How Do You Play With Your Cat?

[madzoya]

As Bruce is killing us slowly with lack of sleep, I need to find new aways to keep this boy tired.

So, how do you play with your cats? Do you chase them around? Run around a very small appartment with a feather thingy for him to chase?

Do you do it everyday at the same time? or as you see the kitty needs it?

Do you switch toys? How often? Do you have any automated toys?

Bruce needs movement to play. And the only thing he really enjoys is chasing. But after a days work there is just so much energy you have for that.

 

[di and bob]

I would get Bruce a brother that he can chase to his hearts content. One with the same temperament as he, and NOT a female who would want to teach him manners and not have any fun. (there are a few husbands that can vouch for that! )Two are really no more expensive then one, and they occupy each other.
Look at some of the interactive toys that move and stimulate him.
If he moves that much I take it he is young, under two, or a Siamese mix that always seem to be hyperactive, and he will calm down in a few years to the point he will lay around. Catnip stimulates them and gets them moving, I refresh my cats toys by putting them in a plastic bag filled with catnip and exchanging them every week or so. Before I vacuum I'll even sprinkle some on the floor and let them go at it. They zoom and roll around, I call it the 'cat crazies'!

 

[madzoya]

a brother is not a option, as his "daddy" is already on his last nerve with one, he won't consider two.

Also I fear Bruce would bully another cat if it was tamer than him, or tiring him to death!

he is young, turned 1 last month and yes, we suspect he has some siamese in him, as he is also very, very vocal.

Explosive combination!

He has so many toys. He gets bored of them too often. But I will try the catnip solution. Haven't tried that one yet!

 

[susanm9006]

I have taught all of my cats (8 over 40 years) how to fetch. It's fun for both of us and when the cat wants to play they actually tell you by bringing their toy to you and dropping it. Teaching the cat means taking away a toy while they are playing with it and tossing it. Sometimes they run to it right away, sometimes not, in which case you go get it bring it back and do it again. Once they are consistently running to their toy you wait a few minutes to see if they will bring it back a little closer to you, if not you go get it and toss it again. Eventually the cat figures out the game and starts fetching.

 

[MeganLLB]

My Luna chases this feather toy, but it's easy on me because it's like a fishing pole that telescopes out real long and has a cushioned handle and a long string at the end. So I can sit on my couch and watch tv and wave this feather around, and when she was younger she would chase in until she would start to pant like a dog and I would have to stop. If I didn't stop, she would never give up and quit.

I thought about getting her a cat wheel, but they are so expensive and large, I just can't imagine spending that amount of money and I don't know where I would put it.

But that extendable wand is so much better than just those short wooden sticks. And it also comes with replacement feathers, so when they get chewed up you can put a new one on.

my cat also likes that round ball on a track with the scratching thing in the middle. That is the only toy she plays with on her own. She really likes it. Even my lazy cat that hardly ever wants to play likes to sit on it. Sitting on the toy is as close to playing as I can get with that one.

 

[madzoya]

Bruce will play fetch with one particular toy, if he feels like it. We never even had to teach him.

But if he doesn't feel like it, you will toss it and he will look at you like "what?" and continue to try to drive you crazy.

I'm actually sad for him because you can tell he's bored out of his mind! And as much as I try I cannot find new ways to make him spend some of that spent energy.

This weekend we should have gone to our weekend house, but life got in the way and we couldn't. When we got Bruce I was very afraid he wouldn't get used to going from one house to another all the time. But now I think it's the only thing keeping all of us sain. He gets another entire appartment to explore and makes him less bored. Hopefully we will go next weekend.

 

[susanm9006]

Fav cat toys at my house: plastic cat springs are #1 all time favorite; sparkle balls; Meoww catnip banana; treat bottle (water bottle with holes cut in it, filled with treats); cardboard fort; golf balls.

The springs are Ethical Pet brand and because they roll and bounce are great for fetching and cats that like to chase.

 

[MeganLLB]

Also have you considered taking him outside on a harness and letting him explore? Luna loves to go outside. She comes right over when I ger her harness out and she tries to put her head through it. But she moves around so much from being excited its hard to get it on. It would be better if she didn't try to help. My dog does the same thing, he puts his head through like youd put on a shirt.

 

[madzoya]

Hi MeganLLB,

I've though of that but my neighbourhood is a doggy one, and I won't risk an encounter.

Bruce has never been outside (since he was picked up with his brothers at 5weeks old) and he his very aggressive if scared (I have the scratches to prove it, just because a kitchen chair fell near us when he was on my lap).

 

[MeganLLB]

madzoya Ok yea my first two cats were terrified of outside. But this one is always trying to run out the door, and I have a fenced in backyard.

How about a laser pointer? I can't use one because it messed up my dog and now he has like an OCD thing with chasing lights and shadows. But they were always fun with the cats.

 

[madzoya]

madzoya Ok yea my first two cats were terrified of outside. But this one is always trying to run out the door, and I have a fenced in backyard.

