I need suggestions for keeping an indoor cat entertained (toys, objects). Any ideas?

Paper bags, boxes with holes cut in them and you can get, what I call ” The tunnel of fun” lol
Walmart has them for really cheap, less than $10. They are fold up, crinkley tunnels that expand to about 2.5 feet long with a hole in the top. My cats love to dive into them.

Alternate their toys so they do not become bored with them. My female Siamese goes nuts for crunched up paper balls too. Whenever I am recording my atm receipts she waits nearby for me to toss her a wad of paper balls.

I just gave my daughters city kitty some wild turkey feathers and feathers from my geese. She is going nuts over the taste and smell of the wild. lol

I just crumbled up some paper and he’s going to town on it. :) I throw it and he chases after it.

Thanks!

Pick up some nature items in your travels as well. Long grasses, acorns, feathers, etc. My cats are going “nuts” right now batting the acorns around. :-)

The only toy that has lasted here is the home-made fishing rod. I broke a long branch off a black birch tree and tied a string, knotted at intervals, to it. At the end I fastened a fake plush and feather bird. I flick it around like a flyfisherman.

The rest of the toys are collecting dust; plastic balls with bells inside them, tennis balls, crumpled up aluminum foil.

Sometimes Milo finds my shoelaces interesting, as long as I am wearing the shoes.

He was also happy to play with a small piece of innersole that I had trimmed off…perhaps it was the smell of feet that made it so appealing. But today that is yesterday’s news.

Try sprinkling catnip on various objects.

Occasionally (and mysteriously) the only interesting object in the room is my arm, still attached to my body.

I was actually going to ask about the laser pointers. Worth it? Safe? Any suggested brands?

Great suggestions. I have big boy on my hands (he is under 8 months, but is already large/heavy. Not my doing, though). I would love to keep his weight down, so I plan on keeping him busy.

I need to take care of that stain on my carpet by his belly. That was from dear, old Rudy. I’ll try Nature’s Miracle, as I’ve heard that it works well with getting out pet stains.

Oh my…. how could I forget the laser pointer! Yes, cats find them irresistible and they are great for winter entertainment and exercise! 10 paws up for laser pointers!

The best toy, by far, is a small, live mouse or vole. Luckily, here nature provides.

Also detached, wiggling, lizard tails! :-)

@gailcalled my cat is a big fan of chipmunks. He’s been bringing presents to me in my room. Problem is the chipmunks are still very much alive so he just sets it at my feet and then the poor thing runs off across my room. Then I have to wait for the cat to catch it so I can run outside with him lol. This has happened three times now…

And here is another cheap idea (at the .58 mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJ8_qNELqw&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Here’s another cheap toy also starring Maru.

These may not entertain your cat, but you will put everything on hold and laugh a lot.

@uberbatman: Cheaper than signing him (and you) up for a gym membership

Crumpled paper (which I see you did, my cats go insane over that.) They also love the ring off of the milk jug.
Laser pointer is another that has been mentioned, but I find to be a critical piece of indoor cat toy collections.
I guess they’ve been covered, mostly, but these are the things that my cats love more than anything.

I once kept a Siamese cat entertained by moving a piece of string in front of it. The problem was that I got tired of this before the cat did. When I stopped, the cat looked up at me, showing that it had a much better understanding of what was going on than I gave it credit for.

The three or four times a day I use the master bathroom, Milo always shows up and sits on the rim of the bath tub. Then I empty three glasses of fresh, cold tap water into the tub. Milo hops in and laps up the water.

He never misses a chance.

I use only vinegar and water to clean every surface (including toilet bowl) because of this behavior. Occasionally, M peers into the toilet bowl while the water is flushing but prefers the tub.

Provide a place where the cat can look out the window. This is cat TV. A shrub where birds perch would make great kitty viewing, but don’t underestimate the charm of passing traffic.

Yes @Jeruba cats love vertical space.
A cat tree or window shelf is a great idea.
My cats are indoor/outdoor on my property and my male is out on the deck right now on a comfy chair watching a group of deer mill around.
He eats Taste of the wild Venison and Salmon, I wonder if he is day dreaming about taking down a deer. haha

After a great deal of frantic rushing around accompanied by lots of noise, Milo ended up snoozing on the top of the piano this afternoon, for a very long pre-nap nap. Similar to this

I discovered why when I almost tripped over a dead mouse on the stairway.

The trouble with those window sills that are so appealing (mine are extra-wide), is the temptation of the vertical screen stretch. Sit on sill, stretch very tall, attach nails (still untrimmed) to top of screen, gently rip nails downward. Breath, repeat five times.

The plastic ring you pull off a new jug of milk will keep a cat entertained for a very long time. Same with plastic soda bottle caps, paper bags, boxes with flaps, a bell or feather on a string dangling from a door handle that they can swat around. Cats are easily entertained; they have good imaginations.

On cue apparently, another mouse showed up this afternoon. I missed the actual floor show but did discover the body. Happily, MIlo leaves them where I will find them. (Of course, there may be many corpses left in places where I do not find them. )

So I just tried the crumpled piece of paper thing with my cat. He kinda just looked at me like “dude wtf is wrong with you…..”

He goes crazy for the turkey feathers I have though.

^^^ LOL Well, not all pussies get off on paper balls. I don’t. haha

My cats grow tired of their toys really fast. Unfortunately, they only seem to be interested in a toy when it’s new, which means that you have to introduce new things all the time. As @supacase said, the plastic ring off the milk bottles seems to be a cat magnet. They also love paper (receipts, business cards, photos) as I found out the hard way. Just like kids, they would rather play with the box that the toy came in, than the toy itself.

Oh, don’t forget catnip! I have a spray on catnip that I use on toys and the cat tree. Some go nuts for it, but others seem to be immune to it’s charms. You can also grow a pot of grass or kitty greens too.

well I saw my first vole the other day. Itzamna decided to bring me one(alive)

The best toy thing I’ve figured out for him so far has been tying a turkey feather onto a fishing rod. So when I feel like playing with him I go cat fishing and then when I’m not I just set the rod up in a way so that the feather hangs. He seems to get a lot of fun out of it since he’ll pull on the feather which creates a lot of tension on the line so it yanks the feather out of his paws so he has to catch it again. Seems a lot better than just hanging it on a door or something.

still havent tried giving him catnip yet but he’d probably go crazy for it since he tries to steal my herbs from my pipe all the time :P