1. Best overall kitten toy: GingerUP Cat Feather
2. Best value kitten toy: DIWUJI LED Laser Pointer
3. Best kitten toy for all-round development: PAWZ Road Sisal Rope Scratching Post
4. Best self-play kitten toy: Vealind GiGwi Automatic Moving Mouse Cat Toy
5. Best kitten toy treat: Cat Sip Real Milk Treat
6. Best spring toy: ISMARTEN Pet Wide Colorful Springs
7. Best kitten toy for physical and mental stimulation: UPSKY Cat Toy Roller
How to choose
Having a selection of the best kitten toys on hand is well worth it if you're looking for fun and novel ways to provide the mental and physical stimulation your little fur baby needs each day to grow up happy and healthy. And just like the best cat toys, you really are spoiled for choice. From the best kitten teething toys to feather wands and laser pointers to bouncy balls and stuffed mice, there truly is something to suit every kitten.
When it comes to choosing kitten toys, we recommend investing in a few different options that will tap into your kitten's natural instincts to run, stalk, jump, and pounce. Teaser wands are brilliant for chasing, while track toys are perfect for tapping into your kitten's natural hunting instincts and honing their skills. The best automatic laser toys and other interactive options that your kitten can engage with independently are also brilliant for those days when you're out of the house a lot.
It's important to note, however, that just like with the best kitten food, not all kitten toys are created equal. While there are a range of playthings marketed towards kittens, these aren't always suitable for our smallest of feline friends. Flapping fish, for example, are very large and many kittens find these types of toys scary and overwhelming, so make sure that you choose toys that are an appropriate size for your kitten and not too daunting.
To help you purchase best kitten toys for your little bundle of fluff, we've rounded up our pick of the bunch below, with a range of fun and entertaining options that will keep your fur baby amused for hours.
The quick list
The best overall kitten toy
Sometimes it's the simplest toys that are the best, and they don't come much simpler than a feather on a stick, but cats just love chasing them.
Best value kitten toy
Another great choice in the "simple things kittens love to chase" category, laser pointers are a fun, cheap option that gives your little kitty a real workout.
Best kitten toy for all-round development
Whether you choose a simple scratching post, or a multi-level cat tree, these plush-covered towers offer your kitty something to scratch that isn't your furniture.
Best self-play kitten toy
The wind-up mouse is another classic toys for kittens, helping them to hone their hunting and pouncing skills. These days you can get battery-powered versions that don't need constant winding too.
Best kitten toy treat
Not technically a toy, but treats can be a great thing to incorporate into playtime, rewarding your kitty with a delicious treat when they play with their toys. Milk treats also provide calcium to help their bones and teeth develop.
Best spring toy for kittens
They might seem a bit basic, but kittens love the tracking unpredictable movements of a bouncing spring, helping them train their savage (and adorable) pouncing skills.
Load more products...
Best kitten toy for physical and mental stimulation
These confined rolling ball toys are a great way to for your kitten to play in a dedicated space. No need to worry about fishing all their toys out from under the sofa.
The best kitten toys we recommend in 2024
Why you can trust PetsRadar Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Best kitten toy overall
✅ You want a highly interactive toy: Some cat toys let cats play by themselves, but Cat feathers are the best way to get physically involved and play with your kitten.
❌ You’re want something long-lasting: Cats aren't known for being gentle with birds, so the feathers in these toys don't tend to last very long.
🔎 MeoHui Cat Feather Toy: The quintessential kitten toy, cat feathers are a cheap and fun way for you to play with your kitty while honing their hunting instincts as they grow.
The classic cat teaser wand is as close to a ‘guaranteed toy’ as you can get with cats. While there’s no such thing as a universally loved toy, the teaser wand has entertained every single cat we’ve known. It’s perfect for kittens too, because you get to control how high they jump, how rough they get with their play, and how fast they run and pounce.
Most teaser wands come with a tempting toy at the end of a piece of elastic, which encourages your kitten to chase, jump, and generally attack. Make sure you do get one with an elastic string, which flexes when your kitten sinks in their claws - not only is it more fun for your kitty if the teaser keeps stretching when they play with it, but it’s safer if they get wrapped up in it too.
Many teasers come with spare attachments, either for variety, or to replace when your cat destroys or loses the first one. While this is useful to have, we don’t think you lose much by having one with a single attachment, as it’s often the wand or elastic that breaks before the toy itself. And, given how inexpensive the average teaser toy is… you can just buy a new one very easily.
