Light price, tons of fun

We've bought a number of toys for our cats, but I have to say that while they have their favorite toys that they can chew on, which is good for them, the best toy we've bought for the kids yet cost us about $3.

And that was a package of 6 brightly colored high quality ping-pong balls.

The cats go nuts on them because they can't grasp them. They are lightweight, so they bat around very fast and loose little momentum. And if you step on one in the middle of the night, it simply crushes, it doesn't shatter or break.

And if you happen to have hardwood floors or similar, you are *really* in for a treat. :)
James & Penny play a lot, but they play harder with the pingpong balls than with any other toy. And while they enjoy having them on the carpet, they go absolutely nuts on the hardwood. :rofl:

So true Neural! We got a pack of 4 ping pong balls for the lads, and they are all lost. We have hard floors downstairs and a nice big living room, so they absolutely tear around after the ball. It gets a bit noisy though, when you're trying to concentrate on something!

As for a cheap toy, they do love a scrunched up piece of scrap paper, especially an envelope with a 'window' in it, as it makes quite a noisy scrunchy sound. Sometimes I roll it into a ball, and other times I roll it into a long sausage, just for variety.

Yep they are brilliant aren't they,we have bright pink ones around here,when we go to buy them I always say I have to try them out for cat "bounceability" & boy do they all fly around with them,will admit to leaving them under the furniture on occasions along with the mice that travel well to get a bit of peace & quiet,when the white stick comes out though & you join them on all fours the excitement builds up because it means mum is going to fish them all out,great,you didn't really want to hear the TV,did you....?

Try Starbucks frapuccino straws, with both ends tied off in knots; they're difficult to grip so the cat doesn't get bored with trying, and when they finally get one in their mouth it's easy to lug it round the house (once the ends have been tied off, otherwise Freyja looks like a trapeze artist who's lost her trapeze...). Better still, fill the straw with water and THEN tie it off and chuck in in the freezer, great for teething. And if you want to really keep them interested, stuff the tiniest pieces of kibble inside! Freyja will play for ages with them and we find them all over the house now!

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Originally Posted by FreyjaRoMaine

Try Starbucks frapuccino straws, with both ends tied off in knots; they're difficult to grip so the cat doesn't get bored with trying, and when they finally get one in their mouth it's easy to lug it round the house (once the ends have been tied off, otherwise Freyja looks like a trapeze artist who's lost her trapeze...). Better still, fill the straw with water and THEN tie it off and chuck in in the freezer, great for teething. And if you want to really keep them interested, stuff the tiniest pieces of kibble inside! Freyja will play for ages with them and we find them all over the house now!

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Wow FreyjaRoMaine, cheap, creative fun to be had there! I'm liking it! Now where's my nearest Starbucks???

All Ikea stuff is what we buy for out cats the tunnels the tents the tents with balls and the hanging things don't know what they are called made of mesh and in bright colours... cats love them!! who needs cat toys!!

Harry's favourite is the mesh washing basket or an empty shoe box (where we keep his toys) he tips them all out and them attempts to sit in it. Of course for a special treat he loves anything catnip treated which ends up soaking wet. At the show yesterday we bought him a few bits and bobs including a catnip cigar, soooo funny watching him with that !

Have I got the only cat that catnip does nothing for?!?

Seriously, she's got this great soft towelling mouse that's absolutely rammed with catnip, and she uses it as a pillow!

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Originally Posted by FreyjaRoMaine

Have I got the only cat that catnip does nothing for?!?

Seriously, she's got this great soft towelling mouse that's absolutely rammed with catnip, and she uses it as a pillow!

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I've heard that it's a matter of genetics as to whether a cat responds to catnip or not. Maybe Frejya doesn't have the catnip gene? Or is this a myth? Any breeders out there who can shed some light on this?

We have lots of speedy balls as we call them and I have to move the sofa out at least once a week or so to get the ones out which are out of paw reach! Its my understanding that the cat nip effect only lasts for so long then stops, or so I was told by a vet anyway but given his sense of humour this could be wrong!

Yep it is all down to good old jeans... some cats will go wild if given a catnip toy others just look on with a 'what the hell is wrong with you' look on their faces. It isn't always the skittish ones that are nip junkies either; Mynx is a very highly strung tortie and she is utterly unaffected but Dad, very noble, 'I'm not playing games' sort of cat absolutly goes wild, we had to confinscate his catnip present at one show cos we thought he was going to demolish the pen! Mynx's mum isn't affected either

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Originally Posted by Helen & John

We have lots of speedy balls as we call them and I have to move the sofa out at least once a week or so to get the ones out which are out of paw reach! Its my understanding that the cat nip effect only lasts for so long then stops, or so I was told by a vet anyway but given his sense of humour this could be wrong!

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I think this years prize for all toys has got to be my butterflys, we can buy them here with a little clip, they have little feather wings and we also have little birds with tails you put them on your dried grasses or clip them on to your large pot plants... I had about 50 in different colours all over the house, all I have found this weekend is... dead plastic bodies minus all coverings.....



the other favorite is the box my Royal canin food comes in... if I only order 4 large bags it comes by the Deutsch post... they are huge long boxes..... take the packing off leave them anywhere and in they climb all day playing!!:drool1:

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Originally Posted by Howlinbob

I've heard that it's a matter of genetics as to whether a cat responds to catnip or not. Maybe Frejya doesn't have the catnip gene? Or is this a myth? Any breeders out there who can shed some light on this?

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Trust me to get the broken cat... mind you, when she's in psycho mode, the last thing I want is a psychotic booster from a cat nip hit! I might email the breeder to see what her mum and dad are like with cat nip, hadn't thought of doing that before but if it's genetic her folks might be the same.

Try ping pong balls in the bath too, hours of fun and they don't go missing either

Scrunched up crisp packets, ours sits there and waits for the empty packet and paws it til you scrunch it

Also she loves tiny bits of string/nylon - usually when I buy beads, they come on a bit of nylon stuff that has memory qualities, so she plays with those as they always seem to spring back to where they were before

That reminds me, ours go loopy for guitar strings. When OH is putting new strings on, it's chaos!

Just had our tea and it brings to mind another winner in the toy stakes - a chip, especially if thieved off a plate on the dining table, makes it so much more fun. I swear they are loads more into the game if they have pinched it themselves. They growl over it, do amazing jumps in the air for it, hide it in my shoes and then try to get it out again, and eventually they'll eat it. Then they come back for another one.

And that's cheap as chips!!!