Cat advent calendars 2026: which type to buy, and how to make a better one
Quick answer
Cat advent calendars come in three types: treats, toys, or a mix. Treat calendars are 24 days of treats for one cat, which is a lot; toy calendars are better value if the toys are decent. The best option is often the one you fill yourself. Here's how to choose, and how to make one.
Every November the pet aisle fills with cat advent calendars, and every December a lot of them end up half-opened behind the sofa. Not because cats don't like them. Because the contents don't survive contact with an actual cat: 24 identical treats, or 24 tiny toys with glued-on eyes.
This is a guide to picking one that works, and to making one that works better.
The three types
Treat calendars
Twenty-four small treats behind twenty-four doors. The easiest to find and the easiest to get wrong. Things to check on the box:
- How many treats per door, and how big. One cat eating a calendar's worth of treats in December is a cat that's gained weight by January.
- Ingredients. Meat first on the list; no sugar, no artificial colours. A lot of cheap treat calendars are the pet version of a selection box.
- Whether the treats are all the same. Twenty-four of one thing is a bag of treats with doors.
Good for: cats on no special diet, in a house that'll remember to open the doors.
Toy calendars
Twenty-four small toys. Better value if the toys are any good, and most aren't. Check:
- Stitched features, not glued. Bells and plastic eyes come off and get swallowed.
- Variety. A mix of kickers, balls and mice beats twenty-four mice.
- Whether any contain catnip. Most don't. Toy-calendar toys are usually small enough that a mist of catnip spray on the day turns each one into something worth having.
Good for: kittens, multi-cat homes, and anyone who'd rather not add 24 treats to a cat's December.
Mixed calendars
Treats some days, toys others. Usually the best of the shop-bought options when one exists, and this year one does: the Pets at Home Ultimate Luxury Advent Calendar for Cats (£35, click and collect only), with 17 food and treat items and seven toys behind its 24 doors, several of them catnip toys. It's for adult cats, and worth reading the treat labels: a few use colourants, one wet food lists sugars, and one of the toys is a laser, so keep that one supervised.
What's on sale this year
| Image | Calendar | Type | Price | Where sold | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Lily's Kitchen | Treat | £8.50 | Lily's Kitchen (also Zooplus, £8.49) | One small treat a day, sweet potato first, then chicken liver and turkey, but it's 24 of the same thing. |
 |
Lifestage | Treat | £5.00 | Jollyes | One freeze-dried chicken or duck treat a day; passes the checks |
 |
Rosewood Cupid & Comet Luxury Deli | Treat | £6.00 | Amazon | Single-ingredient meat and cheap, but four bites a door: count them in the day's food |
 |
Woodmansterne 12 Cats of Christmas | Treat | £6.99 | Alzheimer's Society shop | One fish-led treat a day and the money goes to charity; solid, unexciting |
 |
Webbox | Treat | £2.00 | Webbox | Contains catnip, but sugar is the first ingredient: fails the ingredients check. |
 |
iZoeL 24 toys | Toy | £23.99 | Amazon | Best-rated toy calendar with good variety, but includes bells and a bell collar, which we'd remove |
 |
Starryl 24 toys | Toy | £15.99 | Amazon | One of a few toy calendars that include catnip toys; mixed reviews. |
Prices checked on 6 October 2026. We don't sell any of these and have no arrangement with anyone who does.
How to make a better one
A shop calendar costs £10 to £25 and most of what's inside is filler. For about the same money you can make one your cat will still be using in February, and it takes twenty minutes.
You need
- A pouch of fresh catnip (30g, £9.99, or £4.99 for a first pouch on Subscribe & Save, then £7.49 every eight weeks for your own cat)
- Three or four small toys: a kicker, a crinkle ball, a toy mouse
- A sachet of good treats
- 24 small paper bags or boxes, and a pen
How to fill it
- Catnip in eight of the doors. A pinch sealed in a small bag, spread across the month every third day or so, so the cat gets a fresh hit rather than a dulled one.
- Toys in four of them. One toy per door, spaced out. Rub the kicker with a pinch of catnip on its day.
- Treats in the rest. One or two treats per door, counted towards the day's food.
- Christmas Eve: the box. The last door is a cardboard box with a hole cut in it and a pinch of catnip inside. Free, and the most-used thing on the list.
- Keep the pouch sealed between days. Catnip loses its scent in the open, so take out each day's pinch and reseal.
Total: one pouch, a few toys, a bag of treats, and most of the pouch left over for January.
The one-box version
If you'd rather not assemble anything, the Chew & Chase Play Set is three kicker toys, a wand, a scratch board and a catnip spray in a gift box, £21.99. Open one thing a week through December and it lasts the month; mist the toys when they go quiet and it lasts well past it.
A note on kittens and cats that don't respond
Kittens under about eight months usually don't react to catnip, so for a kitten calendar go for toys and skip the catnip days. And a lot of adult cats don't respond to catnip at all; it's genetic. For those cats the toys and treats still work, and our money-back cat guarantee covers the pouch if it turns out yours is one of them: tell us within 14 days of delivery, nothing to send back.
Order by
Mid-November for shop calendars, which sell out. For ours, 21 December for Christmas delivery, free, 2 to 3 working days, through the letterbox.
Related guides: Christmas gifts for cats · What to put in a cat Christmas stocking · Gifts for cats by budget · The Catnip Guide
Questions cat owners ask
Are cat advent calendars worth it?
For the ritual, yes. For the contents, it depends: 24 small treats is more than most cats need, and the toys in cheaper calendars are often the glued-on-eyes kind. Check the box, or make your own.
Can cats have a treat every day for 24 days?
A small one, yes, if you count it towards their daily food. If your cat is on a diet or a vet-prescribed food, skip the treat calendars and go for toys.
Can I put catnip in an advent calendar?
Yes, and it's the best thing in one. Keep it sealed in small portions so it stays fresh, and give it on the days you want a big reaction. Wait until kittens are about eight months.
When should I buy a cat advent calendar?
By mid-November. The good ones sell out, and a calendar that arrives on the 3rd of December has lost three doors.
Do you make a catnip advent calendar?
Not yet. The make-your-own version below uses our pouch; tell us if you'd buy a ready-made one and we'll know what to do next year.