Best value kitten toy
✅ You want something your kitten can't break: Kittens are likely to destroy anything they can get their paws on... but they can't grab a laser no matter how hard they try.
❌ You need a toy for a very young kitten: Laser pointers are a great kitten toy, but young kittens who haven't learnt to control their movements might injure themselves chasing after the beam.
🔎 JMMTAAG Cat Laser Toy: A great kitten toy that they'll still enjoy when they grow up. Cats love chasing things and unlike most of their prey, they can't damage the laser. Just make sure to get a rechargeable laser toy to avoid battery costs.
The laser pointer is a great toy for cats of all ages, and kittens especially love playing with them. While adult cats may eventually get wise to chasing a laser dot around your living room, kittens love to explore and chase it, and you can have hours of fun making them sprint around the room, or watching them learn to pounce.
When you’re looking for a laser toy, you can go cheap and cheerful by just getting one that projects a laser dot onto whatever surface you point it at. Simple. You’ll probably only pay about $10 here.
However, we find that cheaper laser pointers have weaker beams, are more prone to breaking, and will often chew through batteries alarmingly quickly. We recommend you spend a little more on a laser pointer that offers a few different filters for the beam, and that is rechargeable, saving you a fortune on batteries. Pick a laser pointer with either a keychain or a wrist-strap too - you don’t want to lose control of it when you’re playing with your kitten.
While we think lasers are great for young cats, we wouldn’t recommend them for kittens under 12 weeks. Playing with a pointer can see your kitten crashing into objects and walls, as they lack the control to stop themselves when chasing the dot. You don’t want younger kittens to hurt themselves playing like this.
Best kitten toy for all-round development
✅ Your kitten is scratching the furniture: If your kitten is starting to scratch at the furniture or carpets, then a scratching post can help direct that behavior onto a suitable object.
❌ You have limited space: There are smaller scratching posts available, but even these are much larger than typical kitten toys so if space is an issue, maybe look for an alternative.
🔎 PAWZ Road Cat Tree / Scratching Post: Whether you go for a compact scratching post or a full adventure playground, your kitten will appreciate having something to get their claws into, and you'll appreciate not having your sofa shredded.
You’ll need to give your kitten some kind of outlet for climbing and scratching. That’s a fact. If you’re ok with them scratching your sofa and carpet to ribbons… that’s cool. If not, you should get them a scratching post or, even better, a full-on cat tree. Kittens won’t always take to regular scratching posts, and may just choose to ignore it and eviscerate your couch instead. However, they will need something to not only keep their claws sharp and remove old nails, but also to keep them amused too.
The best scratching posts come with some kind of toy attached to entice your kitten to use it. Often teasers and dangling balls will be enough to get them interested. However, sometimes even that won’t work, which is when you definitely need a cat tree.
A cat tree is a scratching post, platform, and series of modules designed to be a ‘full home’ for your kitten. They’ll climb it, scratch it, hide in it, and probably sleep in and on it too. Cats love these trees, as they enjoy (and feel safe) being at height. The only downsides are that cat trees are a) fairly expensive, and b) fairly large, and can take up a lot of space in your living room. We highly recommend a cat tree, as it’ll stay with you for years and actually work out as good value in the end.
Best self-play kitten toy
✅ You need a toy your kitten can play with solo: These toys are perfect for when you're busy and need to keep your furry critter to entertain themselves.
❌ Your kitten is skittish around moving toys: Not all kittens will enjoy the fact that their toy has a mind of its own.
🔎 GiGwi Automatic Moving Mouse Cat Toy: Automated mouse toys are a fantastic option for busy kitten owners, but they're not a replacement for hands-on playtime.
A motorized or wind-up mouse will - if your kitten likes it - keep them occupied for decent periods of time. The problem is, they can be very hit and miss. We’ve known some young cats to really love watching and chasing a motorized mouse (or equivalent animal) toy, whereas others have zero interest at all. It’s a risk, but a low cost one.
The advantage of a battery-operated mouse (which we’d recommend over a clockwork toy) is that it keeps going indefinitely, and you don’t necessarily have to give your kitten your full attention for this kind of play. While we’d always recommend partitioning time to play with your cat every day, we do understand that waving a laser pointer for 10 fruitless minutes, while your cat simply stalks and never pounces, isn’t that fulfilling.
Wind-up mice can work, especially if you want to get involved as much as possible, but they’re less enticing for your cat. A toy that requires constant winding can only provide so much amusement, especially if your kitten is in the middle of a good stalking session.
