The best cat toy is still one with a human on the other end. A wand lets you move a target the way prey actually moves, in short bursts with sudden stops and a disappearance behind a chair, and that stop-start rhythm is what pulls a bored cat off the windowsill and into a proper hunt rather than a half-hearted swipe.

There are two extendable rods here, so you can reach across a room or shorten right down for close work, plus a bundle of clip-on attachments in feather and worm shapes that jingle as they move. Swapping the attachment is what keeps the set alive, because cats habituate fast and a lure that stopped working last month often works again after a break. The rods retract down to something that fits in a drawer.

• Two extendable, retractable teaser rods
• Bundle of clip-on feather and worm attachments
• Attachments jingle as they move to hold attention
• Refills let you swap the lure when a cat loses interest
• Retracts for storage between sessions
• Suits indoor cats of any age

Put it away afterwards. Wand toys are for supervised play only. String, feathers and small clip-on parts are exactly the things cats swallow when left alone with them, and swallowed string is a serious surgical problem rather than a mild one. Finish every session by letting your cat actually catch the lure, then store the wand somewhere out of reach.

Who it's for: Indoor cats whose owners can give them a few focused minutes a day, and households where an under-exercised cat has started waking everyone at dawn.