Lulu and Buzz's Favorite Cheap Cat Toys

I am the proud owner of a tabby cat named Lulu and a big black cat named Buzz. Lulu and Buzz go through a lot of cat toys and have very strong ideas about what makes a good one. If they can tear something apart, they will! Since they are indoor only cats, it is important to give them toys and activities that are interactive and keep them stimulated. However, I am also on a limited budget and have to look for cheap cat toys and ways to make toys out of items I already have around the house.

My cats have very different personalities and very different ideas of what makes a fun playtime. Each one has picked out toys that are their favorites. These four products are their favorite cheap cat toys. I love each of these toys as well! Plus, keep reading for suggestions of simple items around the home that make great cat toys (Buzz prefers cardboard boxes, while Lulu loves paper bags).

Image by BlueObsidian

When I first saw the cat dancer, I thought it might be the stupidest cat toy I had come across. After all, it was just a wire with some pieces of rolled cardboard on the end! But, when I opened it up, Lulu went nuts. The cat dancer has become her favorite toy. She will pick it up and drag it across the room to you if she wants to play. Sometimes, Buzz and Lulu will play tug-of-war with one cat dancer, keeping themselves entertained.

As soon as we adopted Buzz, we discovered he was an amazing soccer player! He loves to kick and chase these foam soccer ball cat toys across the room. They are great on hardwood floors! If you have a cat that loves to play with balls, these are one of the best cheap cat toys you can find. As an added bonus, they are completely made of foam so they are super quiet (as opposed to Buzz).

The Ultimate Cheap Cat Toy - Free!

No matter how many toys I bring home, the bag or box they came in is always a big hit, especially with Lulu. She likes to crawl right into the bags and have someone take her for a ride around the room. While she may have outgrown this Williams Sonoma bag that she loved as a kitten, but paper bags from grocery stores are a big favorite with her. She doesn't like the canvas bags as much, though. I think it's because they don't make noise when she steps in them!

Buzz isn't a fan of climbing in the bags, but he sure does like to jump on top when Lulu gets inside! This is one of the cheapest cat toys that we can get for our little troublemakers.

Image by BlueObsidian

There are a few different types of catnip mice cheap cat toys that we buy for Buzz and Lulu. One is the Grreat Choice Faux Fur Mouse w/Tail that you can purchase at PetSmart, and the other are these Skitter Critters mice. While the kitties seem to be a little more satisfied dragging around the Grreat Choice mice, I prefer these. They seem to be a difficult to destroy. Lulu manages to remove the tails from other mouse cat toys within a day or two. After all, a cat toy may initially be cheaper, but if you have to replace it every week the price will quickly add up.

You may look at the price of this cat toy and wonder why it made a list of cheap cat toys. However, I love it because it is comes with two replacement feathers. I have never found a feather on a stick cat toy that does not fall apart eventually. This has been particularly true since we got Buzz, who is a large male cat that was previously abandoned. He can be very aggressive with feather toys!

Not everything that Lulu and Buzz love to play with is a cat toy. Sometimes, cheap household items make their favorite toys (I cannot tell you how many times Buzz has spent his day kicking a wadded up ball of paper around the living room).

These are a few unconventional items that my cats love to play with. Just be careful not to teach them that something is a toy if it will annoy you later! My significant other spent tons of time playing with the cats and a spare shoelace, and now he grumbles every time they untie his shoes.

Luckily, most cat toys aren't very expensive and there is a wide selection. My two cats have very different favorites, so I am sure there is the perfect toy out there for your kitty too.

There are many options similar to the ones that I have suggested. For example, the companies that make Cat Dancer and the Feather Stick also have a variety of similar products. Amazon's prices fluctuate daily, so I also keep an eye out for good deals when shopping for my kitties. Check out these options from Amazon or browse their selection for more inexpensive cat toy ideas!