the very best cat things

[peacocks]

get some catnip, put it in a little sock that you tie shut with a shoelace. empty tea bag wrappers rolled up into small balls are good too and a little noisy but less noisy than marbles.

my cat does most of her insect hunting at night. I don't have a bug problem at all and I think Muna is the reason.

[Greg Nog]

Slightly louder than a cloth mouse, but quieter than a marble: my cats love batting around those plastic rings that hold the cap on a gallon of milk before you open it for the first time.  If you look in pet stores, they actually sell things that look a lot like those; they're circles of plastic with little tabs coming off them.  They do a nice skitter skitter when you paw them across the floor, but they're not super-loud.

[clare]

Balled up cellophane (like off a cigarette packet) is great too

[alistarr*]

I know you just said you don't really like buying toys, but we have a little tree thing with feathers dangling off it on elastic strings and also a little round box thing with paw-sized holes in the top and fuzzy balls inside, and those two between them have occupied our kitten for many a night.

Whatever you go for, it's probably worth making sure you take it away from them in the morning and just get it out again at bedtime, so it stays interesting for longer.

[mixed cats]

My cats' all-time favorite toys are little metallic pompoms. You can get a huge bag of the 1" ones for like $3 at a craft store. They still get lost all the time, but then Bill get out a flashlight and goes on "sparklequest" in search of them, and the cats join in because they're getting their toys back.

[hannah]

Slightly louder than a cloth mouse, but quieter than a marble: my cats love batting around those plastic rings that hold the cap on a gallon of milk before you open it for the first time.  If you look in pet stores, they actually sell things that look a lot like those; they're circles of plastic with little tabs coming off them.  They do a nice skitter skitter when you paw them across the floor, but they're not super-loud.

Oh my, Ingeborg loves playing with this, too! Cats are so weird!

These are all excellent suggestions—and I will follow your advise, alistarr*. She's been acting like a real teenager lately... hope she grows out of some (but not all) of her mania!

And she hasn't yet attempted to eat the marble, nor would she be able to—she plays with an extra-large glass marble which she is unable to get a firm grip on, hence the endless delight it provides, and the thing would not go done easy.

Thanks, everyone!

[Ashley]

[elpollodiablo]

Slightly louder than a cloth mouse, but quieter than a marble: my cats love batting around those plastic rings that hold the cap on a gallon of milk before you open it for the first time.  If you look in pet stores, they actually sell things that look a lot like those; they're circles of plastic with little tabs coming off them.  They do a nice skitter skitter when you paw them across the floor, but they're not super-loud.

Oh my, Ingeborg loves playing with this, too! Cats are so weird!

Wriothesley *loves* those. If you throw them away in such a way that he can get at them, he'll fish them out.

[Aglaya]

I had a cat who was crazy for q-tips. I left the drawer where I kept them slightly ajar one day and came home to q-tips EVERYWHERE?

[Babar]

A return of a true legend.

[coldforge]

milk tabs, end of story bro!

[clare]

Drinking straws? 2 of my crazy beasts go beserk for straws.

[peacocks]

Should I get another cat? I will have 2 then. My parents are getting a 4th cat from this litter and that seems a bit excessive. What if I have roommates again some day? Do they really keep each other company? How much more expensive will it be?

[Greg Nog]

They do keep each other company!  I don't feel bad about leaving my cats alone for days, as I know they have each other to interact with.  If it was just one cat, and I went away for a weekend, I'd be riddled with guilt.

[clare]

Two cats is great!! Though you do need to think about what might work in terms of their relationship...my 3rd cat is a good example of that - he's a pain the the arse who loves to stir. He picks fights with anyone and everyone, even the dog - ultimately he jsut wants to play, but no one else likes his style of play (leg biting and stealth attacks). My dad got him to keep his devon rex company, but they were a dreadful match. He doesn't fit in here either, and my other cats are cranky about it all. My dad, on the other hand, got another second cat who works much better with his first cat - the second cat is much younger and female, and very pretty - your standard mid-life-crisis companion for an 8 yo desexed male I guess. Even the bloke hates him (though he doesn't like cats in general, but he particularly dislikes this one) so, yeah... I guess think about your cat's general demographic statistics (sex, age) and get something dissimilar from that?

[Anne the Man]

My/Mother's cats were adopted at separate times. They hate each other. Much of the time they conduct themselves with an armed neutrality, but periodically they fight. Depends how old your cats are, but check it out carefully and see.

[elpollodiablo]

Two cats

we want two cats

black and fluffy

yeah

two cats