Need kitty toy advice

[ceile]

I have a new kitty (sorry, no pics yet) and I want to get her one of those condo/scratching posts. Need a sturdy one as my 18+ lbs male will probably play on it too. Any ideas or do you have one that's stood up to rambunctious kittehs?

[SoxFan]

1. This should work

[Callalily]

4. That answer is

priceless! :rofl:

Yes, my sofa was my cats scratching post of choice!

[meow2u3]

10. This is my cats' scratching post of choice

http://www.nationwidemattress.biz/Celenia+mattress.jpg

[hippywife]

13. We have one of these.

(Not my cat, just got it off the interwebs.)

They are inexpensive, take up very little room and our cat loves it. She even naps on it. Time to buy a new one, too. We've had it for years and she's pretty much scratched it down.

[emilyg]

15. I have those for my cats.

Work great.

[pokerfan]

2. Never been a fan of carpet covered scratching posts

for obvious reasons.

I've had good luck with rope covered scratching posts. I have one that's set at a forty-five degree angle that they seem to like the best.

There are two indispensable cat toys in my opinion. 1) the round plastic trackball toy and 2) a laser pointer.

The cat condos are great in theory, but cats seem to prefer to find their own perches. A plain ol' cardboard box (especially one that looks too small) works great as well.

[backscatter712]

9. Sisal rope works.

Cats seem to like the rope better than carpet as far as scratching posts go - it feels better to them when they're sharpening their claws. Carpet just doesn't do the job.

[Sanity Claws]

3. No photo so I'll describe

I got several and put them in different rooms so no matter what room they're in, there's always a scratching post. That has helped keep them away from my couch and chairs.
We don't have the condo types. We have several scratching posts, with a platform on top where they can lie/sit. The scratching part is made of sisal. Two of them have a flat platform; one has a curved platform so it holds the cat sitting in it. All of them are about window heighth so they cat sit on the platform and look out the window. The platform is made of carpet.
Both of my boy cats are rather big (one is 18 lbs., the other 14) and they have not destroyed or broken their scratching posts.
I can recommend this type of post.

edited to add info on toys:
a couple of fabric mice
turboball or something like that -- it has a ball that the cat bats in a circular groove; it has a cardboard center (replaceable) that the cat can scratch when it gets excited by seeing the ball go round and round.
catnip -- rub it on the toys and scratching post; most cats like the stuff

[NV Whino]

5. Sisal scratching posts--never carpet

Laser pointer for toy.

Check out Drs Foster and Smith for kitty condos and scratching posts. They seem to be made better than most.

And don't forget the extra small box and paper bag.

[Kali]

6. a wadded up ball of paper, string on a stick (handle for you), wine cork or large bottle cap

My cat loves to go out the front door and claw the black "linked" door mat - the old fashioned kind that looks like it is made of pieces of an old car tire. (does that make sense?)

[Lorien]

7. You could get her one of these:

http://www.catsplay.com/rflotus.php3



but it ain't too cheap!

[DeepBlueC]

12. that is lovely

[Sequoia]

8. Not what you asked, but a paper sac will entertain you kitten for hours.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. We have this one:

My guys love it.

[marzipanni]

14. My cat and dog both LOVED an inexpensive sisal door mat

I put at a sliding glass door to protect the carpet. The cat and dog rubbed the sides of their "faces" on it, and the cat plucked it like a harp, shedding his claw husks. (It was just like the undecorated one on the left side midway down this page)-
http://www.homemadesimple.com/en_CA/nbrcontent.do?contentType=op&articleId=ar062

Kittens have fun batting and chasing ping-pong balls, especially on bare floors where the
sound is interesting.