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Cats don't know or care about the difference between the dollar-store cat toy or the super-duper-fancy-pantsy-delux e toy that cost a small mint. What cats like are things that rustle, are attractive to touch, and are preferably shiny.

My cats love...beans. Dried beans, the kind that cost $1 for a pound of them. Especially on hard surfaces, because then they skitter noisily when they are batted around. That kind of skittering noise is apparently very attractive to cats, because balls of aluminum foil work, too. When I got Shadow a ($1) little toy mouse, it too skittered noisily across the floor. But unlike beans, it was softer, because it had a bit of real fur on it.

Cats like soft things, like feathers, or fur. If you have a few feathers lying around, try tying one to the end of a string, and then putting the other end around your ankle while you clean the house. Your cat will find the fluttering little thing simply irresistable. Do be careful and not let the cat eat the feather, though.

Rustling things, too, are fun. You can use the paper bag you got from the grocery store-just set it on its side, and eventually the cat will crawl in. A sheet of wrapping paper-especially if it's the sparkly kind-can also be tons of fun; cats love to shred the stuff. Again, be careful that the cat doesn't eat it.

Make sure to switch the toys every few weeks, as cats tend to get bored with toys that are left out constantly.

The goodness of a cat toy can be assessed by one criteria, and that's whether the cat plays with it.

Learn more about this author, Judy Lin.
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