Best Cat Toys For Indoor Cats (An Actually Helpful Video)

This is not the typical best cat product recommendation video. I will go into detail about each category of product and how effective it will be for your cats. This is to help you pinpoint the product that you might need the most for your cats.

I will also be ranking them on how effective they are at providing our cats with an engaging and stimulating experience.

There are too many cat toys and products that are very lacking and not enough focus is on our cat's natural instincts. Luckily there are some exceptions and jewels within the cat toy market and I will talk about some of them here.

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:05 Cat Toy Categories and Ranking Effectiveness
2:47 Category 1: Stationary Toys
4:43 Stationary Toys Best For?
5:26 Stationary Toys Recommendations
6:04 How Many Stationary Toys to Have?
6:34 Space Saving Stationary Toys
7:33 Category 2: Cat Play Environment + Recommendations
9:19 Cat Play Environment Best For?
10:06 How Many Play Environment Products To Have?
10:38 Category 3: Cat Interactive Toys
11:18 Interactive Toys Best For?
12:47 Which Interactive Toy To Get?
13:40 Interactive Toys Important Notes
14:56 Conclusion

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Some product links are affiliate links which means that I receive a small commission whenever you purchase the item. This goes towards supporting my website and channel. Thanks so much!
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[strandedinseattle]

Putting my own findings here for anyone else in search of kitty entertainment!
We have two indoor adult kitties who live in a one bedroom apartment with balcony area.

We have a suet bird feeder and a hummingbird feeder on the balcony to draw a variety of birds to our apartment for the cats to watch. We can even trust the cats with the screen door open, they only watch the birds and do not attack. I would not advise this if your cats will attack the birds, let them watch from the screen window.

I have a number of "Cat videos" bookmarked for them to watch on my computer or I use Chromecast and put it on the TV. So they can watch fish, squirrels, birds, digital games, etc. These only work if your cat is naturally curious and watches your TV/device screen already. Added animal sounds vs musical score are bonus.

One of our cats loves water, so we got her a water fountain to drink from, but we also got the birds outside a bird bath to splash in and excite our kitty. She likes to drink from the bathroom sink, too, so sometimes we fill the sink up and put these little electric swimming fish toys in there for her.

Our other cat is all about places to sharpen his claws (both are, but one more than the other), so we have a slew of different places for him to do this rather than on the furniture. He especially loves the Fukumaru cardboard boxes with inserts, and they use these boxes to sleep in, play in, hide in, scratch in, and play tag around. We have like 4 of these floating around our house in various spots. Also, cardboard houses with scratch pads in them are a big hit with our cats (You can get holiday themed ones and the likes).

We make sure they have many places to lounge/sleep with soft bed or blanket textures for their paws (they can tell the difference).

Cat trees are essential. They need the opportunity to go upwards vertically and claim territory to look down upon their domain. We have one in each room. If you go for suction cup spots for the cats, make sure your cats are not so heavy as to cause said perch to fall while in/on it or that it might break what it is attached to. When our kitty became adult, he is huge now and the window used to protest so much when he laid in his window hammock, we were sure it would break so we had to get rid of it. There's no way our other cat could have used it, either.

Treat puzzle balls works well with one of our cats.

Electric "bugs" which skitter on the floor works well with our other cat.

Last year we made a little cricket house and bought 6 crickets for it. The cats LOVED the heck out of this thing like nothing else. They loved listening to the crickets chirp and move around (the bug bin was put out of their reach for the most part, but taken down for them to sit and watch with constant supervision from myself or my partner in case it got knocked around too much). Crickets only live up to four months, but they are super easy to maintain. Great "cat TV" stuff right there, and cheap.

Our cats have loads of toys in all shapes, textures, colors, tastes.. Robot toys, drones, crinkle toys, mice, etc. You name it, they've got it. But the toys they love best are the interactive stick ones which requires their humans to be involved. Lately we've been making custom stick toys for them catered to their preferences.. We just buy long wooden dowels from the hardware store and cut them into cat toy wands, drill holes in one end and use some elastic beading string from the craft store. Here, we suspend all sorts of toys and feathers and bells -different stuff to tempt them. And we put all interactive toys away when play time is done, it makes them all the more in demand when kitty gets playful. (Plus, no worries of kitty choking on string while unattended).