Best kitten toy treat
✅ You want to reward good behavior: Treats are a great way to reinforce good behaviors as your kitten grows and learns to play.
❌ You need an actual pet toy: Consider these a supplement to other toys, rather than a toy themselves.
🔎 Whiskas Temptations Creamy Dairy Cat Treats: Milk treats are a fantastic way to reinforce good behaviors, and they also aid with healthy bone and teeth growth too.
Ok, this last one isn’t actually a toy, but we see it as an essential accessory for any kitten owner. Milk treats are basically small biscuits for your cat, with cat milk-infused centers, which help to give your kitten the calcium they need to develop strong bones and teeth. They allow you to give your cat milk without giving them actual milk, which they struggle to digest. Not only do they benefit development, they can also be used to reinforce behavior and supplement play.
They come in many different forms, from various manufacturers, but they all do roughly the same thing. We default to the Whiskers treats, as they seem to be the ones most enjoyed by our kitten. Whenever kittens become overwhelmed by life, or have difficult days at the vet getting inoculations or neutering operations, a milk treat or two can reaffirm their bond with you and get them remotivated.
It’s important to note that you should never exceed the recommended number of treats per day, and should always give them sparingly. You can substitute them for regular treats, but they may not confer the calcium benefit. And it’s worth noting that they’re mainly suitable for kittens and young, still-developing cats.
Best spring toy for kittens
✅ You want the maximum bang for your buck: Toys don't come much cheaper than a plastic spring, and yet kittens absolutely love chasing them and batting them around.
❌ You want a tidy toy: Your kitten is going to knock these springs under every cabinet, sofa, and table it can find so expect to be cleaning them up constantly unless you can restrict them to a set play space.
🔎 ISMARTEN Pet Wide Colorful Springs: The simple and seemingly endless joy of watching your kitten bat a bouncy spring around the room is well worth the price of entry here, as long as you don't mind picking up after them.
Sometimes, the simple toys are the best and in the case of the ISMARTEN Pet Wide Colorful Springs Cat Toys, you might just find that your kitten goes well and truly crazy for them. The concept is simple to grasp: kittens can chase after the bouncy, colorful springs or bat at them across the room. It's an inexpensive way to keep your kitten entertained, and as this pack comes with 100, even if they lose them, there's still plenty more to keep then occupied.
If you're looking for a fun way to encourage activity and exercise in your kitten and you enjoy watching them zooming about the place, the random bouncing movements are sure to create some interesting entertainment for both you and the cat.
Providing you don't lose too many to an overenthusiastic feline and are able to round them up at the end of your play session, these springs are surprisingly durable and can be appreciated by cats of all ages. To get the most of your springs, pet parents suggest cutting the pointy ends off if your kitten likes to carry them around in the mouth, otherwise they should be good to go.
Best kitten toy for physical and mental stimulation
✅ You want a tidy toy: Since the balls are contained within the track (most of the time), this toy won't leave you chasing around under the furniture.
❌ You want a quiet toy: There aren't many negatives to these types of toys, but they can be a bit noisier than other options.
🔎 UPSKY Cat Toy Roller: Cat's love chasing things, and ball rolling toys give them that joy but in a confined space, helping them build their reflexes.
A brilliant toy for helping to develop your kitten's senses and hunting instincts, this 3-level roller with brightly colored balls attached is bound to be a huge hit with your little fur friend.
Made of ultra-strong and tear-resistant plastic, each layer is detachable for easy cleaning and it comes with a sturdy base that allows the toy to stay up right in the face of all that vigorous batting.
It's ideal for helping to reduce loneliness and boredom when your kitten is home alone as it can be used independently, but it works equally well in multi-furkid homes where your cats can have fun playing together.
How to choose the best kitten toy
When researching kitten toys we put the needs of a developing kitten at the center of all our decisions. In other words, we looked at the various skills and behaviors kittens need to practice in order to become healthy, happy cats. So, we tried to choose a variety of toys that help with all aspects of a kitten’s physical development.
These toys all involve some kind of interaction or effort from you, the owner, which will help to improve the bond between you and your kitten. This is especially important for younger cats, as they need to feel like they’re in a safe environment away from their mother and siblings.
Kittens also get very tired playing, so most of the toys on this list can be used in short bursts, allowing you to interact with your young cat for smaller periods of time, before letting them rest. It’s important to let your kitten have time-outs between play sessions and explorations, as they can easily get overwhelmed and become hyperactive.
Want to find out the answer to, 'Why do cats chase lasers?' This feature has the answer.
