only cat toy that is sure to please a cat every time but as for all toys cats lose interest fairly quickly often.
MY CATS FAVORITE IS A OLD FISHING POLE WITH A RIBBON TIED ON THE END AND FEATHERS TIED ON THE RIBBON AND ME WAVING IT IN THE AIR.CATS ARE JUMPING EVERYWHERE-LOL
I think it is better if we make them at home with care but not everyone can make, here in Pakistan they are so costly, Rs. 6000 to 50,000 average, it is better I make them with in my range and soon I will show you all my work <3
😀
I can hardly wait, Ahsan.
I could use some new ideas of what to make.
Over the years countless cat beds have ended up at Kays Hill Cattery because our very ungrateful boyz prefer their tried and trusted ones. We’ve tried allsorts of materials, shapes and sizes, to no avail.
We started making our own catnip toys when their toy box filled up with cast off bought ones lol
But I can’t say much as I like my tried and trusted old stuff too 😉
Cat toys are a bit like shoes and clothes. A lot are not used. People can get into buying as a form of retail therapy. That applies to cat products. I have just bought a cat tree. I think of all the cat products cat trees are one of the best and often used by cats because they provide the vertical space cats like. I am preparing for my rescue cat 😉
Some days I’m just crazed to wake up to what has been shredded everywhere. A cardboard box may last 3 days; a roll of paper towels or bath tissue 30 minutes; curtains 3 months.
There was a time when I could afford the latest and greatest but not today. Those things aren’t what they want anyway. They want whatever I happen to drop on the kitchen floor by mistake. They’ll swat that piece of lettuce around until it’s not recognizable as lettuce anymore.
It takes a long time to learn that it’s not money that brings enjoyment; it’s the simple things.
One of my spare rooms is about 1/4 filled with the “nonsense” cat stuff that I’ve spent money for over the years.
Except for scratching posts, I don’t spend much money anymore for the glib and glamore that will become yard sale items someday.
The toys of attraction here are cardboard boxes, pocketbooks, cabinets, any paper product, warm just-out-of-the-dryer clothes in a basket, and cheap stuffed animals from Goodwill that I cram catnip into.
Happily, used tampons and sanitary napkins aren’t available here anymore.
Long ago you cottoned-on to the fact that cats like the basics: cardboard boxes and scrunched up paper 😉
My cats love canvas shopping bags, empty dry kibble bags, cardboard boxes and Sealy has an electric frying skillet he loves to curl up in to nap. Our youngest likes to nap on a full box of Sheba and in a tiny box sitting on my desk.
As for toys, the 5 year old turbo scratcher and a $1 laser light are their favs. I hit thrift stores for decorative pillows to go on their tables or in a box.
Furby won a $115 cat cave and every so often a cat will nap in it but not often.
It is nice to see that some of the toys you have bought are genuinely used and favourites. I think we should remember those. Bags and boxes rule. The cardboard box is probably the most popular cat product and it is free.