Entertaining A Single Cat

[Rosemary Patricia]

Tried a variety of toys including chasers, balls, and string with some success but am haunted by a cat that looks bored, and constantly ready for the hunt. She's 3 years old and lives in a flat but has access to the outside. Cannot get enough play! Any ideas?

 

[di and bob]

Make sure you pick up all the toys at least once a week and drop them into a bag of catnip. Then give her different toys that were 'steeping'. It really renews their interest in the toys. Get a kickeroo if you don't have one, I have 4,and keep two in the catnip bag. They really help when my cats get bored and start picking on each other, I throw one of these towards them and they get rid of all their excess energy. Put a bird feeder high in a tree, but low enough for you to fill it, so she can see it from the window. Mine keeps my cats in the backyard, intently hunting, though they rarely catch anything. And, of course, you can always get another cat (I'd get a kitten, because she is female and a little older) to keep her company, two are just as easy and cheap to have as one!

 

[Kefa]

A shoebox. In the top of the shoebox, cut a hole about as wide as her front leg, 1 inch, and that goes down the middle. Like a slot for mail. In each of the four sides, on the bottom, make a hole about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch high.

Show her a few treats in the box with the top off. Then tape the top on.

Ideally, she shouldn't be able to get the treats out of the top slot. She should have to reach in and push them out one of the holes in the side.

This was one of Homer's favorite puzzles and his favorite food dish after he decided he wasn't eating canned food anymore.

 

[mama africa]

Online entertainment ?

 

[Kefa]

oh yes. Homer prefers fish videos though. Also, I forgot. If you can set up bird food near a window she can watch. I get much peace now from feeding birds and squirrels around the house. I put some out at 3 different windows and he runs from one to the other watching them and wishing them dead. It's what I replaced the food puzzles with when I decided he needed to eat like a "normal" cat.

 

[catlitterguru]

Rotate the toys so the old becomes new again.

 

[Rosemary Patricia]

Thankyou, such creative solutions. I will try them all except a second cat as Pollywaffle is very territorial, already rows with the 3 legged cat downstairs!

 

[Cat_mediator]

There are quite a few things you can do in order to entertain your cat. Do you have a cat tree? or any perching area by the window? a cat tunnel? Fish tank video works as well. I'd do a prey sequence at least twice a day. Make sure your use the wand type of toy in order to perform the predator and the prey type of play. Manoeuvre the wand toy behind a sofa or a chair or a door. Cats like to play the hide and seek game, just like chasing a real mouse outdoor. If she looks bored after a few minutes, you can stop and try again later. Make sure you give her some treats at the end of the play session. It is like hunting down a mouse in the wild; she gets to eat her prey at the end. Put the wand toy away when you finish. You want to keep her interest on the toy. You can also put an empty box with some other toys in it. I have brought some insects home in the past (like crickets) and my cat would chase them all day long. Last resort, get another cat to play with her, but that takes more works on your part