There’s one piece of furniture every new kitten owner should purchase, and that’s a kitten play tower. Often known as cat trees, these tall scratching posts generally come with multiple leveled tiers for kittens to play on, a little hut or cave and some attached hanging toys. It’s easy to find a cat play tree to fit any budget. Cat play towers serve as much more than just simple scratching posts. There are many benefits to buying a cat tree for your home.

Three Major Benefits of a Kitten Play Tower

1. Buying a cat tower for your kittens at a young age deters them from ever scratching your furniture or carpet.

All cats have a natural instinct to scratch on something. The act of scratching keeps their claws sharp and is also a way for them to stretch and exercise. The fuzzy material of a scratching post is perfect for them to scratch on, and if you show kittens exactly where they should scratch and stay diligent about showing them, they’ll easily catch on. After they get the hang of the idea, they’ll never even think about scratching anywhere else.

2. Towers also serve as a cat activity centre, perfect for exercise and playtime.

Kittens have a lot of energy. Giving them a multilevel tower to play on is like offering a small child a jungle gym. They’ll enjoy climbing it, hiding in it, playing games on it with other kittens and attacking any dangling toys that are attached. Kittens will amuse themselves for hours on end, and since the cat scratcher tower is covered in soft material, they’ll come to no harm during their playtime.

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

3. Cat trees also provide kittens with a special little area all their own.

Kittens love to play, but they also love to take naps. Most play towers contain little hideaway houses that they will naturally love to nap and hide in. The little round circles that are often on towers make favourite napping spots, as well. Kittens also love having a place up high where they can watch the world below them. A tall cat activity centre encourages this natural curious behavior, and by having their own high spot, your kittens won’t be as eager to climb your bookshelves instead. A kitten will quickly become very proud about their new kitten play house.

After purchasing a cat play tower, one ideal location for it is near a window. Kittens love watching birds, animals and people outside, so by placing their play centre near a window, you’re pretty much guaranteeing that they’ll love their scratching tower immediately.

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

Cat Kitty Kitten Scratch Scratching Activity Post Tree Furniture + Toy Ball New

£2.99

PayPal

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

leopet® Cat Kitten Scratching Post Tree Sisal Climbing Excercise Activity Centre

£53.95

Free Shipping

Don’t forget about the added benefit to owning a cat tower– The pleasure you’ll get from watching your kittens play for hours on it. Kittens are amazingly acrobatic and entertaining. It’s quite amusing watching as they zoom around the house then make a flying leap onto one the tower’s perches. As your kittens grow into adult cats, they will continue enjoying it for years to come.

One of the most versatile and engaging toys for a kitten or cat is a play tunnel. These simple toys are very interesting to cats and will provide them with hours of playtime. A cat or kitten tunnel can be the perfect toy for entertaining your pet.

Cat Tunnel Versatility

Cat play tunnels come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are made of luxurious, soft materials while others are simple in construction. Some are bendable, with ‘ribs’ while others are made of thick cloth. One variety, known as a crinkle tunnel might even make a little noise, which is interesting to the cat or kitten.

New Ancol Acticat Cat Super "Y" Play Tunnel 180cm

£11.50

PayPal

POP UP CAT KITTEN RABBIT PLAY TUNNEL TOYS FOLDABLE

£3.99

Free Shipping

POP UP CAT KITTEN RABBIT PLAY TUNNEL TOYS FOLDABLE

£3.99

Free Shipping

Cat & Kitten Pop up Play tunnel including suspended balls RED

£3.89

Free Shipping

Cat Play Tunnel with balls on string, toy, kitten

£2.40

Kitten/ Cat Toy Play Tunnel

£1.70

PayPal

Depending on what you are looking for, some possible features to consider might include:

• Sturdy materials
• Tunnels that are quiet or that make crinkling noises
• materials that will not harm the cat
• tunnels that can be tied together
• tunnels in a T shape to add variety and interest
• materials that are comfortable
• ease of cleaning
• flexibility
• ability to collapse so they can be stored conveniently
• wide circumference to accommodate any size cat

What Cat Tunnels Do for Your Cat or Kitten

Kittens have lots of energy and many older cats are surprisingly agile too. If your cat is bored, using the tunnel may help perk them up. A cat tunnel can be something your cat will enjoy. With a tunnel, your cat can:

• run around and into the tunnel
• look out through peep holes
• enjoy exploring, especially if you put more than one or two together
• relax or sleep after playing
• drag other toys into it
• play hide and seek with you or another cat
• jump out and ‘scare’ you or another pet

New Ancol Acticat Cat Super "Y" Play Tunnel 180cm

£11.50

PayPal

POP UP CAT KITTEN RABBIT PLAY TUNNEL TOYS FOLDABLE

£3.99

Free Shipping

POP UP CAT KITTEN RABBIT PLAY TUNNEL TOYS FOLDABLE

£3.99

Free Shipping

NEW Large Cat Tunnel Plush Crunch Cats Kittens 100 cm

£32.99

Free Shipping

NEW Large Cat Tunnel Plush Crunch Cats Kittens 120 cm

£33.99

Free Shipping

NEW Trixie Tunnel Plush Crunch Cat Cats Kittens 60 cm

£16.99

Free Shipping

Responsible Pet ‘Parenting’ in Action

It is the job of a responsible pet ‘parent’ to create a world that is appealing and interesting for their pet. For the average indoor cat, obesity and boredom can be real problems. Cat toys such as condos and tunnels provide a way to exercise and have fun.

