I have two extremely happy and energetic cats who are not declawed. All of the toys I end up buying them either get torn apart immediately or knocked under the furniture, never to be seen again. Would ye Doper catlovers be able to recommend some mildly inexpensive toys that are durable and large enough to not get knocked under furniture? I always check out the cat section of Wal-Mart or PetSmart, but never see any toys I think they’d like. Thanks.
Take a plastic bag and tie and re-tie it up until you have one large knot. This keeps my cat occupied for hours.
Post it note balls. Actually paper balls of any type.
Milk caps.
Petsmart should have cheap mouse toys. The rattley small type with tails made of feathers.
Ooo, another kitty thread! 
My suggestion is free: Get a printer paper box! Phoebe loves to sit in and on the lids, and I’ve heard that a box makes a good scratchy thingy. As for the main part of the box, remove one side panel and the bottom, leaving three connected sides. Stand it up. Now your kitties have a fort and they can stalk toys/each other/imaginary prey/your feet as you walk by.
Well, I was going to suggest aluminum foil balls until I read that you don’t want things that can go under the furniture. Of course, you could always make a really HUGE aluminum foil ball!
Our current cat’s favorite toy wouldn’t work for you, either – she goes NUTS for bottle caps. Carries them around in her teeth, sets them on something, knocks them off, then bats them around the house. . . until they end up under a piece of furniture (actually, most often the stove!), at which point she goes up to daddy and cries, “Daddy, my bottle cap accidentally went under the stove. PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE get up and get it for me! Purrrrrrretty please?!” And of course he cannot resist.
She also lurvs her Peek-A-Prize Toy Box, but again, it requires relatively small toys that will fit in the holes.
Feather wands, laser pointers and Da Bird are my cats’ favorites, but all require human involvement. The feather wand and Da Bird are easily ripped to shreds if the cats get a hold of them.
Plastic bags knotted are OK if you don’t have a freak of nature cat (as I do) who likes to chew on plastic bags.
Another favorite here is catnip filled toys, similar to small stuffed animals that can be refilled. Mine haven’t destroyed the two I have, yet.
I do. Zen loves all things plastic, especially bags.
I’ve already tried some of the suggestions listed here, especially aluminum foil and wadded up paper. Nayumi ignores them and Zen maintains interest for about 10 minutes. I go through a pack of toy mice a month. The feather things on the elastic string also get destroyed as my cats are strong.
Hang a plastic slinky from the door. Hours of fun for hooman and cat.
A ball of crumpled aluminun foil.
My cats LOOOVE their kitty play tunnel and they constantly chase each other through it, or hide in it and “stalk” passing feet, or just generally run/play inside. It never seems to get old for them. It definitely qualifies for the “will not roll under the furniture” requirement! This particular model I linked to (which we have) is nice because it is on a big spring and you can squish it into a small hoop for storage if you want it out of the way (such as when you have guests). Both of my cats have all their claws and have destroyed other toys but have never scratched the tunnel up, but YMMV.
Also, we have a Crazy Circle toy that is very durable and also won’t get lost under furniture. However, it seems kind of hit and miss…I’ve tried them with lots of cats (Humane Society volunteer) and depending on the cat it will either love it or ignore it. Similar toys come with a scratch pad which some cats like.
My cat’s favorite is definitely the laser pointer. If I pick it up, he started meeping and looking around frantically. It’s hilarious. It’s like he knows that the laser comes from the little black wand, and yet…he still thinks it’s something he can catch? I don’t know. If I shine it on his paw, he screeches and runs away like he’s been bitten.
He also enjoys balls of aluminum foil and this little wand with bells and feathers attached to the end. But it’s nothing compared to the laser pointer.
Similar to the one Mirasol linked to, Zebulon and Jezebel like this. You can sprinkle catnip in the corrugated section in the middle which makes it more attractive to them.
It will slide under the furniture, but rarely all the way, so it doesn’t disappear.
Our kitties love anything with feathers on it, but of course the pet store doodads with feathers on are expensive. I get lengths of cheap feather boa trim from craft stores on clearance whenever I can and the kitties lurves them. The yard-long or longer pieces tend not to make it all the way under the furniture.
Also, any large piece of noisy crinkly packing stuff. Joy for hours!
Oh – we have a kitty play tunnel, but they seem to prefer cheap laundry hampers, the mesh collapsible kind.
They love stalking each other through a big wad of tulle (mesh or net) fabric, too. I think our piece is a couple of yards’ worth. They’ve been abusing that particular piece of fabric for three years now, and it has quite a few tears, but they still love it.
Any toy is more fun if it disappears out of normal rotation from time to time, then makes a comeback, by the way.
Cat Dancer!!!
http://catdancer.com/products.htm
(scroll down to see it)
Its a wire with some bits of cardboard on it. It costs about $2.75. My cats run like crazy after it, and have not gotten tired of it in, oh, say, the past 12 years. They like “Da Bird” too, but that’s more expensive and more easily destroyed.
Boxes. Lots of boxes. Put 'em in, close the lid - this keeps Phoebe occupied for at least 2 minutes!
Do they still sell Cat Dancers? A simple loop of wire with a twist of cardboard at each end - cats seemto love them.
A puppy is a good cat toy…
I’ve just accepted the fact that cat toys are going to be destroyed, and live with it. I buy the cheap little imitation mice with a fuzzy body & little tail – the kidn that come in a package of a dozen for about $5. They last a couple of days. The tail lasts an hour or two at most – my old male Paul will de-tailate (what’s the opposite of decapitate?) bite them off very quickly. But they’re still good to play with for a while.
They do tend to get lost under furniture, but most of my furniture the cats can get under too, so they eventually find them and bring them out again. The exceptions (stove, etc.) get moved eventually for cleaning, and then I find hidden treasures of toys under them – it’s like Christmas!
Table tennis (ping pong) balls never failed to give my cats endless hours of self-pleasure. They move with the slightest, suggestive tug, enticing attack.
One of my cats LOVES Cat Dancer, and the other is afraid of it.
Another idea: pour 1/2 cup of fresh catnip into the toe of an old sock, tie a knot in the sock, so the catnip doesn’t spill out. I think it’s the only object that the cats are emotionally attached to.
And of course: EACH OTHER! They love to wrestle and chase each other, and play while they’re waiting to be fed, and play on and under the blankets in bed.
I use practice golf balls, they are just hollow balls with little cutouts in them. Very cheap, very light, the cats enjoy them, and THEY DON’T BREAK INTO SHARP PIECES WHEN I STEP ON THEM IN THE DARK. The Bodoni cats also enjoy boxes of all sizes, milk jug rings, and paper bags. The youngest cat loves the ringaround someone mentioned upthread. It lives in the living room, and Charlie launches several attacks each night. The two older cats will play with it occasionally, but usually feel a bit tired after coping with Charlie 24/7. The older male cat, Shadow, used to sit on Charlie when Charlie got too rambunctious, but now Charlie is nearly fullgrown, and too big to sit on.