Toys With a Four Paw Rating

author Terri Cassiday                                        Xpressions RagaMuffins

Owners’ from the United States wants and needs for their pets has become big business. In fact, over $103 billion was spent last year. In this growing business, owners need to be aware of a business trying to make a quick buck without regard as to your pets health. Toys fit into this category. We want to spoil our RagaMuffins. They are our babies after all. What must be kept in mind before purchasing any toy is how safe they are for your cat. RagaMuffins play hard and tend to need sturdier toys. Continue to examine and dispose of toys that are showing wear. A variety of toys are best for your kitty. Keep in mind toys that will keep them stimulated. They don’t have to be costly. Some of my cats favorites are the most inexpensive. The down side is that the inexpensive toys such as the springs, wool balls and boinks play havoc with vacuums. The upside is that replacing them costs little.

Over the years we have purchased many, many, MANY toys. Yes, we have contributed greatly to the $103 billion industry. After all those purchases, several have been our RagaMuffins favorites. Hopefully, this list will help some of you wade through the thousands of toys available. Above we mentioned the springs, boinks and wool balls. Among these inexpensive and most loved are ping pong balls and the little rabbit fur mice with leather tails. Our cats LOVE these! However, keeping track of them is not one of the things I love.

Next on our list is a tunnel. There are tunnels that are made out of many fabrics. Sturdy fabrics are the best. Two things need to be considered before purchasing. The first being the size of the opening. The diameter of some tunnels are not made for the size of the RagaMuffin. The second being the durability of the wires. Wires can break or fray which can cause serious injuries. We tend to buy children’s tunnels that are tested for such things.

Laser lights are good to use periodically for short periods. These should be used only by responsible owners that are cognizant of the potential dangers. We never use the toys that you place on the floor with laser light. They cannot control keeping the light away from your RagaMuffins eyes. There have been some studies that say laser lights can cause behavioral problems. Using them periodically has not been a problem for us, but the choice is yours.

Pyramids and tracks that have balls firmly secured in them are favorites with our kittens as well as the puzzle boxes. They do not keep our adults attention very long. Hexbugs are very exciting to cats. The prey drive in our cats is highly stimulated. The down side is their size. Cats should not be left alone with them! Supervision is necessary not only for your cat, but if they get under something you can’t move, they buzz for hours. Teasers of all kinds are a necessity. Once again, because of the size of the RagaMuffin, it’s worth the extra cost to get sturdy ones. I hesitate to mention brands, but by far the ones that have lasted the longest are dabird by Go Cat. They have several different attachments which can be purchased to keep your cat interested. Feathers, rabbit fur, insects are just a few of them. These are also not to be left out unattended.

We have purchased almost every interactive toy out there. They are mostly used for the kittens because our adults either figure out how they work and dismantle them or are bored by them. The best in our RagaMuffins view is the one that goes in circles underneath the thin material. The adults learned very quickly to sit on the rod that makes the feather move making it a breeze to rip off the feather. The latest interactive toy we bought is great in concept, but made poorly. It’s a spinning ball that flashes different colors. On the ball you can latch on different attachments. This is placed in a poorly made small tunnel with ends that tie. When the cats see the flashing lights as well as the shadows, they get excited. It’s only good until the big cats rip open and destroy the tunnel. Game over!

These are the toys we found that our RagaMuffins like the best besides empty water bottles and paper towel rolls. Hopefully, this makes navigating through the myriad of toys easier.