Cats are simultaneously far easier and far more difficult to buy gifts for than dogs. While dogs tend to be open to sharing their people’s every interest, cats tend to rigorously stick to what they know and what they like. Creative present buying for your cat is almost doomed to failure, but there are a small handful of classic gifts that are almost guaranteed to go down well. Just don’t expect too much gratitude!
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Personalised Gifts for Cats
Personalised items for cats are far more basic than the ones available for their canine cousins. It is unlikely that cats particularly care about this state of affairs, of course, but their owners might.
Still, you should be easily able to find personalisation options for food bowls, beds and blankets. This also applies to collars, harnesses, jumpers and coats but cats would rather everyone forgot all about those.
Treat Gifts for Cats
When it comes to cat treats, in our experience there is one absolute gold standard. Some cats love chicken, some prefer prawns or fish, some go absolutely wild for potato crisps. There are cats who love olives or slices of cucumber. Some cats adore Marmite. But they all love Dreamies. A megatub of Dreamies is as close to a guaranteed hit as you get as a cat owner.
But cats (presumably) can’t live on Dreamies alone, so what else might be worth trying? We’ve picked these two, both 100% natural and without any nasties that might upset your kitty’s digestion. The Pets Purest Cat Treat Feast Bundle features dried chicken, poultry and whole fish treats with no grain or dairy. You could also try Thrive Cat Treats, resealable cardboard tubes of freeze dried chicken or fish which contain no nasty additives and also have the benefit of being good for your cat’s teeth.
Birthday Gifts for Cats
Your cat doesn’t care whether or not it is their birthday. As far as they are concerned, every day is their birthday. That said, they will secretly enjoy a little bit of extra fuss, so here are some ideas of things you can get for your cat to make their special day a bit better.
First of all, in our experience even the most grumpy cat loves to have a cat tunnel, be it for playing in or just sleeping inside to get some peace and quiet. This selection from Pets at Home features simple tunnels to ones with additional entrance and exit holes, fur-lined caves or integral ball toys.
Another favourite is catnip, although many cats are simply not interested at all. If you’re lucky enough to have one of the cats who are, King Catnip produce an array of catnip-filled toys in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes, including banana, cigar, fish and frog. Another catnip delivery system well worth giving a try is bubbles, which many cats love to chase and pop, in spite of themselves.
Scientists are increasingly realising the importance of giving your cat plenty of intellectual stimulation, so our final two suggestions are with this in mind. The Armitage Meowee Laser Pen will help promote and provoke their natural hunting instinct. Meanwhile, a good cat tower provides them with an all-in-one assault course, scratching post, sleeping spot, playground and neighbourhood lookout position.
Christmas Gifts for Cats
It’s difficult to know exactly how our cats feel about Christmas. In some ways it must be a dreadful inconvenience, with strange decorations everywhere and different people milling about. On the other, some cats love to go tree climbing and fridge diving. Most cats seem to take the rough with the smooth and just find somewhere warm, quiet and comfortable to sleep. Much like they do for the other 51 weeks of the year.
So that’s a great place to start in finding a Christmas gift your cat will appreciate. In our experience, radiator beds are always popular. However, if your cat finds these to leave them a little exposed, how about considering one of the snuggly cocoon-style beds made by LoveCatCaves? Every bed is handmade, stylish and made from all-natural wool.
With regards to toys, you can find some festive danglers made by Great & Small at Pets Corner. This gingerbread man is the more traditional type, but if you are feeling as lazy as your cat, this penguin comes with its own suction cup and can hang around freely without any additional effort on your part.
Treats are always welcome, of course. For the build-up to Christmas you can get your furry pal this Cosma Advent Calendar, featuring a freeze-dried treat behind every door. Then for the big day itself, go for the Dreamies: a mixed flavour gift box from Wilko is almost the same size as the Megatub but boasts more variety, always a winner with cats.
Finally, you’ve been pandering to your cat all this time. Why not take a risk and get them something a little bit different and fun? This cardboard laptop scratching toy will either be right up their street, or will simply serve to add another layer of mystery about what it is exactly about YOUR laptop that they find so irresistible.