Best cost performance ever! Looks more fun than store-bought toys… 4 everyday items your beloved cat will love to play with

It's a common struggle for cat owners: you present your beloved feline with a new cat toy, only for them to turn their nose up at it. Meanwhile, they’ll ignore the expensive toys you bought and instead stare wide-eyed at everyday household items, transforming into little hunters. It leaves you feeling a bit bewildered.

Today, I'll introduce some household items that are a huge hit with my cats. I hope you'll nod along and have a laugh.

"Just a String" is Ultimately the Strongest

No matter how thoughtfully designed a new toy is, I always come back to thinking that "just a string" is the strongest. Why are cats so drawn to such a simple string?

In our house, when a cat teaser breaks, a 100-yen hemp string comes to the rescue. Jiji, our calico cat, usually isn't very interested in cat toys, but a hemp string is a different story. If I dangle it in front of her, she’ll bat at it with her paws, instantly transforming into a hunter.

鳥には優しいのに、紐には容赦ない。 pic.twitter.com/cuVio52uXq

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) September 25, 2019

I, personally, feel unsettled by drawstrings still attached to hoodies and sweatpants. The moment I get a new one, I immediately remove them and offer them up as toys for my cats, who always take to them enthusiastically.

ジャージの調節ひもが気になるお年頃。 pic.twitter.com/nbJDLkR2zH

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) October 30, 2023

And they turn out to have surprisingly many uses. For example, a minor refurbishment of the automatic cat teaser "Catch Me If You Can 2" after its feathers have been torn off from too much play, leaving only the rotating rod.

If I attach a drawstring from sweatpants or something similar to the now sad-looking rod, my cats seem to think, "Is this a new toy!?" and become interested again.

This makeshift arrangement is very handy for me, as it can also be used when the cats simply get bored after playing too much with "Catch Me If You Can 2."

By the way, attaching the crinkly part from the indestructible cat toy "Kashakasha Bunbun" to the rod of "Catch Me If You Can 2" also makes them super excited, so I recommend giving it a try (apologies if it's just my cats that react this way).

String, which captivates cats more than toys meticulously designed by corporate bigwigs, is truly the strongest in many ways. If a toy that surpasses it ever appears, the cat world would probably be in an uproar.

"Aluminum Foil Ball" - There's a Trick to Making It

My cats love crinkly toys. So, when I buy something like "Kashakasha Bunbun," they go wild.

No matter how much they play, they're always ready for more, so it's a good week if it lasts that long. Usually, the tip comes off in two or three days, and I'm left feeling disappointed.

「こんなおもちゃはいらないわ。早くいつものカシャぶんを献上しなさい。」 pic.twitter.com/Ft4azGvvYj

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) October 6, 2019

Ideally, I'd replace it every time it breaks, but my budget doesn't always allow for it. In such situations, an idea struck me: "Why not make a crinkly sound with something readily available?"

What household item could make a crinkly sound and be cost-effective? After some thought, I arrived at aluminum foil. The catalyst was when Leo, our tabby cat, rushed over as I took out aluminum foil to cook fish.

I tried wadding up some aluminum foil and throwing it, and Leon and Kotaro (another tabby) dashed after it like dogs. The aluminum foil was more amazing than I expected.

Since then, whenever I feel like they're getting bored with their usual toys or when I'm busy but they want to play, I just crumple up aluminum foil and throw it.

Through this, I've realized there's a specific way to crumple aluminum foil that makes it more appealing. If you crumple it up too tightly, it doesn't make as much of a crinkly sound, and my cats get an "this is boring" attitude.

The trick is to crumple it loosely, using as little force as possible. My high-energy cats often bat the aluminum foil into gaps in the furniture, so we often exclaim, "How did this aluminum foil get here?"

I probably have about 10 aluminum foil balls hidden around the house. I'm grateful for my cats' thoughtful consideration, allowing us mere humans to enjoy a treasure hunt while they revel in their play.

Randomly Placed Plastic Bags are a "Cat Trap"

Personally, I think a randomly placed plastic bag is just as popular in the cat world as "just a string."

Like aluminum foil, that crinkling sound must be their sweet spot. I come home from shopping, put the bags down for a moment, and while I'm washing my hands, the cats are already enjoying the crinkly sound of the plastic bags.

Kotaro, in particular, is such a "bag fetishist" that he enjoys licking the tissue box bag, so we usually store plastic bags in a cupboard to prevent him from accidentally eating them.

Even garbage bags get ripped to shreds if set up normally, so I've become careful not to let the bag hang outside the bin.

However, changing the trash bag in the room is a problem. In my area, we use large, designated garbage bags for disposal, and these, being much larger than shopping bags, send the cats into a frenzy.

They jump into the garbage bag I've taken out to install in the bin, or the crinkling sound of opening the bag hypes them up, making them run around the room – it becomes a very chaotic situation.

However, attaching a plastic bag to the rod of "Catch Me If You Can 2" doesn't seem to please them. Even though it makes a crinkly sound, my cats all pretend not to notice. They look at me with an expression that says, "What's so interesting about that?" making me painfully aware of how difficult it is to understand a cat's heart.

Beloved Stuffed Animals Get Thrown Around

Someday, I absolutely want to capture it on camera. But the moment I point my phone at him, he stops this unique play. This is Leon, our tabby cat.

Leon hates the fishing cat plushie I bought on my honeymoon years ago. Out of nowhere, he'll grab the fishing cat plushie with both paws, just like a human, and skillfully toss it into the air!

The first time I saw that, I was astonished, "Huh... he can throw it...?" I doubted my own eyes and even wondered if plushies could be toys, considering how to protect my other stuffed animals.

But Leon shows no interest in other plushies and doesn't throw them.

Why does only this plushie suffer such a fate? As I pondered this, I remembered my own actions shortly after welcoming Leon into our home.

At the time, I was so happy that Leon was starting to open up to me that I thought, "Maybe he'll get a little jealous now." So, I petted the fishing cat plushie in front of him, saying "cute" and "I love you."

At that moment, Leon just stared at the plushie, and I was dejected, thinking, "I guess I'm not that important to him yet." But his heart must have felt differently.

At that very moment, I'm sure the fishing cat plushie became "that annoying guy" in Leon's mind.

Every time I see the plushie being carried in Leon's mouth or thrown into the air, I regret testing his affection, realizing it shouldn't be done not only to humans but also to cats. It makes me acutely aware that cats are more affectionate animals than humans give them credit for.

Household items that double as great toys must differ from household to household. If you have any stories about "my cat is obsessed with this" or "there are other cost-effective ways to play," please share them.