Cat toys

There are many different dog toys available, but cat toys are much more limited. I'd love to hear about toys you have purchased or made, and how your cats responded to them. Cost and availability would be good to share as well.

The original "Cat Dancer" is great - endlessly entertaining for the cats, easy to use and very inexpensive (normally under $3.00 US). It can be found on this website,
http://catdancer.com/products.htm, but is easily found in petstores. It comes in a small, flat plastic envelope, which can make it easy to ignore in stores. But it contains an excellent toy! Even our older, limited-mobility cats can't resist it.

Almost every cat seems to love a cardboard box. Big boxes are fun, but the smaller the box, the more likely that a large cat will try to squeeze into it. And my cats particularly love the small flats that hold fresh produce; they roll around to get the scent of fresh berries, greens and other fruits & veggies all over themselves.

They love larger boxes as well, but it is easy for the cat to become bored once they've explored it thoroughly. After a day or so, I turn the upside down (they like both the open box top and the closed bottom). A day later, I'll cut a small hole/window in the side. Once they're done playing with that, I'll cut a very small hole somewhere on the box and thread a string through it. Knot one end of the string so the cat can't completely pull it out. After a few days, turn it upside down again -- cats get excited just by having a toy moved a few feet away from it's original position.

Target also carries great "cat cubes", either in stores or online. (http://www.target.com/Set-Cat-Cubes-%E2%80%93-Red/dp/B000ACR18C). These are like little collapsable cat houses, and can provide endless entertainment. We refer to them as rocket ships, because one cat likes to launch himself from it when he tears around the house. You can also put a catnip toy (or anything at all) on top of the cube - the cat will pounce on top, the cube will collapse sideways and the cat will bounce in the air. They love it! It is also an inexpensive toy - under $10.00 US.

I haven't found any threads on this topic, but please let me know if there is one already.