How about a laser pointer? I can't use one because it messed up my dog and now he has like an OCD thing with chasing lights and shadows. But they were always fun with the cats.

Bruce found that the light from the laser comes from our hand (in a few weeks), so he will come and try to bite/swat the laser out of us... Isn't he smart!!!!

 

[kathyfromcanada]

My cat loves the laser toy. She climbs half way up the wall to chase it. It gives her exercise and tires her out. Hope this helps.

 

[Oscar&Copper]

The favourite game in my house is me running around with a shoe lace behind my back and being chased by kittens...

Bruce is smart. So he may need puzzles and problems to solve. Try hiding treats around the house so he can hunt them. There are food puzzlers out there that make cats figure out how to get the food out of them. I'm sure you can make your own too. Every cat is different and likes different things. I think he needs something he'll play with while you're sleeping. There are toys that move when the cat touches it, even my small town Walmart has a couple like that. My kittens constantly amaze me, they play tag, hide and seek, they take turns hunting each other. Try to find something that stimulates his instincts.

 

[abyeb]

I play with Charlie with wand-type toys, which he loves! He also has a few automatic toys (Petlinks Mystery Motion Concealed Electronic Motion Cat Toy and https://m.bedbathandbeyond.ca/m/product/frolicat-reg-fox-den-automatic-cat-toy/1046798817). I have a toy rotation, where I put the toys that he seems bored of away, and then take them out again about a month later and it's like a whole new toy! I also leave catnip mice, ping pong balls, and these toy springs (Ethical Pet Wide Durable Heavy Gauge Plastic Colorful Springs Cat Toy) for Charlie to bat around. I also set up a "kibble hunt" for him, where I set pieces of his food on different perches around the house for him to jump to retrieve. I also sometimes feed him meals through this: PetSafe SlimCat Interactive Cat Feeder. Charlie refuses to eat wet food, so if I have to give him dry, I can at least make him work for it, lol, but he actually seems to enjoy playing with the kibble dispenser and jumping around the house.

If you really want Bruce to burn off some extra energy, a cat exercise wheel might do the trick. The most affordable model I've found is here: Cat Exercise Wheel, but there are other brands as well.

 

[madzoya]

Thanks Oscar&Copper!

Yes he is smart, but he's not at all treat oriented. Now if I could only hide wet food without making a mess!!!

He has toys that make noises when he touches them, every kind of mouse or feather thingy we can through and catch in the air, I never seen any that move by touch here... Maybe need to improve my search.

The only thing that works is the Cat's Meow. But it's expensive because it literally goes through 3 batteries in 30 minutes. And it's very noise for the night.

The worst part is that he doesn't really need a lot of toys, if we just play with him. If we chase him around the house he is happy. Or if we run with Da Bird. Yes, you cannot sit on the sofa and wave it, you need to get up and run over your very small appartment. Like a crazy person... But you should't really do that at 3am...

 

[madzoya]

Thanks abyeb,

Don't have space for a cat wheel, unfortunately.

Going to check some of the toys you mention, as I haven't seen them around here. Our Cat's Meow is similar to your mistery montion and Bruce loves it, but it consumes too much batteries.

 

[duncanmac]

I have taught all of my cats (8 over 40 years) how to fetch. It's fun for both of us and when the cat wants to play they actually tell you by bringing their toy to you and dropping it. Teaching the cat means taking away a toy while they are playing with it and tossing it. Sometimes they run to it right away, sometimes not, in which case you go get it bring it back and do it again. Once they are consistently running to their toy you wait a few minutes to see if they will bring it back a little closer to you, if not you go get it and toss it again. Eventually the cat figures out the game and starts fetching.

Barry and I figured out fetch together. We live in a split level home, so I can throw the toy in one of three directions and have him running up and down stairs - that really tires him out. There are a couple of toys he really likes to play fetch with, so to keep them "special" I put them away in a drawer - whenever I go to that drawer Barry is right there ready to play.

The other trick I have is to gather all their toys and then throw them to the other end of the hall or room. They will chase them and play with the toys but leave them generally where I threw them. Then I get up and throw them to the other side of the room/hall.

My guys won't chase a wand toy, but if I hide it under a table or chair and pop it in and out then they go nuts over it. They also like spring toys because when they bat them they go flying.

The tough part for you is finding what kind of toys Bruce likes.

 

[Oscar&Copper]

Have you tried dried liver or chicken treats? My kittens don't like treats but they go nuts over the dried liver.

 

[madzoya]

Bruce won't touch any raw food or anything that doesn't say cat on the can/packet. Lol.

I sware that cat can read! He will smell everything and walk away.

And the only food that excites him is wet food, which is not very practical for play.

 

[KleptoKit]

Your kitty sounds like a very smart one! Do you have him on a sort of schedule?
I feed my cat at 8pm every night and around 7:30 he will either bring me a toy(usually a ponytail holder haha) to play fetch or he'll peer around the corner waiting for a round of hide and seek tag! And we keep that up until 8, when he will give up whatever game and wait for his food, then eat and go plop on his bed and he's out within seconds lol