Cat get's bored of toys

gingercinnaloaf

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I'm sure this is hardly a 'serious' problem but it's quite a pain in the butt to deal with.

My cat very quickly loses interest in toys. I've brought him at least one of every toy avaible at every place that sells cat toys in town. I've got an entire box of cat toys spanning two years with me buying every new one I can find around town. He's got possibly every single style of cat toy imaginable. 

He's not cat nip reactive. So I bought honeysuckle ones for him to try. No interest in that either. Electronic toys for w/e reason scare him.

He's destroyed only 4 different toys and when I brought home replacements he had no interest in the new one.

My mother thinks if we put them in the box and show him down the line he'll have forgotten his boredom and lack of interest and want to play with them. No-Go he is just as disinterested in them four months later then day one.

I want him to play because he's an indoor cat and he need the excerise and tuckering out that comes with a good play session. He just never gets interested in a good toy play session.

Right now his favorite play session is literally being chased around the house by me telling him I'm going to get him. He'll run from me, through his cat cubes, and then start playing with a mat in the kitchen until I catch up and the whole thing repeats. I'm all for playing with your person but sometimes I have work to do in the evenings D: I'd just like him to want to play with the feather on a string on a stick so I can just use one hand.

The only thing he plays with with any sort of desire is a TY beanie baby flamingo he stole from my vehicle as a kitten. ie. His first real toy. Then I will throw it and he will run after it and just sit and wait for me to throw it again so he can again follow in it's general direction but not actully do anything with it.
 

luvmyparker

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I know you said you have a ton of toys but have you tried Da Bird? Its a wand toy that simulates a bird flying, most cats LOVES it. Its worth a shot, if you don't have it. If you do, then I am out of suggestions. My cat gets bored of toys easily too. His favorite game is for me to put a string under a blanket/towel or whatever, having one end of it sticking out and slowly pulling the string under the blanket. He goes crazy for it. I gave up wasting money on toys he wont play with. lol
 

redvelvetone

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ha ha, the being chased thing is my cat's favorite thing too. Luckily my husband is a night owl and has no problem staying up til the wee hours chasing Magnus through the house. Magnus also is not into a ton of toys but there are  certain things he does like, even with toys he only sniffed at before - it all depends on how it's used. For example, I have these little toy animals, or a string, or something small and low to the ground (can even be a piece of cardboard), and I stick it under the door so just a little bit is sticking out on the other side and I wiggle it around a little, imitating a small rodent or something creeping around by the door. My cat HAS TO investigate and he'll try and grab it as his instincts are to hunt little prey animals. That same toy sitting by itself on the floor elicits no reaction otherwise. Also you can take those same toys and "hide" them under a rug (make sure to show a ltitle bit sticking out). Again if I put a toy mouse beside Magnus he'll just look at it. If I "hide" it under the rug, he pounces on it. Also dragging any kind of string or toy on the end of a  string around also usually gets him stalking it.

I second "Da Bird". Most cats love it.My cat will literally leap off the ground at it but I notice he likes it if I drag it on the ground more so than "fly" it. So many times I'll drag it on the ground to get his attention then fly it as he's about to leap on it and then he jumps up to go after it. I let him "catch" it too some of the times so he won't get too frustrated (like he gets with the laser light pointer)

Also, for a while I had this eco bubble wrap stuff (made out of recycled paper and it was very thin and crinkly) and it was my cat's favorite toy. I'd spread it out on a wood floor (has to be a floor that he can slide across so no carpet, but linoleum would probably work too) and i throw a toy mouse onto the bubble wrap. He's would race up to it and pounce on the mouse on top of the crinkly paper and go sliding across the room.  You could probably do something similar with some sort of wrapping paper (maybe plain brown paper or something that has a crinkly sound to it). It wouldn't last long but it would be cheap to try....

Otherwise, get boxes, cut holes in them and see if he'll explore. Lots of cats love boxes. 

My point being, you don't have to actually buy toys, but can make them based off how you see your cat play.
 
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lsurova

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I just try to make my own toys from good old households items that I have..
 

otto

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It doesn't matter how many toys a cat has, if you don't play with the cat, he's not likely to play by himself either. Cats need interactive play from their humans every day. It is important for exercise and mental stimulation and bonding.

Cats thrive on routine. Play with him at the same time every day. Give him all your attention. Soon he will know this time is his play time, and he will look forward to it. Keep trying different Games. Take that box of toys and throw them, one at a time, for him to chase down. Throw them in interesting places. Toss one up on his tree so he has to jump and climb. Throw one so it goes into his tunnel so he has to hunt it down.

Play Catch The Bump Under The Rug games. Slowly drag a stick toy or string on a stick toy under a rug or newspaper. Or keep it all hidden under there and wiggle it. Cats love to stalk and pounce. Some like to see what they are after, others prefer more mystery.

Since he likes to be chased, encourage him to Chase you too. Chase him through the house, then turn around and run the other way. Drag a string on a stick toy behind you to encourage the chase.

