Durable, Environmentally Friendly Attractive Cat Toys

 

I have a BIG BASKET of cat toys in my living room. Samson picks up toys while we are out about at pet functions, and then we also get gifted toys because we need them for the foster kittens.

I can honestly say that some toys are beloved by many of the kittens, while other toys languish perhaps for a year before a kitten decides that is the toy that she is going to love.

With such a wide variety of cat toys available to cat owners today, how do you make your purchasing decisions?  Of course the toys have to be safe for you and your cats.  They must be well made enough that they last longer than a week.  Finally, if possible, attractive enough that you don’t get so sick of it that you throw it in the garbage.  I have a cat that brings toys to bed.  It isn’t too big a stretch of the imagination for you to imagine my waking up with a slobbery unattractive cat toy at eye level. That being the first thing I see in the morning!

Because I take care of foster kittens, I like toys that are fairly indestructible. That doesn’t mean bombproof, because if a cat really wants to do a hit job on a toy they will.  It just means that they shouldn’t fall apart within the first 24 hours of being played with by your cat.

I had a wand toy from Jackson Galaxy that looked awesome. It had a laser pointer attached to it, and a clip so you could change out the items at the end to give your cat variety. Samson bit the cord of the wand in two within an hour, and the string slithered up into the handle never to be seen again.  A very expensive toy that was made even more expensive by the fact that my cat only got to play with it ONCE.

When looking at a cat toy, first I look to see is if the toy is something the cats and kittens will like. That is always a hard call, because of the aforementioned issue. But what I can do, is screen out the toys that they are obviously NOT going to like.  If none of my 4 adult cats play with a toy, it makes me suspicious that the toys won’t be beloved by any kitten.

Second, does this toy do harm to the environment, or hurt others in some way?  If the company pollutes the environment or has questionable ethics, the answer to this question is YES.

Until being introduced to the Snow Leopard Trust cat toys I hadn’t even thought to ask the question: does the product make life on this planet a BETTER  place?  A tall order, it would seem.  But I found a company that is making AWESOME cat toys and are also making the planet a better place by saving snow leopards. They are called the Snow Leopard Trust.

The Snow Leopard Trust was created to prevent extinction of the endangered snow leopard in the wild.  Several wildlife conservationists concerned that the population of snow leopards was dramatically decreasing went to towns close to snow leopard populations to research why this was happening.

While visiting they discovered the economy of these towns were dependent on raised livestock.  The farmers were concerned about the snow leopards coming into town and killing their livestock.  The loss of a cow could be a serious financial setback for a farming family.  So, they trained the local populations to make these Snow Leopard toys, and make a living in that way instead of livestock farming.

These toys are wool, and colorful.  They are durable & sturdy while also being fun and attractive.  The price is competitive.  They do not look like a thousand other cat toys, they have a cool flair.

When I came home with the Snow Leopard Trust toys, both Elvis and Buffy played with them. This is a great endorsement, since they aren’t the most playful cats. I put the toys in the catnip atomizer to make them even more desirable.

All four kitties tussled with the toy at different times during the day. Since then, several of the foster kittens have also found these toys desirable.

I  am adding these toys to the list of Samson Approved Toys, along with the Kung Fu Kitty Wand toys.