Toys For A Smart Hunter?

Kibblesnbits148

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I wouldn't say my cat is a genius or anything, but she's certainly harder to please than most cats. I've bought her a few toys with motors and she always figures them out in two minutes then gets bored and won't play with them again until I do something to "spruce them up" but even then the interest only lasts a few minutes.

Her favorite toy that I always have to keep out is one of those circular ball in a track types. She gets really excited if I drape something over the center of it for her, but she still gets bored of it after a while.

She has a very active mind, and she prefers to stalk rather than chase so wand toys get boring for us both after a bit. Plus, I have to be there for those toys and I'd really like something she can play with when I'm not around! I tried getting her a rather simple puzzle treat dispenser once and she had figured it out and had eaten most of treats in an hour. :doh:

So my question to anyone out there is: what toys work for your active minded kitties? I'm looking for anything! Mechanical toys that do surprising things, homemade toys or puzzles, something you found at a garage sale that isn't even a cat toy but your cats love it, or even if you know of any of those puzzle toys for cats you can buy that took your cat a little while to figure out! I just want to keep her mind active! Thanks in advance!
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
and something else might be if you can train her to walk in a harness, and maybe try clicker training :) to engage her.
Here are some things I've come across, the Ripple Rug seems to be a big hit.

Harness And Leash Training For Cats

Clicker Training For Cats

How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)

Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

8 Superb Automated Cat Toys That You're Going To Love!

Food Puzzles for Cats

20 Best Interactive Cat Toys: The Ultimate List (2018) | Heavy.com

Home The Ripple Rug
 

Wile

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I'd try a toy rotation to keep things fresh for her: Wand toy with different lures you can switch out that move differently; homemade food puzzle boxes; different style ball toys; maybe a fish bowl. She sounds like a cat who needs novelty.
 

maggie101

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Stop by. I have tons of wand toys. They can be used to hunt,catch,kill. Clicker train so she can use her active mind
 

Margret

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Build her some kind of box with holes at strategic spots through which she can reach and see the ping pong ball you put inside. I tried this with a small pizza box (even got a clean one from the delivery guy), but cardboard is too flimsy; it didn't last 5 minutes.

Also, remember that no matter how smart and active a cat is, she still needs a lot of "beauty sleep," which means that she'll tend to get distracted fairly quickly by the need for a nap. There's no way around that need, and keeping a cat awake for too long can be physically dangerous for the cat so you shouldn't even try.

Margret
 

sophie1

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I've got smart cats also, and have had the same experience with fancy toys. Unfortunately there's no substitute for wand toys and throw and chase games . The wand toy works well for cats that like to stalk - you just have to move it around corners, let it sit quiet for a bit, give it a wiggle, and eventually they'll pounce on it. You can also try a Chinatown backscratcher moving under a towel.

The solo play items that work the best for my cats:

- Another cat. They chase each other & play-fight.
- Cat tree. This is a must.
- High places and "lanes" made of furniture & wall shelves.
- Yoga mat, crumpled up on the floor.
- Puzzle toys & boxes with treats/food in them. Dial up the difficulty by partially blocking the hole.
- Sticks or plant stalks brought in from outside. Catnip stalks are especially appreciated.
- Bugs, especially moths, that get into the house.
- Catnip chew toys. The pretzel dental chew does nothing for teeth, but it's a perfect size.
- A variety of small toys that are safe for unsupervised play (note: many small cat toys are NOT). I leave them in a basket on the floor, so they can help themselves. The Kong yellow duck and an orange plastic tent peg are the favorites. Ethical springs are a close second.

Basically you need to observe your cat to see what they like to play with, and just go with it.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi! Yeah, here too, the larger Ethical spring coils were fun, at least for a while. I should dig out the one I kept and try a reintroduction :)
 

pipperoo

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Ripple Rugs are fantastic!
I have a pretty smart cat who doesn't really play on her own . So wand toys are fun (because that means I'm playing with her), hide-and-seek (again, with me!).
I also found that she is really interested in being talked to (she'll sit on the couch beside me and touch my face, if I just talk looking directly at her, she's quite content to spend 10 minutes like that!).
And finally, she loves being trained. She learned very quickly how to sit, high-five, shake hands, patty=cake and kiss!.
 

KarenKat

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Ripple Rugs are fantastic!
:yeah: We love the ripple rug! Olive dives in and out of those holes like one of those Sandworms from Dune.

I also find that Olive does not engage in play if she doesn’t have good places to hide. The ripple rug, random boxes in the pay area, chairs with a towel draped over it all give her places to stalk.
 

maggie101

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My cats loved the ripple rug but it was too big in my apt with so many other toys. They play hide and seek in the shipping trash
 
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