Automated cat toys

Jasconius

I need some links to some good automated cat toys.

I bought one from Petsmart and it was a piece of shit and didn't even work... so I'm not chancing that again. I'd like to hear from the cat pros, aka this forum, the singularity of all cat knowledge.

My cats favorite things in the universe are the laser pointer, and feathered shit. Also anything small enough to fit underneath a closed door. That's just fucking amazing to her.

If I could find something that moves by itself, I would not have to spend 6 hours a day appeasing her (she is a very needy feline).

Nothing much over 50-70 dollars preferably.

Lemon needs your help

Thank you, cat experts.

dorin

I had a plastic mouse that would just wander around the room, and change directions when it bumped into stuff. They loved it, but it ate batteries like candy. If you could find something like that, but maybe wind-up or something, that would probably work well.

TychoCelchuuu

Maybe, like, another cat.

Aurin

Yeah, another cat would probably be your best bet. Also, cat perches with feathered toys. I got one from Petco that has a pair on them, and if my cats aren't attacking each other, they're attacking that. Generally I'm only used as a napping point anymore, unless I break out the feather on a stick. :P

Plus, two cats aren't any harder to take care of than one. I've got three and it's still easy. ;-)

E.Coyote

The bolt laser pointer toy comes to mind, it's around $20. The main issue is that cats will get bored of just about anything. Our cats are more interested in ping pong balls and felt mice.

Bliss 101

Seconding (thirding? fourthing?) the another cat idea.

I bought several fancy and expensive cat toys for my cat, and he would invariably either be afraid of them, play with them for 2 seconds before getting bored, or just sniff at them once before giving me a "what the hell were you thinking?" look. His favorite toys always consisted of crumpled up pieces of paper, metal bottle caps, and the laser pointer, all of which required me to participate (well, he did love playing with the noisiest bottle caps at night when I was trying to sleep). I think the social element is important to cats; they'll get bored playing with things on their own.

GalFriday

Weazel Ball!.

Awesome cat toy. Also amusing for humans.

FirstComradeStalin

I remember a friend who would let a feathered toy dangle from a ceiling fan, and the cats had a ball trying to swat at it as it swung around

Edit: v Didn't realize that could happen, fuck this noise v

Kate of Lokys

My cat's favourite toy in the world is a piece of plastic-coated metal wire - I think it might actually have been one of the twist-ties holding a Nerf gun in its package, but now it's kind of an irregular loop, bent in the middle. She will spend half an hour at a time playing with the damned thing, just tossing it around, chasing after it, batting it against a chair leg, I've even seen her carrying it around in her mouth. She has furry mice and catnip toys and balls, but the only thing she plays with on her own is that damned piece of wire.

The problem with automated cat toys is that if they run all the time, the cat just gets bored of them and ignores them, and if they require human activation, well, you might as well just be playing with him. Safety is also something of an issue with mechanized toys - attaching a toy to a ceiling fan is convenient and hilarious right up until you leave the house or go take a shower or something, and come back to find your cat gushing blood from a torn-out claw because his claw got snagged in the toy and he couldn't get it out and the fan motor was strong enough to just drag him around the floor until the claw was ripped out of his paw. If you're going to use something like a fan, you need to be in the room with the cat while he's playing... and again, at that point, why not just wave the toy around yourself?

Keep trying toys until your cat finds something he likes. Olivecat fucking *loves* her some boxes - when we bought a new bookcase, we cut a couple of different-sized holes in the big cardboard box it came in, and she spent most of a day just wiggling in and out of her awesome new kitty cave. Some cats love toilet paper rolls, some love the little plastic rings from milk jugs, some love newspaper - just keep experimenting.

riz

My aunt's cat was obsessed with this ridiculous thing: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19218 It's basically an endless loop that makes a string go by and wiggle at the cat. My cat was briefly amused by it but I think the motorized sound put her off. But again my aunt's cat would stare at it for hours, so YMMV.

Psychotic One

I've heard the bendy drinking straws are fun for cats if they like to swat at things. Also little crinkly balls.

I would also maybe recommend a box or something. Videos online seem to suggest cats live solely to jump into boxes.

Maybe something like this?
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/pets/b861/

Bionic Monkey

About five years ago, I got my cat this:

Similar to that weasel ball. But this could be triggered by the cat by himself, either via noise or by moving it. The gyro inside would spin around causing it to move around the room, and it would light up. Tears through batteries like crazy, but that's what recyclables are for.

Sadly, I have no idea where you could get one now, as I would buy another myself, since the gyro has since worn out. It still lights up, but it doesn't move any longer. I picked it up at a KB Toys way back when, but they're long since gone, so that's just not an option any more.

Edit: Shit, shows me. I just went looking again, and found it after two google searches. $15.

Jasconius

GalFriday wrote: »

Weazel Ball!.

Awesome cat toy. Also amusing for humans.

2.99? Sold. I think she would like this a lot actually. She loves anything that looks like a tail.



I don't want to/can't get another cat right now. The fees where I live are really high and if I got caught with two cats I would be writing a ridiculously large check.

I'll have to wait until I move or something. Until then, I have to appease her.

Thanks for all the links, I'll try a few of these I think.

Kitten Swarm

Another toy I used for my hyperactive boy is a treat ball for puppies. I just put a few things of treats in there and it amuses him for a good 10 minutes, and makes him manipulate it and think.

Windows with a good perch and a birdfeeder outside are a great "cat tv" for amusing them. The Kong "Wubba" toy has become his teddy bear. He carries it around like a dog and sleeps with it sometimes. But really there's no helping a lone cat. They'll mostly sleep through the day and then pester you for attention when you get home.

JebusUD

Jasconius wrote: »

GalFriday wrote: »

Weazel Ball!.

Awesome cat toy. Also amusing for humans.

2.99? Sold. I think she would like this a lot actually. She loves anything that looks like a tail.



I don't want to/can't get another cat right now. The fees where I live are really high and if I got caught with two cats I would be writing a ridiculously large check.

I'll have to wait until I move or something. Until then, I have to appease her.

Thanks for all the links, I'll try a few of these I think.

I came here to suggest weazel ball too. That is a great toy for cat and people alike. It can be kind of loud though, so it might scare the cat a bit. Makes a noise quite like a mixer motor. Not too loud, but might scare the cat.

Tofystedeth

If you can put up with the noise, we got our cats a little cloth covered plastic mouse that makes this chirping noise when it's moved sharply. They love it. Well, one does. She'll toss it all over the place. The other one will mostly ignore it, until about 9 in the morning when he'll "catch" it, and then bring it into the bedroom to show us so we can be proud of him. And it was just a few bucks.