best cat-toy...ever-

[Beaker]

if you haven't had the pleasure of watching your cat go nuts chasing the "Evil Red Dot"- you need to get yourself one of those laser-pointers...it's really fun making the E.R.D. go into something and hide- a vase, a shoe, the other cat's ear...use your imagination, for hours of feline fun.

[oxymoron]

1. They love it.

You just need to be VERY careful to keep it away from their eyes.

[Southsideirish]

2. Now I heard that those kind of toys are extremely frustrating for cats

and very bad for them in the long run in that they have no fulfillment at the end.
I know I used to play with my cats with a flashlight on the wall and they went nuts and it was very funny to me but it makes sense that, especially for indoor cats, the net result of the "game" would be anxiety producing. 'May sound stupid to some but it makes sense that needless stress isn't good - health wise- for any creature.

[Beaker]

3. moderation is the key-

they need the exercise, and i need the amusement.

[Piltdown13]

4. I had the same thought myself

I think it depends on the cat, though. My cat LOVES the laser dot; he's even managed to make the association between the pointer itself and the dot (gets all excited when one of us picks it up), though I don't think he realizes that he'll never be able to catch it. No signs of frustration at all. Of course, this is a cat who loves to pounce on the newspaper even if there's no toy under it, and for him, chasing the dot or a mouse or a string seems to be more of an excuse to run all over the place and hurtle into boxes and bags than an actual quest to catch something.

But, your cat's mileage may vary...

[tridim]

7. I agree, however

my kitty figured out real quick that it's a pointless game. She doesn't even bother to chase it any more. My dog loves chase the laser but I can tell it ends up pissing her off after about 5 minutes. She'd much rather play fetch for hours and hours and hours.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. I always give her a good big piece of chicken or ham afterwards

she does not seem to mind at all.

[jean]

5. we have used our laser to entertain the squirrels

out in the woods behind our house. We got one to chase the dot in a spiral down the trunk of a big oak.

Our cat has long since figured the red dot out, can't be tricked with it these days.

[sasquatch]

6. Ours love toy mice and catnip

They get charged up on the nip, then they beat the stuffing out of the mouse. They've torn up two mice already.

[Lefty48197]

8. Best cat toy ever?

That little plastic ring on top of the milk jug. Hours of fun, and a never ending supply of toys to lose under the fridge!

[DuctapeFatwa]

9. Intercepted memo from unnamed feline source

I ordered my hopelessly fur-impaired human to get one of those stupid laser pointers. If your pet human doesn't have one yet, start sending out those vibes (God will I be glad when they finally learn to communicate normally)

They think, ok I know it sounds nuts, but they think the stupid little light frustrates us. Can you believe that?!?

They are so cute though! Mine flashes it around, looks at me and laughs and laughs. He never gets tired of watching me "chase" it and pretend I don't know what a laser pointer is. A couple of times when I've had a really tiring day and just don't feel like fooling around, I have actually tried to TELL her look, cats don't get frustrated, one, and we are quite familiar with everything Office Depot sells, two.

You know it's bad when you catch yourself talking to your human as if they were a real cat who can understand you.

Of course, she just made that silly laughing noise and kept waving the damn laser pointer around.

I left her to it and went into the kitchen to find the sushi.

[Don_G]

10. The Best Cat Toy I Ever Got

Was a rabbit fur-ball at the end of a two-foot wire avaiable at Kroger's for $1.95.

They tend to entertain themselves and I can't change their attitudes.

[Catshrink]

12. Mine love a dangling shoelace...

it's the best toy ever. A laser pointer is good, too. And the Video Catnip DVD is totally awesome. Ricky Retardo goes apeshit when I play it for him.

[Philosophy]

13. My old roommate had a cat

The only games it would play was "fetch" with a wadded up ball of tinfoil, and intentionally knocking over full drink glasses. She was a very strange kitty.

[Shakespeare]

14. One of my two cats is TERRIFIED of the flashlight beam.

He's a 20-pound beast, and afraid of his shadow. His approximate reaction to seeing the flashlight beam moving near him: "DON'T LET IT TOUCH ME! DON'T LET IT TOUCH ME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGHH!!! HELP!"

