Firstly, I’ll introduce you to Albie, our 1 year old cat. He also goes by the names; Albus, Albus Dumble-cat, Alfred, Albert, Alberto, Alb and Albachino. This is him, I know I’m biased but isn’t he the cutest?!
A couple of weeks before Christmas 2022, we acquired a cat and her 2 kittens. Sadly, after 4 weeks of hand-rearing, constant vet trips and a last-ditch attempt to save her trip to Luton, we lost the little girl. But our little miracle, Albie survived. So we HAD to keep him.
Bluebell is Albie’s mum, she was my brothers cat who came to live with us around 7 months ago. Bluebell and Albie are practically identical… except. Albie is twice Bluebells size, and where Bluebell has a full white moustache, Albie only has half. Bluebell is also OBSESSED with Cath, who is not a cat-person at all. (Bluebell went on to live with a close friend of ours, as soon as Albie was weened).
Now the introductions are over, let’s talk “Eco cat products!”. I’d had some experience with cats before, but Cath hadn’t. She was eager to extend the Eco-ness out to the cat too….
When we decided to keep Albie, we went out to buy things for him, and with the environment in mind, we looked for the most earth-friendly cat products.
Cath chose a wooden ball toy. The main part of the toy is made from wood, and the middle is made from sisal. All part of the pets at home nature range.
I was unsure at first as to whether Albie would play with it, he was only 4 weeks old at the time. He loved it!
He wasn’t too sure how to play with it, but would sit in the middle and put his paws in the gap. He didn’t know how to paw the balls, but he was learning!
It’s a wooden activity toy and unlike other cat toys is so sturdy, that it manages to withstand very heavy dogs standing on it (extremely important our house!)
Within a few days, he learned to paw the balls to move them. He would hide behind his cat-tree and pounce on them!
Even the dogs have enjoyed playing with it! Bobbin, our medium dog has tried to put her nose in it and has got it stuck so is now wary of playing with it again (probably a good thing as now the others can get a look in!).
But Purl and Rainbow play alongside the cat with the toy- its fun for everyone.
We had a hard time choosing a reasonable toy for him as the majority of them are made from flimsy plastic, but this one is really hard-wearing and I can imagine it lasting a very long time.
We also bought some eco-friendly catnip to scatter on his bed and onto toys. Unfortunately, neither Albie or Bluebell care about catnip!
I had been so excited as I’d seen a lot of videos of cats going crazy for it. Turns out, our cats aren’t interested at all!
—-2025—–
Fast-forward to 2025 – years from when I started writing this post: Albie LOVES catnip (!) and the ball toy is still very well loved in this house!
It survives Bobbin trying to eat it, and Bambi sitting on it! Winner!
Even during our house move in March 2025, it was the last thing to be packed / first unpacked when we arrived in Aberdeenshire! Definitely a hit with all!
