Balls – the perfect toy for your cat. Why?

Is your cat active and wants to play? Does she have abundant energy? What do you use to drain her energy? Do you use wands or maybe balls? Let me show you some different balls you can get for your cat and explain why or why not your cat might like them.

Dear cat guardians,

Today we are talking about a cat’s favorite toy – a ball! I have met many cats in my life and they all like to play with balls. Even cats that do not like to play with other toys cannot resist running, jumping and chasing a ball around the house.

It is a simple toy, but most effective to drain your cat’s energy. Cat balls are small, light and sometimes have a bell inside – which not every cat appreciates. But that is another story.

When you go into a pet store, or for that matter any store, that has some cat toys, you will find a variety of little balls. There are single balls you can purchase or bags filled with 8 or 10 balls of different kinds. Soft balls or very hard plastic ones. Balls that bounce and ones that just roll when you throw them. So, what should you get for your cat.

Let’s talk about what cats like first. Cats like to hunt their prey and many times carry it around with them – if you get her a soft ball she can catch and then carry it in her mouth.

Cats also like to jump after flying insects, so bouncy balls might be a good option. This way your cat can jump high to catch that ball. Hard plastic balls jump pretty high, but are not so easy to carry around. But there are soft rubber balls that bounce and can be grabbed easily by your kitties mouth.

Let’s review a few different balls:

These balls are hard plastic with a cloth covering. The bounce really good on hardwood, tile, marble or any hard surface, and can be swatted around the house with lots of noise. Trust me, those are Kati’s favorite balls and even after we play for 30 minutes she waits until we go to bed and then she goes to town with them. In the morning you find them spread out all over the house.

 

Next we have also hard balls with cloth covering, but the cloth is a different material and the balls do not bounce. They are nice to roll around, but not very attractive to cats who like to jump. Kati does not care for them very much, so they usually end up in her toy bin.

 

 

This ball is also hard plastic, but with a velvety cloth around. The difference to the other balls is that it has a little bell in it. I am sure many cats like that, but not Kati. She does not care for anything that jingles or squeaks (just watch out when we get to those squeaky mice toys ). Also, this ball does not bounce either – probably because of the velvety cloth.

 

This is a very cute looking ball, but it is very hard on the inside and outside. It is covered with some kind of mesh or net and wrapped with some cord. And it also has a bell. It would be easy to carry around because your kitties little teeth can grab the ball easily. But for Kati it is not attractive.

 

 

Ok, this ball is a little weird. It does not bounce or roll. All you can do is throw it and see if your cats catches it. It is made of hard rubber and some fabric that reminds me of a mop. I give you that – it is easy to carry around, but that pretty much sums it up.

 

 

 

Here we have the real bounce balls. They come in soft rubber and hard rubber and jump really high. That way your kitty gets a lot of exercise, if she likes to pounce and jump. Kati plays with those balls sometimes. She likes to catch them out of the air and swat them around. But she looses interest and I think, because they bounce to much.

 

 

The same goes for small tennis balls. They bounce very high and you have to be careful not to hit your cat with them. They are a little bit forceful and not every cat might like them. Kati is not crazy about them. Although if I throw the pink one she goes after it (cannot show the pink one, because she hid it somewhere )

 

 

Oh yeah, sparkle balls. You can throw them but they do not bounce. On the other hand they are easy to carry around and Kati has her favorite. You can see how she has mangled that little pink ball. Very soft, but the filaments that sticking out come off, so be careful that your cat does not swallow them.

 

And here comes Kati’s favorite – a mylar ball. She got her first one when she was little and still has it hidden somewhere. It tends to show up from time to time. It is reduced in size because she carries it in her mouth and mashes it together. Those balls come in different sizes, some with netting inside, but I think the small ones are better. They are easier to carry around. Kati got a huge mylar ball and she ran away from it. It was just too big. So I cut it down and she still did not like to play with it. Mylar is pretty much foil, so make sure your cat does not swallow the pieces.

I have reviewed a few different balls for you. This is just a collection of balls Kati got to play with. I will be adding more, as dad buys her different balls.

But as you can see, balls are a great way to keep your cat occupied and happy. She gets to jump and run and catch and grab her prey, so she does everything any cat would do.

In the meantime happy playing!