Cat Advent Calendars for 2026. The 20 Dollar Toy Box Goes 24 Doors Deep.

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The Dog Calendar Sold Out. The Cat Ones Sell Out Faster.

Last night I priced dog advent calendars and the math was simple: the good ones vanish by mid-November. Here’s the thing nobody tells cat people: the cat versions sell out faster, because fewer brands make them and the same December deadline applies. Check the cat-toy aisle in any store in late November and you’ll find the shelf bare except for the weird ones.

So this is the October price check for cat households: what the 2026 cat advent calendars actually cost, which ones are worth the doors, and which ones I’d skip. The other reason this matters: December’s real cat problem isn’t treats — it’s a bored indoor cat inventing entertainment out of your Christmas tree. A toy-a-day calendar is $20 of behavioral enrichment wearing a Santa hat.

I priced every cat advent calendar I could find on Amazon tonight. Two of the biggest names are already gone — here’s what’s left and what it’s worth.

Larchio Cat Advent Calendar, 24 Toys — Best Value Per Door

The Larchio 24-day calendar is the value pick: about $20 tonight, down from the $25 these usually list at, for 24 individually boxed toys — teaser wands, crinkle balls, plush mice. That’s $0.83 a door, and it’s the only calendar here that goes the full 24 days. The honest cons: the glitter accents shed, and glued-on parts can pop loose under a determined adult cat, so pull the day’s toy and give it a once-over before it hits the floor — the parts that survive kitten play don’t always survive cat-and-not-cat-nip full-contact play.

My take: 24 real toys for $20 is the best per-door math in the category, and the only full-month countdown on this list — this is the default pick.

Dr. Seuss Grinch Cat Advent Calendar, 12 Days — The Licensed Crowd-Pleaser

The Grinch advent calendar for cats is the one you buy because you love it more than the cat does. Twelve doors, $20.35 tonight, with plush toys, teaser wands, and feather balls — and the empty box itself is designed as a bonus toy, with holes your cat can bat balls through. The toys outrank generic sets on durability in my experience with licensed gear. The honest con is the math: it ends December 12th, so it’s a half-calendar at full-calendar price per toy. Nobody buying a Grinch calendar is doing cost-per-door math — and that’s fine, just know it going in.

My take: the strongest toys per door and the best box — buy it for the bit, and let the calendar ending on the 12th slide, because the cat doesn’t count.

Midlee 12 Days of Christmas Cat Toy Box — The Catnip-Stuffed Gift Box

The Midlee 12-day box is technically a “gift box” more than an advent calendar: twelve catnip-stuffed plush toys in festive prints behind advent-style doors, about $30 tonight. Every toy has catnip in it, which is the whole point — this is the box that turns a bored December cat into a rolling, drooling, tree-ignoring cat for a solid hour a day. The honest cons: it’s 12 doors, not 24, the plush is lighter-duty than it looks, and $30 is premium for a dozen small plushies. As the pure catnip-per-door play, though, it wins: nobody else stuffs every door.

My take: buy this one when the cat has been hard to buy for — twelve days of catnip is the most certain hit rate on the list.

The Two That Already Sold Out (And What That Tells You)

Two calendars I’d have picked ahead of some of the above are already gone as of tonight: the MOVINPE 24-toy kitten calendar (lighter-duty toys sized for kittens) and the Fancy Feast Feastivities treat calendar (16 cans plus broths — the grocery-aisle favorite). Both showed “we don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” tonight. That’s the October lesson from last night’s dog-calendar post wearing a different collar: the sellout window is now, not Black Friday. If either comes back in stock, they’re worth grabbing — the Feastivities for treat-first households, MOVINPE for kitten homes.

Features That Actually Matter (And Ones That Don’t)

Door count is the real price driver. 24-door calendars run $0.80–$1.00 a door. The 12-day boxes run higher per toy but stuff catnip or licensed quality into each one. Decide which you’re buying before you compare prices.

Every toy gets a once-over before floor time. Glitter, glued feathers, and bell crinkles are the three things that come loose — a 10-second tug test per toy catches all of it.

Treat calendars vs toy calendars. Treats are gone in December; toys last into February and actually address the bored-cat problem. If the cat has enough toys, treats win. If the cat has a tree full of ornaments in its sights, toys win.

The reusable-drawer upgrade path: next year, if the cat loved the countdown, the refillable wooden-drawer calendars (the Midlee-style box’s big sibling, around $35–40) let you refill with your own catnip toys — year one costs double, year three is nearly free.

The Annual Cost Math

• Larchio 24-door: $19.99 ÷ 24 = $0.83/door — 24 days of engagement for the price of two fancy cat coffees.
• Grinch 12-day: $20.35 ÷ 12 = $1.70/door — premium per toy, licensed durability, half the month.
• Midlee 12-day catnip box: $29.69 ÷ 12 = $2.47/door — every toy catnip-stuffed, highest hit rate per door.
• DIY refill (next year): a $6 bag of catnip plus the previous year’s surviving toys = under $0.50/door.

Keep reading: the dog advent calendar price check (same sellout math, different species) and the outdoor cat house that heats for $4 a season for the porch-cat household.

ThriftyPaw is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you buy through one of the links above, I got a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I’ve actually used with my own dog.

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