Why Does My Cat Bring Me Its Toys?

Cats are particularly playful pets, especially when they are young. They love playing with all types of toys and most also love a great cuddle from their owner.

Your cat can bring you toys for many different reasons, such as wanting you to play with her, wanting praise or a treat, or showing her affection for you by sharing her toy with you.

This behavior can date back to before cats were domesticated and they were in the wild while having to hunt for food sources.

Your Cat is Requesting You To Play With Her

Most cats love some undivided attention from their owners. They may bring you a toy to show you that they want to play with you.

Cats will play fetch with toys quite often, just as dogs do. When she brings a toy to you, she likely wants you to play with her.

Cats play by themselves a lot while chasing balls with bells in them and batting them across the floor. They also love interactive toys with their humans, such as a cat wand with feathers on it.

Your Cat Is Bringing Her Trophy to You

A cat’s instinct is to hunt for prey and food in the wild and then they consider what they catch to be a trophy.

They will present their trophy to you, so you can praise them for being such a good hunter.

The furry little mice that cats love to toss in the air and bat with their paws are a good example of what they think is prey.

She may bring you this kind of toy to show off her “hunting” skills and help contribute to the family’s hunt and food.

Your Cat is Expecting a Reward for the Trophy

After your cat brings you a toy as a trophy, she may meow at you or lick her lips. This action means that she expects a tasty treat for bringing you a trophy.

Her reward doesn’t always need to be a treat, but it can be praise and some great petting and loving instead.

Positive reinforcement will show your four-legged family members that this is appreciated and understood.

Why Does My Cat Bring Me a Toy and Meow?

If your cat brings you a toy and meows expectantly at you, she is most probably demanding attention and a treat for bringing you her prey.

Cats spend hours a day playing by themselves and entertaining themselves with their toys. Cats are much more independent than dogs in this way.

Your cat is most likely demanding some undivided attention from you and she is meowing to get your attention, the same as she would do when her food bowl is empty and she wants you to put food down for her.

Some cats will even follow you around the house with a toy in their mouth while making muffled meow sounds to get your attention and ask you to play.

Why Does My Cat Carry toys and Meow at Night?

So, you’ve had a long day at work and you are winding down to go to bed. Here comes your kitty with a toy meowing at you.

Cats have an instinct to hunt at night for prey and even domestic cats that live indoors can have this same instinct.

Generally, cats are most active at night and they have more alertness and energy after dark.

Your cat may be satisfying its hunting instinct with its favorite toy at night while pretending it is their prey that they wish to present you with so they can have praise for a job well done.

Why Does My Cat Wake Me up Meowing at Night with a Toy?

Some cats are notorious for waking up their humans at night by meowing at them and wanting attention.

This is because your cat sees you aren’t busy with other things and it can have your undivided attention–even though you need your sleep.

Your cat’s best hunting hours are when you are sleeping at nighttime and the cat may just want some attention while you are sleeping and it wants to show affection to you.

Be aware that if you get up in the middle of the night and praise, pet, or play with your cat, she will be encouraged to keep doing this night after night. So, it’s best to try to ignore your cat until the morning.

Your Cat May Be Showing You Affection With a Toy Offering

Cats can also show affection by offering someone a toy. If a cat likes another cat or household pet, it will want to share its toys with them. When your cat brings you a toy, she may just want to show you that she loves you and is willing to share with you.

This is even more special if the toy offered to you is her very favorite toy of all.

Your Cat Wants You to Watch The Toy

One of the greatest feelings with a cat is when you know they absolutely trust you wholeheartedly.

Female cats are the best at this type of display of emotions. When one mother cat trusts another completely, she will take a kitten to her for her to watch her, which is the highest form of admiration and security possible.

If your cat brings you a toy, she may entrust you to take care of it as if it were a kitten. Cats may hide their favorite toys from other pets in your household so they can only be theirs.

You can put the toy in a particular spot where your cat can access it and make sure that she sees you putting it there for her so you can keep it safe. This can also happen when you only have one furry friend in the home as well.

Her Toy is Broken

Your cat may be alerting you to the fact that her toy is broken somehow. Examine the toy when she brings it to you.

If the stuffing is coming out of it, you can repair it or if it’s a toy with catnip in it, it may not have that lovely smell anymore.

You can decide to fix her toy or give her a new toy to replace the faulty one.

Your Cat is Teaching You How to Hunt

In the wild, adult cats have to teach their young offspring how to hunt so that they can be self-sufficient one day and be able to forage for their own food.

Your cat may think you need to know how to hunt for yourself and is bringing you her toy which she sees as prey to show you what you should be doing.

If you determine this is what she is showing you, you should thank her for the toy and play with it to show your appreciation and your “hunting skills.”

If a cat is trying to teach you how to hunt, it’s one of the highest levels of acceptance and affection and it forms a very deep bond with “her human.”

What About Inappropriate Items?

If your cat lives and plays both inside and outside, it may use a cat door to go and come as it pleases. In this case, your cat may be an avid outdoor hunter and bring you “prey” that is inappropriate.

This can be a dead bug, mouse, bird, or any other thing that your cat either caught and killed from its age-old instinct to hunt or it may have just found something already dead and brought it inside to you.

This is actually a huge form of affection shown by your furry feline friend, but it can be kinda gross to humans.

You should still praise your cat for bringing this gift to you and try not to show that it’s disgusting. Don’t yell or fuss at your cat or act negatively if possible at all. Tell your cat thank you and when your cat drops its prey and moves back a bit, pick it up and dispose of it.

You can get a cat collar with a tiny bell on it to warn her prey that she’s on the prowl and then the small animals and bugs can escape before she can catch them. You may also just keep your cat inside to avoid these displays of affection.

Why Did My Cat Stop Bringing Me Toys?

If your cat has brought you toys over the years for treats, praise, to encourage you to play with it, or for any other reason, it’s not likely that you did anything wrong.

As cats age, they have less of a play drive and would rather just cuddle next to you instead of actively playing with you.

So, to answer the question of “Why does my cat bring me toys”, it could be for various reasons, but rest assured, your cat knows exactly why it brings you toys and you just have to figure it out. Of course, it never hurts your cat to have been praised highly for its actions.