Toys For Kittens
Having A Kitten Is Always A New Experience
Either it’s your first cat ever, your first time having a kitten when you’ve only had adult cats, or it's simply a new, and therefore different, cat. So here you can find out WHY it’s important to play with your kitten, HOW to play with them, toys that ARE appropriate for kittens, and arguably more importantly toys that are NOT appropriate for kittens.
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Why It’s Important To Play With your Kitten
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Bonding
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Getting out their excess energy
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Stimulating their mind
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Teaching them how to play appropriately
It’s important to teach them how to play APPROPRIATELY with people. It’s best to correct inappropriate behavior as soon as possible and teach them what they can and can’t bite, scratch, or attack. This also means not forcing them into playtime or with toys they’re not interested in - it's just as important for YOU to learn THEIR boundaries and body language as it is for them to learn yours. You want them to learn to trust you, don’t break that trust. It's important to get your kitten accustomed and desensitized to people (in a good way!) as early as possible.
Lucy's tip: Kittens are resilient, but still small and more fragile. So while they can take a bit of rough housing, don’t forget how small they are and they could still get seriously injured with play that’s too aggressive.
How And When To Play With Kittens
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Short, high energy bursts
Kittens are FULL of energy and will require high energy play time - seriously, do not underestimate how much work it takes to tire out a kitten, it is not for the faint of heart. They’re small so they’ll run out fast but recharge quickly, be prepared for A LOT of mini sessions that are high energy. Letting their potential energy build for too long will result in them having their own play time and discovering “toys” you might not want them playing with.
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Focus play on our four main play styles
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Stalking & chasing
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Jumping & climbing
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Swatting & pouncing
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Puzzles & challenges
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Our Goosie Games are developed with these play styles and different energy & intelligence levels in mind. That means for each Together Play toy you'll have a Goosie Game for each! So once you find a toy, you can rest assured there's a Goosie Game for your cat to enjoy!
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Implement the "hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, and sleep" cycle
Otherwise your cat will become a spoiled princess like Lucille who works in the opposite direction and refuses to play until she’s already had a nap and a full belly.
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Toys that ARE Appropriate for Kittens
Solo Play Toys
You’ll need lots of solo play toys because kittens have so much energy they’ll probably have more energy than you so aside from your together-play they’ll need plenty of solo play toys to keep them entertained. You can find our collection of our favorite solo play toys HERE. Some of our favorites for kittens are the Quirky Kitty Charcuterie, Hidden Hijinks is a catmunity favorite, and Ball Tracks!
Food Puzzles
Great to make sure they get enough mental stimulation. Lucy’s tip: Start with one of our beginner level puzzles as a kitten and work them up in difficulty as they get older. Some great ones to start with are the Frisco Cake Puzzle, lick mats at meal time for daily enrichment with their wet food or wet treats, and the Catstages Hunt ‘n Swat treat dispenser is great for getting their mental stimulation in while getting their physical energy out!
Chew Toys
Kittens will want to bite and chew during their teething stages so having plenty of toys they can chew without breaking apart is going to be important! Some of our favorite durable toys that are satisfying to chew are the Sweet Paws Teething Ring, Nala Whirly Bird Spinner (which also triples as a fun solo play toy and grooming massager!) and the Kitty Kong.
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Together Play Toys
Together play is necessary to get kittens accustomed to appropriate play styles and human interaction, along with plenty of cuddles and physical touch of course! Some of our favorite toys you can play a variety of Goosie Games together with are Da Bird, the Forever Stick, and Bouncy Feather Balls!
Scratchers, Scratchers, Scratchers!
The earlier you can show your cat that they have appropriate places to scratch, the better. Redirecting them when they go to scratch furniture will help them learn. Make sure there’s plenty of scratchers around your home so they can always get to one. Test out a few materials to see what kind of scratcher your cat prefers. Learn more about scratchers in our post about how to fill your cat’s Playscape here!
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The Long Short of It
You’re going to test A LOT of toys. You’re still getting to know your kitten, and they’re still developing their preferences. Cats don’t have “factory settings” like dogs do with jobs and play styles built into their DNA to inform how they might like to play best, so test out as many Goosie Games as you can to figure out their favorite play style and what toys they enjoy the most. The easiest way to figure this out is by TOY CYCLING! To figure out what your cat likes each of their toy cycles try including:
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1 solo play toy
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1 together play toy
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1 scratching toy
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1 food related toy
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1 scent enrichment toy
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Test to see if your cat likes lights and/or sounds
Remember to try a Goosie Game for each play style with as many of the toys as you can. For example, with a wand toy, try four Goosie Games to attack each play style before putting the wand to rest. This is called Game Cycling. Always try this before cycling a toy out of rotation completely to know if it’s the toy that kitty is bored of, or the play style.
Toys That Are NOT Appropriate For Kittens
While these toys might be great when they get older, at the kitten stage we recommend you steer away from:
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Catnip. Catnip is usually ineffective before 6-8 months old so it's not worth trying out yet.
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Dog toys are probably going to be too large for kittens, even toys for small dogs.
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Toys with small sewn on pieces. These could be a choking hazard and should even be avoided if possible for adult cats.
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Large toys. Be cautious of toy SIZE, a lot of toys like plushes and kickers or dog toys may be too big for your kitten to enjoy.
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Automatic toys with holes. It’s easier for a kitten to get their smaller body parts or head stuck inside and could cause damage. These types of toys should always be supervised regardless, but they’re not advised for kittens.