Christmas is closer than you think. It’s time to start deciding on Christmas presents for your cat companions. Cats can get bored being alone in the house all day, especially if they are single cats. They should have an assortment of toys to satisfy their need to play and to satisfy their natural curiosity. Cats really don’t grow out of playing with toys. My cat is 11 years old and sometimes he plays like a kitten.

There are many different types of cat toys available; enough to match the personality and play preferences of every cat. My cat really enjoys the Da Bird Feather Cat Toy I got for him last Christmas, but he also loves to play with those plastic rings from milk or juice bottles. Many people say their cat’s favorite toy is a laser pointer. It all depends on what they like.

The items below should give you ideas on what you would like to buy for your cat this Christmas season.

My cat has a Turbo Scratcher. It is a plastic toy surrounded by a track that holds a ball. The ball is supposedly not able to be removed by the cat but my Boo can get it out. The center of the Turbo Scratcher is a round of corrugated cardboard that you can add catnip to and the cat can use as a scratching pad; replacements are available. The entire toy, excluding the cardboard of course, is easily washable.

Boo will leave this toy alone for months at a time but occasionally I will hear him hitting the ball around. It lives in the living room, he also gets his treats delivered there.

The Turbo Track is described as being five toys in one. There are five ways the track can be put together for your cat. You can also buy additional pieces for the track.

Replacement balls are also available for each.

Many cat owners claim that their cat's favorite toy is the laser pointer. While many use the pointers available from any office supply store, you can now buy laser toys especially designed for cats.

The FroliCat BOLT Automatic laser toy automatically created random patterns for your cat to chase. An adjustable mirror aims the laser at floors or walls. You do not have to be there to use it, just set it and go. It will work for 15 minutes on its own. It also has a manual setting so that you can control it while playing with your cat. It works on 4 AA batteries.

The 5 Hologram Laser Pet Toy features five holographic images of a mouse, a star, a happy face, a butterfly, and a regular laser beam. The laser can be viewed up to a mile away.

The Multipet Ba-Da-Beam laser toy is a simple laser toy that rotates sending the laser beams around the room.

Whichever laser toy you choose for your cat, it will give both of you hours and hours of entertainment. It will also give that housebound cat of yours some extra exercise.

Cats seem to really like toys that allow them to seek and find. It awakens the natural hunter in every cat.

The SmartCat Peek and Play Cat Toy Box is made of wood and is easily cleaned. It allows you to hide your cat's favorite toys inside the box and let him try to get them out of the 9 holes on top or the 2 holes on each side.

I'm really tempted to get this for Boo, I think he would really enjoy the challenge. He is already an expert at digging his favorite toys out of the bag they are kept in.

The Rainbow Mice Cheese Wedge is filled with 60 catnip filled toy mice. This should keep your cat busy for a few months. Each mouse is 3 inches long and they rattle.

Don't give them all the mice at once though. Kaleigh on Amazon said she did that and the cat had a blast, but " Unfortunately, she was "stoned" for two days."

Most cats love to have a toy mouse to bat around. If our cat is like mine and inclined to eat the tails off of toy mice, you might want to clip them first.