Indoor cats still run the whole hunting sequence — stalk, reach, hook, pounce — and with nothing to aim it at they aim it at your ankles or the arm of the sofa. A box with holes cut in the top gives that sequence somewhere to go: a ball rattles out of sight, a paw goes in after it, and a cat who was pacing five minutes earlier is suddenly working for something.

The build is solid wood rather than card, with a felt-lined interior so the toys inside slide and skitter instead of catching on bare timber. The holes are cut wide enough for a paw and narrow enough that a ball does not simply fall back out, which is the whole trick of the thing: the reward has to stay just out of reach long enough to be worth chasing. Hide treats as well as balls and you have a quiet game that runs itself.

• Solid wooden box with cut-out catch holes in the top
• Felt-lined interior so toys slide rather than snag
• Takes balls, small toys or dry treats
• Compact enough to sit against a wall or under a side table
• Works for solo play while you are out of the room
• One size, one finish

One thing worth knowing. Our older listing described this as a cardboard scratcher, and that was simply wrong: it is a wooden puzzle box, not a scratching pad. It will not replace a scratching post, and a cat who is clawing the furniture needs a post as well as this. We would rather correct that here than have you open the parcel and find something else.

Who it's for: Indoor cats who get bored between meals, and owners who want ten minutes of real problem-solving rather than another toy batted under the sofa on day one.