Best Toys for a British Shorthair Cat and How to Choose Them

Do you happen to own a British Shorthair cat and ever wonder what would be the best toys for it? I know I have. Even if you own another cat breed, you might want to read this as well. After some research and testing, I’ve learned many interesting things that may surprise you. That is why, in this article, I’m going to present the best toys for British Shorthair cats.

Best Toys

The most interesting toys that your British Shorthair will ACTUALLY play with are:

 

How to play with a British Shorthair cat

Though these cats aren’t the most active or playful breed, they will still need some kind of physical activity. Why is that? Because a lazy cat will get fat really fast and you definitely don’t want that to happen.

Luckily, kitties love toys. However, you should keep in mind one important thing when you get yourself a cat: you need to introduce toys to them when they are children. As adults, they will have a difficult time trying to learn how to play. Also, another great thing is that many toys are specially made to improve the cat’s intellect and various other senses.

Buy it a couple of toys and see which type is it’s favorite. Sure, your cat may find a random thing from around the house more interesting and funnier to play with than one of these toys, but keep in mind that some of these items can be dangerous. This is another reason why you should buy the cat a toy early so they can get used to it.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle

For a healthy lifestyle, make sure to play around 15 minutes every day with your feline. Depending on the toy, playing with them requires very little effort for you. You just need to give them the toy, and they will play with it whenever they want to. If you choose a fishing pole-type toy, swing it around when you feel that your cat wants to play. No British Shorthair cat can resist such a thing.

You shouldn’t let your cat catch the toy too easily. This will make it bored really fast. Run around the house and make it chase the toy, eventually letting it win. After that, you should give her a small treat.  It will feel rewarded and make it want to play faster next time. Always end the playing session by letting it catch and bite the toy. Otherwise, some cats will feel very frustrated and give up any kind of physical activity.

While playing, if things are getting a little too exciting, your cat might consider you the next toy. If it is small, it might not be such a big deal, but don’t let it get used to that. Once the kitty reaches maturity, the bites and claws will hurt a little too much, but don’t start hitting the cat. When you are in this situation, just let it calm down and start playing again after.

It’s all about testing what your cat likes

If your British Shorthair cat isn’t too interested in playing whenever you want to, try testing it at different moments of the day, like in the morning or in the evening. Another thing you can do to make her play is to change the room. Try playing with her in the quietest room of the house, where there aren’t too many distractions.

You should apply this advice to all of your cats. However, don’t play with all of them at the same time, as some of them will play more than the others.

What kind of toys do they like?

Same as humans, no 2 cats are the same. If your neighbors own a cat that likes wand toys, that doesn’t mean your cat will like those as well.

Sometimes, a cat can like very simple toys, even the ones you make. If you have ever built a toy from a stick, a piece of string, and a piece of fabric at the end before, congratulations, that is called a wand toy. It basically simulates the movement of the cat’s prey by waving and circling the wand in different positions.

Most of the cats from the British Shorthair breed love this one. Not only it is very fun for the cats, but it is also safe for you to use. Because of the string that ties the stick and the fabric, you manage to keep the scratches and bites away.

You need to choose the materials depending on your cat and preferences. For the wand, it can be pretty much anything that doesn’t tear apart too easily. The string should fulfill the same condition as the wand and, on top of that, the length of it is also important. It shouldn’t be too long or too short, it has to be just right. However, the essential part of building a wand toy by yourself is choosing the fabric.

Experiment with different materials

There are a lot of options. Even a piece of paper could work. Experiment with different materials and objects, maybe even sounds. You can always attach your cat’s favorite bell to it. As long as it makes your cat excited and active, you are good to go. I highly recommend buying a wand toy, as they are much safer and durable for your cat than making one yourself. The kitty can easier cut the string and swallow the fabric of a self-made toy, which will be a huge problem.

There are also some tips I can give you while using this kind of toy. My suggestion is to hide it while you aren’t using it. If you leave the wand hanging, and your British Shorthair can play with it at any moment of the day, it will get bored of it very fast. It is obviously much safer for the cat to hide it as well. I will give you some examples to buy later in the article.

Types of toys

Coming up, we are going to talk about a very popular toy among dogs, which surprisingly, a lot of cats love as well. There isn’t too much to explain here. Cats love it because it imitates the movement of the prey. However, this toy isn’t going to improve the relationship between you and your cat as much as a wand toy. In my opinion, the free option is the best one to consider. Just wrinkle a couple of pieces of paper into a ball, and you’re done. Make sure it is big enough in order to not get swallowed by your kitties. It also makes a small sound, so it will keep them interested enough.

The last and maybe the best and most effective type of toy are the food dispensing toys. Not only it is entertaining for your cat but can also ensure it is well fed and has optimal weight. The fact that the kitty is going to have to work for her food is amazing. As you know, leaving the bowl of food exposed and refiling it each hour can lead to an overweight feline. That can lead to serious health problems and you definitely don’t want that for your cute animal. All of those can go away with these kinds of toys.

However, there is some bad news. If your cat isn’t too smart, it is going to take some time until your cat gets used to it. It will require a little bit of preparation too. It will seem kind of scary for her at first, so you need to take small steps.

Best toys for the British Shorthair breed

As I’ve said, every cat is different, that’s why I’m not going to recommend toys without the approval of others. Everything that I recommend right here is tested either by me or a lot of different people. If your cat is too lazy, I don’t think the following toys can do wonders, but you never know.

Because I began by telling you about wand toys, my first recommendation will be one of these as well. The Pet Fit toy is hands down the best one. It is really simple and cheap and also made from harmless but durable materials. It actives the cat’s natural instincts by the colors and the removable bell. Your cat will love it. You can find it on Chewy.com here.

As for food dispensers, the best option is probably the Cat Mate C3000 Programmable Dry Food Feeder. It is programmable and can be used for both dogs and cats. It has the best rating on Chewy and several other websites. Here is the link to it.

Conclusion

Overall, there are a lot of varieties, which you can choose from. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee any of those will work, you need to find out your cat’s preferences. It can be a difficult job, but once you’ve found those, your cat will be very happy. What toys does your British Shorthair cat like?