The Completed Sweet Wrapper Butterfly

This requires a little imagination, but the final kitten toy is meant to look a little like a butterfly! Kittens have a love of pretty much anything on a string, but this colourful butterfly made from sweet wrappers will easily grab their attention. The idea with the sweet wrapper butterfly is that you drag it along the floor or through the air, and your kitten will go mad trying to catch it!

Sweet Wrappers and String

Firstly, you need to twist the ends of the sweet wrappers at one end. This will make it easier to tie them on to the string.

Twisted Sweet Wrappers

Then, tie each of the sweet wrappers on to the string at one end. Just a simple granny-knot will do fine, it doesn’t need to be particularly robust.

First Knot

Do this for all of the sweet wrappers until you have 2 wrappers on each side to create something that (just about) looks like a butterfly.

The Completed Sweet Wrapper Butterfly

That’s it for this very simple and fun kitten toy. As a little bit of variety, offer your kitten the plain end of the string rather than the butterfly itself.

If you’re lucky enough to have a kitten, you know that they’re a whole lot of fun. But kittens can also wreak havoc if they get bored!

I love having my own kitten, and I’ve been making my own kitten toys to keep the bundle of mischief occupied. It’s amazing how much fun a kitten can have with a simple home-made toy.

Just by using recycled materials from around your home, you can make your own cheap DIY kitten toys to keep your feline friend happy and well-exercised!

I hope you find my kitten toy ideas to be lots of fun. I know that I have!

Tomato Stalk and Cotton - Untied

The realistic spider made from a tomato stalk is something my Dad taught me. Many cats and kittens will happily hunt butterflies, flies and house spiders. However, by making your own reaslitic-looking spider, you don’t need to worry about damaging nature’s insect population.

I actually had to re-make this toy as Leia ate the last one! I wasn’t looking and she managed to find the toy on my desk and eat it!

Tomato Stalk and Cotton - Tied

All you need to do is to cut off the top of a tomato stalk, and tie a length of cotton thread around the stalk. If you drag the stalk along the carpet, you’ll notice it crawls just like a spider. The dark thread just makes the thread a little harder to see, making it more realistic for the kitten to play with.

Tomato Stalk and Cotton - with Leia

I warn you now, this toy will not last very long! You’ll get about 10 to 15 minutes play before your kitten shreds it. However, they will love you for it, so keep some spare tomato stalks and cotton ready to make some more.

Old Broken Shoe Laces - Untied

If you think about it, both cats and kittens just love shoe laces, wires or anything that vaguely resembles string. I break shoe laces pretty often (probably because I like my shoes nice and tight), so I thought that Leia might appreciate having her own laces to play with. So rather than have Leia attack my foot when I’m on my way out, I turned some old broken shoe laces into a toy.

Old Shoe Laces Tied

As simple as it may be, just tying some old shoe laces into a T or X shape will keep the kittens amused for a while. Leia got bored of a single shoe lace pretty quickly, but seems fascinated with the T shaped spider thing I created, perhaps because of the way it moves when she flings it into the air.

As an added bonus, if you ensure you have a long end on the shoe lace toy, you can dangle the lace in front of your kitten so that your kitten plays with you rather than on their own. As your kitten gets older, you’ll find they appreciate playing with you more than they do playing on their own.

The Humble Toilet Roll Tube

On initial impressions, using a toilet roll tube might appear to be a joke! However, I accidentally discovered that kittens love playing with a toilet roll tube. I quite often find Leia chasing the toilet roll up and down the stairs for hours!

I’ve found that if you throw an object, kittens get very curious and will chase after almost anything. So when you’ve finished with your toilet roll, throw it around your lounge, dining room or garden in front of the kitten. Their curiosity will draw them to it, and after a while they’ll start batting it around with their paws.

Chocolate Coin Wrappers

This idea is all about turning Chocolate Coin Wrappers into a small ball that your kitten can play with for hours (until the ball gets lost!).

Kittens seem to be drawn to bright and shiny objects. This might not be much of a surprise if you think about how companies spend a fortune on bright and shiny packaging to get us to buy their products.

Leia seemed to be fascinated with the chocolate coin wrappers when I had some recently. So all I did was roll a few of them into a ball and throw it on the floor for her. She was amused for a good few hours chasing the ball around the floor.

Chocolate Coin Wrappers - Rolled Up

Since the ball is so small, she did manage to lose it very quickly though (probably underneath the sofa). Thankfully there are usually enough wrappers to make a couple of balls.