The 8 Best Interactive Cat Toys of 2023

Best Overall

Kong Puzzlements Pockets Cat Toy

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Some of the best cat toys are the simplest. The Kong Puzzlements Pocket Cat Toy stimulates your kitty’s natural curiosity. This nine-pocket play mat has lots of hiding places your feline friend will love exploring. In addition to the attached ball of yarn toy that rattles, it comes with a catnip mouse and a supply of extra catnip. The mat itself crinkles for added auditory excitement during play.

To keep it fun, you can hide bits of dry food or cat treats in the pockets to stimulate the parts of a cat’s brain dedicated to hunting and foraging. Or you can hide everyday items inside that your cat loves to bat around, such as pens, wads of paper, or their other cat toys.

They’ll delight in “catching” and playing with their toys and food. The cute design means it can blend with your home décor. You can spot clean it as needed, hand wash, or machine wash on the gentle cycle and hang dry. It also folds compactly for travel and makes a great, affordable gift.

_{Dimensions: 2.75 x 15.75 x 15.75 inches | Weight: 3.2 ounces}

Best Budget

Pet Zone Play-N-Squeak MouseHunter Cat Toy with Catnip

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A toy mouse may be the most common and popular cat toy, but that also helps make it the most affordable. Although there are tons to choose from, the Pet Zone Play N’ Squeak Mouse Hunter Cat Toy with Catnip takes “toy mouse” to the next level. This fuzzy, catnip-filled mouse makes mouse-like electronic squeak noises that stimulate your cat’s hunting instincts. 

Your cat will enjoy stalking and pouncing on this plush mouse that’s realistic in size, shape, and color. They’re widely available and, depending on where you buy them, can be had very inexpensively. This cat toy also encourages exercise, keeping cats agile, healthy, and alert. Owners report that their cats love this mouse. You may want to buy one for every room of the house.

_{Dimensions: 2 inches | Weight: 8 ounces}

Best Laser Toy

PetSafe Dancing Dot Laser Pointer Cat Toy

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The PetSafe Dancing Dot Laser Pointer Cat Toy is compact, safe, and can be set to play with your cat even when you're not at home. Simply set it up on an elevated surface, or hang it from a doorknob, and the Dancing Dot projects a laser point that travels in random patterns across the floor. Your cat won't be able to resist.

You can activate the Dancing Dot for a 15-minute play session, or set it to a mode that activates a 15-minute play session once every two hours (up to a maximum three play sessions in six hours), so your cat is entertained when you're out of the house for the day.

the main downside to the PetSafe Dancing Dot Laser toy is that it isn't rechargeable, so you better have plenty of AAA batteries on hand.

_{Dimensions: 3 x 2.25 x 3.5 inches | Weight: 6.4 ounces}

Best Food Puzzle

Trixie 5-in-1 Cat Activity Center

4.2

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Cats evolved as hunters, meant to spend their days outdoors on the search for prey. Domestication means they no long need to hunt for survival, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hunt for fun and mental stimulation. Food puzzles have become very popular ways to give them indoor activities to keep their minds and reflexes sharp.

The Trixie 5-in-1 Cat Activity Center is a food and toy puzzle that incorporates five different types of entertainment and challenge for your cat. Sprinkle their dry food meal, treats or small toys over the activity center and watch your cat get sucked into trying to figure out how to catch, eat and play. Their digging instinct is awakened by the clear globes while the pegs, alleyways and indents encourage your cat to seek out the treats or small toys you sprinkle around.

The non-slip rubber feet help keep it in place, so it should stay upright even when your cat gets really excited. The simple white design should blend inconspicuously into your home. This activity center has value every day if you vary the food, treats and toys you use. Our tester also found it safe and easy to clean.

_{Dimensions: 1.75 x 15.75 x 2 inches | Weight: 3 pounds}

Best for Chasing

BENTOPAL Automatic Cat Toy

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Chasing may be a cat’s favorite natural activity—after sleep of course. The BENTOPAL Automatic Cat Toy features a hanging feather attached to two large wheels that swivel, turn, and rotate so the toy will move in unpredictable ways that delightfully trigger your cat’s natural predatory instincts including stalking, chasing, and pouncing.

Two operating modes (fast and slow) allow you to adjust play to match your cat’s mood and activity level while also keeping it fresh and unpredictable. The wheels are large and sturdy enough to run on any type of floor, including most carpets.

There’s also a convenient automatic mode that can be used when you’re away for the day. The toy will run for 10 minutes, then turn off for 90 minutes, and then turn back on for another 10 minutes and so on for eight total hours. The built-in rechargeable battery will recharge via USB in less than three hours and should last up to eight hours in default mode. You may notice this same toy or a very similar toy sold under multiple brand names including BurgeonNest, Sefon and CSHope, but the BENTOPAL brand has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of the bunch.

_{Dimensions: 6.5 inches x 3.8 inches x 3 inches | Weight: 11.5 ounces}

Best String Toy

Moody Pet Fling-Ama-String Cat Toy

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We have all likely witnessed how excited cats can get when playing with a simple piece of yarn or string. Moody Pet’s Fling-Ama-String Cat Toy’s clever design has a proven track record of making cats happily berserk.

Designed to hook on any household door knob, this automatic string toy will get even the laziest of cats moving. One end of a long, brightly-colored, silky string is sewn onto a flat, elastic conveyer belt that rotates. When switched on, the string flings in and out enthralling your cat who will want to bite, paw, claw, and hopefully stop the string. But as soon as they let go, the string automatically starts to rotate again enticing them to play for long periods of time.

Made in the United States, Fling-Ama-String has two speeds to offer variety and to prevent boredom. Appropriate for any age, this toy requires three AA batteries that can be standard or rechargeable. This toy has been around since at least 2009 and has a long track record of satisfied kitty customers. For safety, the manufacturers recommend wrapping the string around the door knob when not in use to prevent your cat from unsupervised play that could get the string wrapped around a paw or their neck.

_{Dimensions: 29.5 x 5 x 2.5 inches | Weight: 9.5 ounces}

Best for Multiple Cats

Petstages Tower of Tracks Cat Toy

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When you have multiple cats at home, you need a sturdy toy that more than one cat can play with at once. If you’re lucky, two cats will enjoy playing with the toy together for even more entertainment. One excellent option are track ball cat toys. There are a wide variety of track ball cat toys on the market to choose from.

Petstages Tower of Tracks Cat Toy is an affordable option, and widely available and well-liked by our editors. The Spruce Pets has also tested a similar—but less widely available—product, Easyology’s Amazing Roller Cat Toy. These two options, and many others, are made from plastic. For a more eco-friendly option, consider a track ball cat toy made from wood (view on Cute Cat Store) or the more sustainably-sourced bamboo (view on TheseCool).

Petstages Tower of Tracks is irresistible to cats because even though your cat will want to pull the three brightly colored balls from their tracks, their efforts only make the balls roll out of sight in their tracks. When cats are really excited, they may have all three balls spinning and rolling at once. Safe to play with even when you’re not at home, this stacked play station is built to last. You’ll appreciate that it includes non-skid pads on the bottom so it won’t move around or tip too easily.

_{Dimensions: 10 x 5.5 x 10 inches | Weight: 9.6 ounces}