I hope that gives people some ideas!

[shin]

Honestly the best feeling for a pet owner is seeing your beloved pets playing with the expensive thing you bought for them as intended

[winterrain]

My cat ignores any toy I ever spent money on. But has a blast with a wad of paper.

[AbusiveWaterfowl]

Your videos are awesome, they fit my niche perfectly. I'm currently living with two kittens in a one bedroom apartment and your advice has been SO helpful with these vids. Seriously, thank you!

[mphish]

Never seen that rug thing before, and it looks like something my kitten will love! Thank you!

[_littlefish_]

„A bored cat is usually a destructive one.“ - It’s supposed to be the same with teenagers. 😜

[HeronCoyote]

My cat’s favorite toy is the tri-tunnel (PetSmart Whisker City is what I get; I have two now). He loves hiding in it, ready to pounce on whoever moves by. I love dangling a wand toy over the center hole, dropping it in, then watching him dive bomb into the hole, often tipping at least one arm over himself, sometimes flipping the entire unit completely over. It’s like a giant kicker toy!

[MyMegaJOKER]

The cat dancer is by far the favorite toy in our house. Cheap and durable as well. Recommend to everyone

[sunshinesmile]

One of the best videos out there on this subject. Please keep coming out with these videos. Incredibly informative and insightful.
Subscribed!

[sourkraut]

I get groceries in paper bags. Just leave a few open on the floor and you have cat fun galore.

[xenedraabourque]

I had a kitten once his name was Loki. He use to play 🏈 football with me. I would throw a small little cat ball in the shape of a football and I say: Hut Hut, throw it and he would run after it roll off the wall and catch it and bring it back to me. It was the funniest thing because most people don't teach their kittens to play fetch.

[jcbarquet]

That was clear and very well made, thanks for putting out this video. It really helped me understand what my cat needs for play. All the best!

[jamesmingace]

I respect your video. Thank you for making it. 😊😊😊

[britndayz]

I am smitten. Wow you are a cutie. With cute cats. Thanks so much, I'm cat sitting and now I'm excited about what I can do to make this shy kitty feel more at home.

[TurtleKitty-]

I have one cat and a fairly nice sized place. Omg.., I have 2 kitty condos, a cat tree, lots and lots of windows too (that is like my cat’s “smart phone”) as she is addicted to the windows! But I also have 2 different sized tunnels…and those have been REALLY fun for her. I also rotate a whole bunch of wand type toys and an assortment of little stuffed toys too. I also bought two different mechanical type small (but kinda heavy-ish) moveable toys….she is NOT into those! Bummer. But….that grey carpet thing looks VERRRY interesting, and I really think my cat would LOVE that one!

She already loves to chase things if I move a string or one of her wand toys under my carpets. The thing is, my cat gets bored fast, and she is strictly a one cat per household type of cat (this was strongly suggested when I got her from the shelter) so…as much as I would like to get her a playmate, I am not feeling this would be wise. She had a kitten (she gave birth before being spayed) and became real aggressive towards this kitten. She also gets super wound up when she sees the next door cat outdoors in the neighbor’s yard…then tells me all about it. Gets real feisty!! (Sometimes towards ME!)

Anyway….my cat is super smart and I have to constantly provide her with new things or create new ways of playing with the same toys….and yes, I use catnip….rotate toys, I also play with her…a lot. Oh yes….a laser pointer too, is something I use as well.
Thank you for this vid! Good ideas

[KennethEvaluate]

Very well made video. Thanks for sharing!

[karencrecco]

My senior girls love the turbo scratch. The flipping fish was a flop! They love their cat trees and the light balls that they can chase.

[kenishahammond]

Excellent video. Thank you for sharing!

[Loverofallthingsliving]

After losing my Millie this July I vowed I would never let another cat outside ever again (unless I take them for a walk) fast forward to now and I’m adopting a kitten soon and have been trying to do as much research on indoor cats as I can. The fact that you have videos AND an article link is soo helpful. Merci beaucoup, your channel is a life saver ❤

[madelinealvey]

One of my cats just loved watching your cats play. Mx