The Best Gifts for Pets and Animal Lovers

Better Report’s holiday gift guides cover home chefs, coffee drinkers, and home design fans, among others, but we strongly believe that no pet nor pet lover should wake up Christmas morning without a few boxes to unwrap. Here, you’ll find options for your animal-loving friend, their pets, or your own fur babies.

_{Prices are accurate as of November 12, 2024. Subject to change.}

Table of Contents

• Gifts For Your Pets
• Gifts For Animal Lovers

For Your Pets

BarkBox or Meowbox Subscription

There are subscription boxes available for everything a human needs, and our pets deserve some of that excitement too. Whether you have a dog or a cat (or both!), these cutely-themed boxes deliver treats, toys, and other surprise goodies monthly. Both brands offer gift subscriptions if you’re giving them to a friend’s four-legged children.

Casper Dog Bed

Casper makes some of the best human mattresses around, so it’s no surprise that it also crafts revered dog beds. Available in three sizes, it’s firm and supportive enough that even older dogs can feel the relief as they relax their furry little bodies into it. We know, your pooch probably spends a lot of time with you on the couch or in your bed, but they also deserve their own spot for those nice moments of solitude.

Furbo 360 Pet Camera

You might think this is more a gift for you than your pet but I think it covers both. You can check in on them when you’re away and they get treats flung across the room whenever you’re missing them. This camera does come with a caveat, though: You’ll pay more upfront if you want to forgo a monthly subscription, which is frustrating. (My all-time favorite pet camera from Eufy doesn’t require a subscription for recording history, but it’s not available at the time of this writing.) There are dog and cat-specific camera models, as the latter is equipped with a feather toy. I didn’t find my cats were any more attracted to it than other pet cameras I tested, but it is a great option.

Potaroma Flapping Bird Toy

You can’t always be at the other end of a toy but you also don’t want Whiskers to get bored. That’s where a good interactive toy comes in, and you may have seen this toy flapping all over social media.

Chuckit! Dog Ball Launcher

When your pup needs to burn off some energy, the Chuckit lets you throw balls farther and faster than your arm alone may allow. You can even use it to pick up the ball again without getting your hands all slobbery.

Catenary Flora Wand

If you have cats, you know the importance of keeping a good wand toy around. I’ve tried loads at this point and while my cats have mostly been fans across the board, none are quite as pretty as Catenary’s Flora Wand. The flower is made from wool and the strings suede. At first, I thought my cats might pass, given there was no bell or feather to entice them, but they went absolutely bonkers for the strings. I’ve tried a few other favorites from Catenary, like the elevated food dishes and scratchers, all of which marry cat-friendly products with beautiful design.

For Animal Lovers

Chom Chom Roller Reusable Lint Roller

Every pet owner needs a Chom Chom Roller. Living with pets means living with fur, and using tape or disposable lint roller sheets to clean it off your furniture is wasteful for the environment, your time, and your wallet. Instead, your animal-loving giftee needs just one product to remove fur, dust, and litter remnants from upholstery, carpets, and even clothes. It traps everything inside — just open it up over a garbage to empty the receptacle.

Birding Books

I am a cat person first, but I am also a bird fanatic. If anyone on your gift list has similar interests, these guidebooks will be a delight. Any title from Kenn Kaufman and David Allen Sibley are informative for the home or pro birder, and Matt Kracht’s Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America is guaranteed to make them laugh — don’t worry, the name-calling is all in good fun.

Chewy eGift Card

Some people don’t like giving gift cards as it can feel impersonal, but a lot of us love to be given one. With the amount of money your pet-loving friends probably spend on their fur babies, a gift card to the pet store mecca will feel like a million bucks (even if it’s only for $50). It’s digital, so you won’t get a physical card, but you can print or email them the information — this is especially great for long-distance friends who can’t spend the holidays together.

Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. Gift Subscription

For the person on your gift list who loves dogs and coffee, consider a subscription to Grounds & Hounds. This coffee brand donates 20% of its profits to helping dogs in need, including covering vaccines, spay/neuter surgeries, microchips, meals, and toys. With a gift subscription, you can choose from at least two bags of beans a month for three, six, or 12 months. As you start the process, it tells you how many meals your purchase will provide — two bags for three months covers 1,500 meals.

Communication Buttons

You may have seen talking pets all over the internet, from the dogs Bunny and Stella to Russell the cat. Now you can gift your loved one the chance to better communicate with their animal. Fluent Pet is more popular (used by Bunny and Russell) and has multiple kits and expansion packs available, but it’s also pricier. Hunger for Words (created by Stella’s mom, a speech-language pathologist) is a more affordable option that you may want to pair with the book, How Stella Learned to Talk.

Smart Bird Feeders

If you can splurge a bit on your bird-loving giftee, consider a smart bird feeder. They connect to an app and monitor and identify the bird species that visit. I’ve tested several and found Birdfy and Bird Buddy to be the two best options. This Birdfy bundle comes with a solar panel to keep the battery charged and a lifetime subscription to its AI service, so your giftee never has to pay a monthly subscription, but there are more affordable options available from the brand. This Bird Buddy has a solar panel roof, which I like over a panel that needs to be mounted somewhere. Bird Buddy’s free app is good enough for most people, but the option to pay for additional services is there if they so desire.