:eyes:

Really tough cat.

[Lorien]

15. "Da Bird"

Get's rave reviews from my guys.It's a sort of "fishing pole" with different "lure" omn the end (usually feathers that look birdlike when dragged through the air). Oberon prefers the mylar and raffia lores best (makes a kitten attracting noise), but you have to watch them with the mylar. it can be torn off and swallowed.

"did you say "toys"?

"Now don't taunt me with the "T" word"!
Obie's other favorite toy is his buddy Puck

Coincidentaly, Oberon is Puck's favorite toy as well!

[Madrone]

16. 2nd Da Bird...

My cats LOOOOOOOOVE that thing! They like the original feather attachment thtat started it all. I have to hide it out of reach or they pull it out and chew all the feathers off in one sitting when I am not paying attention.

Not all the cats love the laser pointer, one REALLY does, and one kinda does, but now my puppy (just turned 1 in December) takes over during laser pointer time, so the kitties won't come out after it. The dog LOOOVES it.

[SOteric]

17. Eh. One of my cats likes it. The other won't bite.

[blondeatlast]

18. A flashlight sometimes works, too.

I had a cat that would chase it to the point of exhaustion.

Much fun.

[nuxvomica]

19. My cat goes nuts for "Kitty Torture"

The wire with little cardboard rolls on each end. He has taken me to it many times in a frustrated effort to get me to play. I find it boring and will only accommodate him for an hour or so at a time. I know he's had too much when he mounts the back of the sectional, his eyes get black as coal and he whips his head from side to side.

[Lorien]

20. Is that the actual name

of the product?

Just thought of another one; small balls of tin foil! Real kitty pleasers-and cheap too! :-)

[nuxvomica]

21. Y'know, I'm not really sure

That's what we've always called them but I can't picture what the name on the packaging was. I have so many now, in various parts of the house, that I haven't need to buy one in a while.

[geniph]

29. It's actually called the Kitty Tease

one of my three will ONLY play with that toy. She goes and retrieves it from wherever I've kicked it in frustration after tripping over it in the hall in the middle of the night and drags it around, yowling a very particular yowl.

One loves any kind of elasticized string or rubber band (I don't let him have them when I'm not around, as surgery to remove them from stomachs can be quite expensive). He'll pull on the string and try to get me to pull the other end. If I start twanging it like a guitar string, he puts his ears down, wrinkles his nose, but refuses to let go. It's the funniest face you've ever seen. The elastic band totally pisses him off, but he fetches them for hours if you keep shooting them across the room.

The other one will play with pretty much anything (da Bird turned him into Amazing Flying Kitty), but has a deep-seated fetish for his sheepskin rat. He waits until he's alone, then carries it around like a kitten, howling at the top of his lungs. If you come out and ask him what the hell he's doing, he spits it out and looks abashed.

[grannylib]

22. We used to have this thing called a "kitty carnival;" it was a base

covered in carpet, on which was mounted a tube (on its side) about a foot in diameter. This was also carpeted on the outside, and had that fake sheepskin fleece stuff inside. Then hanging from the inside top of the tube was a little toy on an elastic; it looked like a little really fuzzy spider with leather legs, and our babycat, Layla, DESTROYED that thing in about a month after we first brought her home!
She amputated all the legs from the little toy in the first week, and utterly trashed the rest of it in record time...it was hilarious watching her on that thing!

[camero]

23. Still nothin like a good old fashioned piece of yarn.

Hours of fun. :)

[ohiosmith]

24. Best cat toy ever..........a live hamster.

[Lostmessage]

25. Your bad!

I was going to say a mouse.

[ohiosmith]

26. It's actually a baby squirrel.

[Lostmessage]

27. My Boys like Furry Mice that come in a can of catnip

When they are done playing with them I put them back and they get that fresh saliva catnip smell on them again.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

28. My kittens love that laser

and it's very entertaining to me. I shine it on the walls and ceiling. On the other hand, on of my friends cats is terrified of it. She spends her time backing away from it. They also love the feather "lure" on the end of a string. They chatter their teeth together when i wiggle it and when they catch it, they try to walk off with it, head held high. They think they are sooo baaad.
They also like anything make with rabbit fur or feathers.