Gifts for cats: 15 ideas by budget (that get used)

Cats are honest about presents. A toy they don't rate gets one sniff and a lifetime under the sofa. The things they do rate get used until they fall apart.

We sell catnip, which means we hear a lot about both. This list is what we'd buy for a cat, whether it's a birthday, a new kitten, a thank-you to the cat-sitter's cat, or no reason at all. It's grouped by budget and ordered within each group by how long the gift tends to stay in use.

Free

1. A cardboard box with a door cut in it

The most-used cat gift in the country. Cut a cat-sized hole in one side, drop a pinch of catnip inside and leave it somewhere quiet. Replace it when it gets tatty, which is the point: a new box is a new present.

2. Ten minutes of play before bed

Not a thing you can wrap, but if the cat wakes someone at 5am it's the best gift they'll get. A wand toy, a proper hunt that ends with a catch, then food. The cat sleeps, and so does the owner.

3. A paper bag

Handles cut off, on its side, on the floor. Rustles when they go in. That's the whole product.

Under £10

4. Fresh catnip

The gift with the biggest reaction for the money, as long as it's fresh. Catnip loses its scent over months, and much of what's on the shelf has been there a while. Ours is grown on a family farm in South Africa, picked by hand, air-dried and packed leaf and flower only, no stems. A pinch crushed between your fingers is enough for a session.

The pouch is £9.99 as a one-off and goes through the letterbox. For your own cat, the first pouch is £4.99 on Subscribe & Save, then £7.49 every eight weeks.

One honest note: a lot of cats don't respond to catnip at all. It's genetic. If you're buying for a cat you don't know, see the end of this piece.

5. A kicker toy

A long, soft toy a cat can grab with the front paws and kick with the back ones. It's how they'd deal with prey, and it's the toy most likely to survive a year. Stitched features only; no glued-on eyes.

6. A pot of cat grass

Oat or wheat grass, grown from seed in about a week. Gives a cat something safe to chew, which matters in a flat full of houseplants they shouldn't.

7. A crinkle tunnel

Cheap, collapsible, and better with two cats than one. A sprinkle of catnip at one end starts the game.

Under £25

8. Catnip spray

The clean version. Mist a scratching post, a bed or a carrier and the cat gets the scent without the crumbs. It also brings old toys back to life, which makes it the present that upgrades every other present. 60ml, £12.99.

9. A play set

For one box that covers everything, the Chew & Chase Play Set has three kicker toys, a jumping mouse on a wand, a 60ml catnip spray and a claw-relief scratch board, £21.99. It's what we'd give if we could only give one thing.

10. A puzzle feeder

For the cat that finishes breakfast in nine seconds. Turns a meal into twenty minutes of work, which is the cheapest enrichment there is. Start with an easy one; a frustrated cat walks away.

11. A self-warming mat

No plug, reflects the cat's own heat, safe to leave anywhere. Older cats in particular. Put it where they already sleep rather than where you'd prefer them to.

12. A window perch

Sucker-mounted, on the sunniest window, ideally with a bird feeder outside it. Cats will watch a feeder for longer than most people watch anything.

Under £50

13. A proper scratching post

Tall enough for a full stretch, heavy enough not to wobble, and sisal rather than carpet. Cats often ignore a new post for weeks. A mist of catnip spray shortens that to about a minute.

14. A cat tree

If there's space. Height is the point: cats feel safer up high and most homes have nowhere to climb. Two platforms and a hide beat five flimsy ones.

15. A catnip subscription

For the cat that has everything, the gift that keeps turning up. A fresh pouch every eight weeks, free delivery, through the letterbox, cancelled whenever you like. First pouch £4.99, then £7.49 every eight weeks. Set it up here. Works as a gift too: enter their address at checkout, and cancel whenever you like — renewals bill you, not them.

Gifts most cats ignore

• Costumes and outfits. Thirty seconds for a photo, at most.
• Toys with bells, beads or glued-on parts. They come off and get swallowed.
• Laser pointers as the only toy. A hunt with nothing to catch. If you use one, finish on a real toy.
• Mirrors, screens, cat TV. Some cats like them for a day.
• Anything the owner has to assemble with an Allen key. The box will get more use.

If the cat doesn't respond to catnip

A lot of cats don't, and it isn't anything the owner has done. The usual alternative is silvervine, which works on most of the cats catnip doesn't.

If you buy catnip from us and the cat isn't interested, our money-back cat guarantee applies: tell us within 14 days of delivery and we'll refund, with nothing to send back. So it's a safe gift for a cat you've never met.

Buying for a new kitten

Hold the catnip until about eight months; most kittens don't react before then. A wand toy, a scratching post and a tunnel cover the first few months, and a kicker toy for when the teeth come in. We've written more on when kittens can have catnip.

Related guides: Christmas gifts for cats · What to put in a cat Christmas stocking · Cat birthday ideas · The Catnip Guide