The 68 Best Gifts for Cat Lovers, According to Cat People

For cats that are easily stressed, Chewy resident pet expert Samantha Schwab recommends this soothing toy with a touch-activated purring mechanism. It’s cozy to cuddle up with at home or in any other situation that could make your cat anxious, like when guests come to visit or while traveling.

We’ve had cats with very different interests and personalities, and all of them have gnawed on this banana until it’s covered in drool. It’s the perfect shape for cats to sniff, snuggle, and kick, says Nora Wood, adoption-event coordinator for Anjellicle Cats, a New York–based cat rescue and nonprofit.

A puzzle feeder that hides treats or dry food pieces can offer entertainment and stimulation for food-motivated felines. Since this one is simple to use, it’s a good entry-level feeder toy for cats who are new to the concept.

Written by jazz legend Charles Mingus, this pamphlet contains step-by-step instructions for the process he used to toilet train his cat Nightlife. Vulture says it “would make a perfect gift for a jazz or cat lover” (or just anyone with a sense of humor).

Communications manager Carolyn Rehm, who runs an Instagram account for her cats Broccoli and Dilly, loves this painting by artist Rebecca Salinas, which features several Insta-famous kitties and is available as a print as well as a puzzle. Rehm hopes Broccoli will be featured in Salinas’s next painting.

Even the most reserved cats get silly under the influence, and this endearing collection from cat photographer Andrew Marttila captures them in all their blissed-out stoner glory. Kitten rescuer and animal advocate Hannah Shaw loves paging through the “epic, beautiful, and downright hysterical photos of cats enjoying the green stuff.”

Colorado Kitty Pot’s cute “munchie”-shaped toys (there are also taco and cookie versions) are adorably Instagrammable when paired with a loopy-looking cat indulging in some ’nip. Tazz Latifi, owner of pet-supply store and grooming parlor Petropolist in lower Manhattan, has noticed that even cats that aren’t usually interested in catnip go crazy for them.

If your love of cats also intersects with your anti-racist sentiments, Food & Wine senior writer Margaret Eby — cat parent to Delta and Grover — recommends grabbing one of these eye-catching shirts. Best of all, for every shirt sold, 15 percent is donated to the Bail Project and its fight to end mass incarceration.

For anyone interested in kitten care (or just adorable pictures of tiny kittens), Stray Cat Social Club founder Scott Bleicher recommends Shaw’s book, in which she outlines how to care for newborn cats and shares her personal rescue stories.

Owners of multiple cats are likely in need of a fairly heavy-duty odor eliminator, and this Rocco & Roxie deodorizer is “surprisingly powerful” and “has done wonders at neutralizing the smell of stinky litter in our apartment,” says Strategist contributor Julia Gomez Kramer. It’s another one of those “unsexy but solves a real problem” gifts that’s sure to be appreciated by anyone who gets paranoid about inviting guests over and having gone nose-blind to litter-box smells.

This simple feather toy is endorsed by multiple experts and offers hours of interactive playtime for both a cat and its owner. (For cats who prefer to pounce rather than leap, Go Cat also makes a version with a mouse on the end.)

However, if you’re unsure whether your friend’s cat is the intrepid type but think they’ll find the idea intriguing, Shaw recommends a copy of Adventure Cats for “inspiration and instructions.”

Simple and unobtrusive as a Glade plug-in, this little gift could be a godsend for cat owners dealing with frequent hissing, destructive scratching, or litter-box issues. This diffuser emits an odorless vapor that mimics a cat’s natural soothing pheromones, sending signals to her brain that relieve stress.

The Ripple Rug’s customizability allows your cat to engage in all their instinctive behaviors — hiding, stalking, pouncing — without destroying your actual rug or furniture. It comes with two layers, “a base layer and then a top one that has holes and Velcro, and you can adjust it to build your own little forts or tunnels that the cats go in,” says Rehm.

These stylish kicker toys made from leftover upholstery fabric are filled with the grounds of a plant called silvervine that’s similar to catnip. “If your cat doesn’t really like regular catnip, silvervine is a great alternative,” advises content creator Billie-Rae Grant, adding that her cat Goblin “goes wild for it.”

Polydactyl Cats’ unique cat toys come in shapes like popcorn and sushi, guaranteed to appeal to owners and cats alike. According to Bleicher, they’re “equal parts irony, pop-culture references, and a dash of fast-food fun.”

For cats that are puzzle-feeder pros, this tree-style toy poses a bit more of a challenge. Kitties have to move their treats down each level by sticking their paws in the side holes before the food lands in the bottom dish.

Having your cat sit on your computer and demand attention while you’re trying to work is a near-universal cat-owner experience. This mini-laptop, complete with a scratching-pad keyboard, lets them attend their own Zoom meetings instead of crashing yours.

Photographer Walter Chandoha devoted most of his decades-long career to capturing images of cats, in all of their grandeur (and silliness). This volume, a collection of more than 60 years of his work, would definitely earn a prized place in any cat lover’s home.

Scratching posts should be at least 24 inches high to make it an attractive alternative to cat owners’ furniture. At 32 inches high, the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post is a top choice among experts because “cats can’t knock it over — very important! — and the cat can stretch out her back while scratching,” says Wood.

Writer Duncan Goodwin, who is married to former Strategist senior editor Tony Rotunno, says their hairless sphynx Pebbles pulls off cat clothing like a champ. This tie-dye tee “fits her snugly without being restrictive” and keeps her warm in the colder months.

Strategist contributor Elizabeth Gumport says the FURminator significantly reduced “the level of ambient cat hair” in her apartment and helped her cut down on lint-roller expenditures.

Using Basepaws’ cat DNA test kit, Grant was able to find out Goblin’s breed: part Ragdoll, part Norwegian mountain cat. “That’s something I think every pet owner would love, having a little bit of insight into their cat’s history,” Grant says.

This scratcher lounge is a great and stylish gift with a cool-looking infinity shape they can flip over when their cat annihilates one side.

If their cat is prone to coughing up hairballs or leaving other messes on the carpet, Brooklyn-based pharmacist Sera McNutt — cat parent to Santana and Konni — is obsessed with her Bissell carpet and upholstery cleaner. “I love it because it’s pretty small and therefore easy to store, has cleaning solution built into the mechanism, and has worked on every stain I’ve tried it on,” McNutt says.

Many Etsy sellers will create custom needle-felted miniatures of your pet. I commissioned one of my cat Neptune, and the finished result captured his likeness remarkably well, down to the stripes on his tail.

Another whimsical purveyor of cat furniture, Cathaus’s sustainably sourced pieces were featured in our 2021 holiday gift guide, and they come with Wong Katzman’s stamp of approval as well. “There’s an environmental bent to them because they’re made of carpet scraps and scrap wood, which is why they have that collaged look,” she says.

These life-size fur-baby replicas have been all over social media lately: “There’s a lot of funny videos of people tricking their pets and they start freaking out, like, ‘Why is there another animal that looks just like me here?’” Rehm says. The plushes also make a lovely gift for someone whose pet has passed and who would appreciate something to remember them by.