5 Interactive Cat Toys

Let's face it. Cats are picky. Sometimes it takes more than just the usual array of toys to get their attention. All cat owners know the feeling of bringing home a catnip-stuffed mouse or a wheel with a ball in it, thinking your cat will be playing with this toy for hours each day, only to watch as the cat disdainfully sniffs the toy and turns his back on it to go somewhere and lie down.
With this in mind, I'd like to discuss a few 'exceptional' toys that your cat is bound to play with for hours. These aren't toys that you bring home and give to your cat and simply watch him play. These are interactive cat toys, or in other words, toys that you and your cat can play with together.

First, there's the Kitten Mitten. This is essentially a glove that you wear, with extra long fingers with balls on the ends of the fingers. We all know how painful and even dangerous it can be to play with a kitten or cat who hasn't been declawed. The Kitten Mitten enables you to play with your cat without needing stitches before it's over. The dangly balls are a source of extra amusement for the cat, while the glove portion protects your hands.
Then there's the Catfisher Rod N Reel. This is a cat-sized rod and reel with a small fish on the end of it. You cast the reel, just like you'd do with a real one, and then simply reel it in. Any cat who's worth his salt won't be able to resist this.
The Laser Light is one of my personal favorites. You simply sit somewhere and shine the light against a far wall or anywhere on the floor and the cat will absolutely go crazy trying to catch it! This provides never-ending fun for both you and the cat and any bystanders who happen to be watching. It's a simple gadget but it has the potential to provide hours of entertainment. And best of all, you don't have to really do much in the way of moving around, so if you've had a hard day at work and really just want to rest, you can still play with your cat and provide the cat some exercise without moving from your seat.
Da Bird is one of the more popular interactive cat toys on the market. Basically, it's a gadget that looks somewhat like a bird (well, it has feathers anyway), attached to a string, which is then attached to a wand, which you wave and then watch the cat try to catch the bird in flight. From all the reviews I've read, it's the one toy everyone's cat seems to look forward to playing. The one drawback to this toy is that (according to reviews anyway) sometimes it comes apart. I guess if you have an aggressive cat, maybe you might have to tape or glue the thing back together a few times, or else keep replacements on hand. All in all though, it seems to be THE toy to buy.
The last toy I'll discuss here is called the WARE Flying Fun Interactive Cat Toy. Essentially, it's a jar full of flying butterflies, which you control with a remote. The butterflies fly around inside the jar and the cat watches them, mesmerized. This seemed like it would be a pretty cool toy to me, but when I read the reviews, I didn't get the sense that many people liked it. The majority of them said that the simple act of WATCHING butterflies didn't appeal to their cats, as cats by nature want a 'hands-on' experience, or rather a 'paws-on' experience. Still, it looked like fun to me. I'll bet MY cat would like it.
Regardless of which toy you give your cat to play with, the key word here is 'interactive'. Your cat wants you to be a part of it all. You are the brains behind the operation, the person who makes the bird fly or the laser point. So pick out a toy that you like too, since you'll be the one making it work.

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