How many game-type apps do you have on your phone? I have 12 — I just counted (stop judging me). Mine are mostly games. I love word games and currently have 16 active Words With Friends games. (No judging!) I usually play only once a day, when I’m relaxing in the evening — but they bring me such joy. Yay, technology!
Fancy smartphones weren’t around until my kids were teenagers. They didn’t get to hold one in their hot little hands right away; heck, I didn’t even have one for myself until the Thanksgiving week of 2011. I am thankful for my iPhone. My daughter got one her senior year and my son just got one as he’s entering his junior year. Smartphones do offer excellent tools for students in the way of organization and planning … and then there’s the SnapChat and Reddit apps, which I’m sure they use way more often than their calendar.
I often see children of all ages — even toddlers — playing games on a parent’s smartphone or computer tablet. I can imagine it’s a great tool to occupy them during doctors’ appointments and road trips. I used to wonder what they were playing — what kind of apps could hold a three-year-old child’s interest? Astrology Zone? My Fitness Pal? Then I learned about the crazy amount of games out there that are aimed at every child’s age group. And some of them feature cats!
Here are six of them, but parents please take a closer look at these apps before deciding if any of them are appropriate for your particular child.
1. Nyan Cat: Lost in Space (free for iPhone and Android)
This free app allows our favorite Pop-Tart cat to zoom through space, jumping from platform to platform, collecting donuts, cakes and other goodies (where do I sign up?), and dodging dogs and a villainous waffle-cat. Apparently, the music is really catchy. Nyan Cat music is catchy? Whaaaaat?
2. Cat Face Booth (free for iPhone and .99 for Android)
Is an app that merges your face with a cat’s face creepy? Um, kind of, but also extraordinarily cool at the same time. This one is better suited for older children who are familiar with operating a phone’s camera and importing photos into an app. In fact, it very well may scare the pants off small children. “Mommy, I think there’s a cat-lady-monster hiding in my closet!” Nobody wants that.
3. Tickling Cat (free for iPhone and Android)
So you tickle the kitty with your finger, and she giggles and makes adorable facial expressions. I think that’s all you need to know — just get it, even if you don’t have kids.
4. How to Draw a Cat (free for iPhone and Android)
My daughter is an artist, and when she was little she loved drawing cats of all kinds. She would have gone nuts for an app like this if she’d had access to a smartphone. The iPhone and Android apps are a little different from one another, but they each essentially offer the same features. I’m a terrible artist, and might download something like this myself. Perhaps I’d put Simon Tofield out of business. Stop laughing, it could happen … but first I need to battle the evil waffle-cat in the Nyan Cat game.
5. Ninja Hero Cats (free for iPhone and Android)
This is definitely an action-packed game that may be better-suited kids who are middle-school-aged or older. These ninja cats are samurai-swinging heroes who hurl pizzas, fridges and other interesting weaponry at evil monsters. What’s not awesome about that? I will not show this app to my husband or son because I will likely not see them for weeks.
6. My Virtual Cat — Cute Kittens (free for iPhone and Android)
This adorable, interactive app is suitable for kids of most any age. I mean, who doesn’t want to care for and play with a virtual pet? Who doesn’t want to feed virtual food and clean virtual poop? I’m thinking virtually everyone would love this game and should download it right this minute.
What are your kids’ favorite smartphone (or iPad) apps? Share in the comments!
Read More by Angie Bailey:
- 5 Tips for Helping Your Kids Start a Pet-Sitting Business
- I’m Raising My Son to Love Cats, No Matter What Society Thinks
- 6 Tips for Planning the Perfect Cat-themed Party for Kids
- 5 Ways Cats Are Great Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Kids
- 5 DIY Projects You and Your Kids Can Make for Your Cats
Learn more about your cat with Catster:
- Why Your Cat Is Obsessed with You on the Toilet
- Weird Cat Facts: 8 Reasons Your Cat Likes to Lick You
- 10 Sounds That Cats Make — and What They Mean
- 8 Things to Try When Your Cat Won’t Eat
About the Author: Angie Bailey is an eternal optimist with an adoration of all things silly. Loves pre-adolescent boy humor, puns, making up parody songs, thinking about cats doing people things and The Smiths. Writes Catladyland, a cat humor blog, Texts from Mittens (originated right here on Catster) and authored whiskerslist: the kitty classifieds, a silly book about cats wheeling and dealing online. Partner in a production company and writes and acts in a comedy web series that features sketches and mockumentaries. Mother to two humans and three cats, all of which want her to make them food.
