The classic cat toy has traditionally been a ball of yarn. Some folks even think it’s the perfect cat toy. This is not just a myth, but it is also harmful. Cats may like playing with a ball of yarn, but they also enjoy playing with other items that might be hazardous to their health.
A ball of yarn is just a large ball of thread. String is the ONE thing you should NEVER allow your cat to play with. Don’t offer your cat yarn, string, thread, or anything similar, and make sure they aren’t laying around where your cat may find them.
✅ Best Automatic Kitten Toy Robot Ball Auto 360 Degree Rotating
Kept any cats attention! – It’s really sturdy. This thing as went tumbling down the basement steps three times in two days and just keeps on going. This has kept your cats attention longer than any other toy. It changes direction often so your cat don’t figured out which way it will it will turn next!
✅ Best Indoor Wool Felt Ball Toy For Cat
These are FANTASTIC – Cat can run for hours and they’re so sturdy and durable. There’s a huge variety; some with bells or beads in them to make noise, some soft, some hard, some big, small, and the best of all. Highly recommend this for your ball chasing cats and kittens.
✅ Best Electric Flopping Fish Kicker Toy For Cat
Fun with a Clown Fish – You had been desperately searching for a great toy to keep your active cat busy during the day when you can’t play with him yourselves. This fish toy does the trick! Cat loves it!! He has learned that it activates when cat touches it, so he starts it by himself, and plays with it alone when needed. It’s so fun to watch!
✅ Best Cat Teeth Cleaning Chew Toy
Great, NATURAL Cat Toy – would recommend this for cats who have a tendency to get bored and start scratching and biting everything in sight. The straw at the ends held up better than expected, and the twine wrapped around the rod is pretty much all unraveled. The rock thing broke off within hours, bits of it were scattered around.
If your cat prefers yarn balls, try felted wool balls.
Cats not only use their paws to play, but they also use their jaws and teeth. The issue is as follows: Thousands of little barbs on the backside of your cat’s tongue. You’ve experienced what it’s like to be licked by a cat. As if it were sandpaper. These projections, known as filiform papillae, are used to assist cat groom as well as break meat off bones. Yes, Kitty has a fantastic personality.
If your cat toys with string, this beautiful tongue with its back-facing projections may be dangerous. If he gets a bit of thread stuck in his mouth, the papillae make it difficult for him to pull it out. Instead, the string is yanked backward, which he may swallow. Imagine eating a lengthy piece of thread again and over again. This thread might obstruct his intestines or potentially cause serious injury.
The thread may pass through if you and your pet are fortunate. I’ve delicately plucked thread from a cat’s rear end during my vet tech days. I’ve also done it for my small boy, who enjoys string games (he has a string finding radar but we are very careful). This is not something I suggest you attempt. This is a life-threatening circumstance. On its way out, the thread might sever the digestive tract. It’s also possible that it won’t come out. Finally, playing with a ball of yarn may result in an emergency trip to the veterinarian and, maybe, a risky procedure. When ingested, the thread will pass lengthwise through the intestines. In the worst-case scenario, the intestines could constrict and fold up like an accordion, which might be catastrophic.
Even if your cat does not swallow the thread, it may get entangled around her neck. This might create a choking danger if she dashes about and gets snagged on anything. Once the thread has wrapped itself around them, some cats may panic and attempt to “run from the string.” It’s easy for the string to get hooked on anything and then tighten around her neck.
String Toys
This leads us to cat toys fastened to strings on the ends of sticks. These are ideal for playing with your cat. However, if the string breaks, unless you can reattach it to the toy, throw it away. In general, do not let your cat alone with string toys. They are intended for cooperative play between you and the kitten. Select a safe cat toy with no ties for self-play.
Window Blind Cords
The cords used to open and shut window blinds, as well as any other kind of window covering that, uses cords, are a threat to cats. The hanging cable may entice your cat to use it as a toy. Many of these cables finish in a closed loop. Cats have been known to get caught in the cables. The same products that are used for baby-proof cords, such as this Cord Wind Up, can also be used to cat-proof cords. These enable you to wound the cord up and keep the ends high and out of reach while yet enabling you to unwind it as required.
Other Dangerous Items
Of course, if balls of yarn (and thread in general) are hazardous to a cat, there are a plethora of other hazardous home products. Many of the things on this list are favorites of cats. Do not allow your cat to play with the following items:
- tying knots
- every form of wire and anything containing wire (like twist ties above)
- elastic bands
- ties for hair
- plastic zip ties of any size, small or big (the small ones could be swallowed, and your cat might bite a piece off of large ones)
- Plastic zip ties are the final item on the list. When you acquire new items, specific pieces are often fastened using them, as well as twist ties and other fasteners. Make careful to get rid of them.
Stringy things aren’t the only home objects that are hazardous to cats. There are several. Do not allow your cat to play with plastic wrap or any other kind of plastic film, including waste bags. And, just like with huge plastic zip ties, don’t let them play with anything that could enable them to bite a piece off and swallow it.
And, as usual, there will be no bones for cats. Particularly chicken bones!