While you’ll need to get a little creative, there are plenty of ways that you can play with your cat without spending a dime on cat toys.
We highlighted 10 different options here for you to consider. After you check out this list, you might be able to come up with a few of your own that are perfect for your cats!
The 10 Tips on How to Play With a Cat Without Toys
1. Hide and Seek
This is one of the most creative and fun ways that you can play with your cat. It’s all about hiding and finding each other, which turns into a great bonding activity. Just know that your cat will likely do a better job of finding you, and it might take you a while to find them!
Teaching your cat hide-and-seek is no easy job. But if you already have a strong relationship with your cat and don’t mind the training, playing hide and seek with your cat might be a great way to spend time together.
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Challenging |
2. Tricks
While dogs are associated more with tricks and obedience, that doesn’t mean you can’t teach your cat a trick or two. Use treats as motivation, and see what you can teach your cat!
Just don’t expect your cat to keep listening if you stop using treats. Cats are listening to get the reward, and you need to keep rewarding them if you want them to keep obeying.
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Moderate |
3. Fetch
This is a game that people commonly associate with dogs, but it’s perfectly possible to play it with your cat too. Some cats will naturally play fetch with you, while you’ll need to train others with treats.
If you’re training your cat with treats, keep in mind that you’ll need to give them a treat every time to keep them listening. But if you have a cat that just enjoys playing fetch, you can play with them without using treats as an incentive!
| Effectiveness: | High |
| Ease of Completion: | Moderate |
4. Shadows and Light
Few things drive your cat as wild as shadows and lights. There are many different ways that you can set up shadows and light displays for your cat, but any way that you can do it should be effective.
The drawback here is that you can’t always get noticeable shadows or lights for your cat to play with. But during the times that you can set it up, your cat can get both mental and physical stimulation by chasing the shadows around.
| Effectiveness: | High |
| Ease of Completion: | Moderate |
5. Treat Hunts
Cats love hunting and they love treats. So, why not combine the two things with a scavenger treat hunt? Start with easy locations, then make them progressively more challenging as your cat catches on.
Soon, you can hide treats all over the house in challenging locations and watch as your cat hunts for them like a pro. Once your cat gets the hang of things, you might find it hard to find a spot that your cat won’t quickly discover!
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
6. Bubbles
Cats are curious creatures, and when they see bubbles floating around, they’re sure to want to play. They’ll jump to try to catch and then pop the bubbles. If you don’t already have a bubble mixture, all you need to do is mix up soap and water to make your own.
| Effectiveness: | High |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
7. Play Fighting
This is a great way to bond and play with your cat if you don’t have any toys around, but ensure that you’re just play fighting with them, not real fighting. You should be able to tell by their demeanor. Don’t force your cat to play fight when they’re not interested. Not only will you end up making your cat scared of you, but you also run the risk of them scratching or biting you when they’re trying to get away.
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
8. Cardboard Boxes
If you have cardboard boxes lying around, it’s easy to turn them into something that your cat will love. We recommend cutting out holes of various sizes in the cardboard boxes and stacking them together to create a playhouse for your cat.
But keep in mind that cardboard won’t last forever, and there’s a good chance that your cat will scratch at it to exercise their claws.
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
9. Paper Balls
If you’re looking for the easiest cat toy that you can make yourself, it has to be a paper ball. Simply take a piece of paper and crumple it up. Roll it around in front of your cat, and they’ll do the rest.
It’s not a real cat toy, but that won’t stop your cat from having fun with it! The paper ball won’t last forever, but it’s easy to make a new one. Another great perk about this toy is that your cat can use it to entertain themselves while you’re away.
| Effectiveness: | Moderate |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
10. Paper Bags
If you have a few paper bags, simply put them on the floor, and your cat will find a way to do the rest. They’ll climb in them, turn them into great little hidey holes, and find other ways to play with them.
While it’s not the most active way for you to play with your cat, they’ll still love the bags. These also make great toys for your cat when you’re not around.
| Effectiveness: | Low |
| Ease of Completion: | Easy |
Why Cats Need Toys
While this whole guide is dedicated to how you can play with your cat without toys, the truth is that your cat needs some sort of mental and physical stimulation to get through the day.
Wild cats get this stimulation by patrolling their territory and looking for food, but indoor cats can’t really do that. Playing with your cat enables you to keep up their mental and physical fitness levels. Toys can make this a much easier process.
So, technically, your cat doesn’t need toys, but if you don’t give them any, you will need to take extra time each day to play with them and ensure that you’re meeting all their needs.
Regular play sessions can help your cat stay happy and healthy. Why not start the play with a fun toy like Hepper's Catnip Stick Toy? These sturdy toys are double-bagged, bite-proof, and filled with 100% organic catnip. Choose your favorite pastel color and treat your cat to hours of fun!
At Pet Keen, we've admired Hepper for many years, and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!
Boredom Signs in Cats
Your cats need entertainment and mental stimulation, and they generally do a good job of letting you know when they’re not getting it.
It’s still up to you to pick up on the signs, though, and you can only do that if you know what to look for. Here are highlighted four different signs that you have a bored cat. Keep in mind, though, that these signs could also be your cat trying to tell you something else entirely.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter if you have a hundred cat toys or zero, the important thing is that you take the time to bond with your cat and give them the mental and physical stimulation that they need to thrive.
While it’ll require more work for you if you don’t have any cat toys, you don’t need to run out and buy them. In fact, if you take the time to bond with your cat every day, you might end up with a closer relationship than if you just left a bunch of toys lying around!
Featured Image Credit: Duet PandG, Shutterstock
