cat toys

There are few things kitties like more than discovering toys around the house . . . even if those items weren't meant to be their playthings in the first place! For cats that love the chase, a ball's a toy box must have, but the costs can add up (especially when hidden away by wily cats within minutes).

Although there are plenty of round toys fit for frisky felines, many would love your plastic practice golf balls for their holes. If you're not the indoor golfing type, it's much cheaper to buy a bulk set of ping pong balls and gently use a nail to hammer your own holes for cats to get a grip. This price can't be beat: For just $16, you receive 144 of these and get to hammering.

Did your lil kitty get everything her heart desired over the holidays? If you've got extra time to kill – or think your pal could use an extra toy to kill – check out these one-of-a-kind catnip mice. Wouldn't you rather see this laying around than a real mouse?!
Get started on the DIY project spotted by a pal of mine (Thanks, Casa!) by gathering the following supplies:

• Patterned fabric for mouse body
• Scrap fabric, preferably with a loose weave, for catnip pouch
• Cotton cord, ribbon, or rick rack for the tail
• Embroidery floss for face details
• Catnip
• Polyfil stuffing
• Needle and thread

Get instructions when you read more

Still looking for a super unique holiday gift for pets? Well, when I spotted these catnip eyeballs, they seemed just the thing for cats that love the homemade. After all, these cute toys are made from recycled sweatshirts (inside out) so that the nubby cozy part is what your pet chews on. At $10 for a set of two, each is made per order so it's only the freshest catnip for your kitties. That's what they deserve . . . obviously.

While nine bucks is a lot of money to spend on a slice of pie for me to eat (read: gone in minutes), it's totally reasonable for these jumbo toy pieces filled with organic catnip.
Dish out this cute present for resident felines at Thanksgiving dinner (so they don't get jealous of their lucky dog counterparts). I plan on eating some pumpkin pie myself so I'm choosing this one, but Catzilla Crafts' Etsy store "bakes" up a bunch of goodies including cakes, donuts, eclairs, and even (my fave) banana pancakes. Cue the Jack Johnson, I'm diggin' in.

I know, I know. Not all cats like toys. Friends with finicky felines have told me that the material of a toy makes all the difference so I've scoped out these adoro birdy designs with three different textures . . . all filled with magical catnip.

• Crocheted: Sweet handmade Baby Bluebirds ($9 for three) are perfect for yarn-loving cats to bat.
• Plush: Soft Kitty Tweeters ($7 for two) will surely please those kitties who enjoy scratching your dog's cuddly stuffed animals.
• Felt: Tweet Birds ($8) have a rougher felt texture more similar to your socks or pillows – cats can really get a grip.

If your precious pet prefers "found" toys, try scattering these birds around your nest and let her make the discovery on her own!

Today just happens to be Fortune Cookie Day, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to treat your kitty to a colorful Jake and Micah catnip fortune cookie ($4.99). The toys are not only hopeful and sweet (the fortune tags say things like, "Your purr is a gift to those who love you"), but they are stuffed with poly fiberfill and premium organic catnip.

I'm always looking for fun kitty gear (hint: submit it to my Street Team!) so I asked my friend Aimee what toy brought the most joy to her pet, Midnight. She instantly recommended the "spinny thing" . . . hmm, great suggestion, but not so easy to track down. After some follow-up questions, I figured out it's this Crazy Circle ($8) teaser for playful kitties. Consisting of a hollowed, rounded plastic tube, there's a slot for a frisky feline paw to whack a small ball around in circles, but not fall out. This kitty-powered toy also comes in a larger size for $14 and sounds like it could make me rather dizzy!One word of warning, the batting and ball can be noisy — if you've got carpet, I'd suggest placing it on that so the entire contraption doesn't shift all over the floor while kitty's playing. Plus, Aimee's added a different ball – like one with a bell – to make her Middy even more excited!

Last week I asked all you savvy shoppers and Internet researchers to come PetMarking on a kitty toy mission to share which toys were truly the cat's meow. My fave find was this silly catnip toy, the "Chicata banana" petmarked by foxie – it's drives her pets insane.

Check out the rest of your great finds in the widget below.

It's time to show our feline friends some special love! I wanna know what toys make your cats crazy happy – to get us started, internsugar3 shared the product her kitties love best of all, this lure caster for fishing fun. I know the rest of you have faves at home as well – what toys do you always keep in stock for your lil mousers?

All you savvy shoppers and Internet researchers out there, please suggest the best toys for cats and come PetMarking with me, by bookmarking your finds on TeamSugar. Don't forget to tag your finds as "Cat Toys." I'll do a recap next week of our finds.

Geeksugar has written a helpful explanation of how to bookmark . . . or, in our case, PetMark! Happy hunting!

Don't know where to start? To see some of my favorite online stores, read more