Give him some crumpled paper balls (I use junk mail envelopes, because the cellophane windows make them very crunkly)

Milk or juice jug rings, plastic bendy straws, bottle caps or the caps that come off of toothpaste (clean all toothpaste out first) a tennis ball for bunny kicking, the plastic strip that comes off a frozen juice can, a pen with the ink cartridge taken out
 
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deborah julian

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I rotate my cats' toys. My cats get bored with their toys after a while--even with da bird.  I find that if I put them away for a while--a few weeks sometimes--they are happy to see them come out again. Sometimes it takes a while to engage them in play.I agree with Otto's suggestion to drag the toy under a rug. Often I will put a towel on the floor and drag a toy under it. This never fails to get them to pounce on it.
 

catspaw66

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Sugar likes to bang into aluminum cans, and Spice likes empty gallon water jugs to grab by the handle and bunny-kick.  This is in addition to the furry mice and water jug rings everywhere and the plastic golf ball that they play with in the bathtub (during the day only).   And I almost forgot the kitty play kube
 
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jennyr

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I rotate mine too, and give them household items from time to time - bottle caps, empty bobbins etc. Right now their favourite thing is a green bean as I am picking them to freeze and I give them one to bat around the floor. Keep the novelty going and do play with him.
 

nessakhoo

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im lost at what to do with my kitty , she just started to loose interest in all her toys!

I tried to offer her different toys she wouldn't even run after it T_T
 

otto

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im lost at what to do with my kitty , she just started to loose interest in all her toys!
I tried to offer her different toys she wouldn't even run after it T_T
How old is she?
 

lifeofreilly

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All the advice given is very good & works with my cat, too. You just have to be patient. They often take a few minutes to warm-up, get interested, see if YOU are really serious about playtime, etc. Dont just walk off if kitty doesn't respond in 1 or 2 minutes. If I did that, my cat & I would never play! You have to get them going- do all the work for maybe even 5 or 6 min. and get creative. Cats are too smart to play dog games with. You can't just throw something at them! Engage all their senses & make the toy act like real prey. Move things really fast, or really slow, hide things, make them "peak out" and use crinkly paper and boxes. Tie any toy to a long string and make them act like prey. (Supervise if kitty is a string-eater) . My cat loves these play-n-squeak mice you can get on Amazon. They are very realistic! I am always having to do surgery on them to fix the holes my cat rips open. But I tie their tails to a long stretch of yarn and make them move around. It's fun for both of us now because he gets into it so much- summersaults and bunny-kicks & zoomies all make me laugh!!!!
 

tabbytom

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Get cardboard boxes and cut holes in them so that your cat can jump and peek through the holes to see what's going on outside the box. They like to play peekaboo. Or get ping pong balls for them to chase as they bounce around. That'll keep them busy.
My boy never get tired with his tunnel, ball, boxes, paper grocery bags and playing peekaboo ;)
 
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madzoya

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Bruce is also not very interested in most of the several toys we bought.

We it the jackpot with the catnip mice and with the cat tree (that has a small mouse hanging from there). But he will play with them for 5 minutes and that all. I've tried fetch but he doesn't get it... So, small mice it is. 

I try to play with him, but I really don't know how. I wiggle things at him, and he just looks at me like I'm a crazy woman. Need to watch cat videos more often to figure out play time.

He likes to chew also, but I can't find a chew toy he likes. He prefers to chew on our things!

And run... He runs a lot like a crazy cat. Maybe we should chase him? Maybe that is what his expecting?

My previous cat had a dog playmate, and she also chased everything that moved (string, feather, anything with bells on it). 
 

foxden

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madzoya madzoya
Every cat has their own chase ritual. Try tying a piece of string to a toy, then drag it past Bruce. You can try to drag it under a towel, around a corner, underneath furniture...
My cats have different chase behaviors. One only jumps for "prey" that moves in 'fits and starts' and then pounces. Maybe that's like going after wounded prey. Another only likes things when they are pulled slowly (usually around a corner, so it disappears). One of my angel babies wanted things to move fast before she would chase.
One chew/play toy we had for my first 2 cats was a tube sock we stuffed with fiberfill, and knotted at the top. I think we ended up with a double layer of sock. This toy was close to their size, and they wrestled with it all the time.
Good luck
 

greypaws

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My cat loves the little foil balls that you can get at the pet store for about 1.00 each. I buy in packages of 10 as we are always losing them. When he is in the mood, I'll throw them & he'll chase them or catch them mid air and then bat around. Other times he makes up his own games and bats them around under things, fishes them out and off he goes. He carries them around too. He also likes the fishing pole with string and mouse on the end of it. Sometimes I take the pole and hide it under a plastic shopping bag. I then slowly move the pole around and kitty has a good time attacking it. His play time lasts about 10 minutes on average. The rest of his day is spent following me around, helping with chores like chasing the swiffer, mop or dust cloth. He has also gotten good at folding laundry and bed making aka pouncing around the linens 
 

catspaw66

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For any lost toys, look under the stove, refrigerator and dishwasher first.

I don't have boredom problems with The Ladies, as they have each other and me for playtoys.

Their favorite game is full-contact tag/follow the leader. I just watch (and listen) when they come tearing past.
 
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