How Long Do You Play With Your Cat?

[Kvla]

Hi,

I have a very energetic kitty. She's about one year old. I'm wondering what everyone's play schedules are like! Google says you should play with your cat 15 minutes twice a day, but I feel like that's not enough time.

How old is your cat/s?
How long do you play with your cats and how often?
What times do you designate to playtime?

I'm a busy college student, with no much routine, but also have a very bite-y kitty. I'm hoping to get a playmate for her this spring, but until then she needs lots of energy burnt off. Lol

 

[mwallace056]

truthfully i don't play with any of my cats, i know i should, but they all outside cats. yeah for some cats 30 minutes a day isn't enough, for example Mae who is 2 years old if she was a indoor only cat, playing with her 15 minutes twice a day likely won't be enough for her, at the minimum she would probably need over an hour of playtime 2-3 times a day. but she outside burning her energy off, she has a curious and adventurous personality so she gone for hours but always come back either to check in or because she caught something and want to play with whatever she caught in my room, gross i know. now my two oldest who are 6 years old would likely be happy with the 15 minutes twice a day. now there Daisey who is about 4 year old, would likely be fine with an hour of playtime twice a day

 

[Maria Bayote]

Only Graham is hyper among my cats, as she is only around 5 months old.

In the morning after I take my shower she knows that I will be playing with her, as she becomes alert and takes on a hunting mode with me, which is so funny to watch. It is our routine, so most probably it is why she always looks forward for a short playtime in the morning. So before I get dressed for work I play with her in the morning for approximately 15-20 minutes. If I am in a hurry, at 5-10 minutes only. If I do not play with her, she cries or meows non-stop. It would be very obvious on her expression that she is disappointed with me.

At night before bed I play with her much longer, an hour or so. This will sometimes include my other cats who will play with us.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I play with Neko-chan 3 times a day. Around 15-20 minutes before breakfast and dinner and for about 30 minutes before bed. She also likes to play solo with her fuzzy mice and teddy bear after meals.

 

[di and bob]

It is interesting, your choice of a name for your cat. Neko means 'cat' in Japanese, and chan means female! I have always had a soft spot for that name,, years ago I had a Siamese named Neko.....

 

[sweet jane flash]

I play with my cat every single chance I get. I love to do this. Even if it is the middle of the night I still do not want to miss out on any opportunity to share time with this beautiful lady. I often switch toys so she does not geIt bored. It is a joy to watch her jump 3 feet in the air to catch a toy I've been showing her and watching her steady eyes to judge the moment I'll throw toy and her speculation at how high she'll have to jump to get it is not often wrong. Even watching her go after robotic mouse is a treat for me, and I always tell her "good job" when she "kills" it. Of course I know she deserves as much time as I can possibly devote to this play. I deserve it too. She is such a treasure and I feel so incredibly lucky to be her guardian!

 

[daftcat75]

Krista used to be an avid self-play kitty. I would still sometimes take a wand out. But generally, if she saw a shoelace dangling from the back of a chair or the Cat Dancer propped in a bin for her or any number of mice-like toys on the floor, she'd give it its due. Then she got old and came down with a number of conditions last year and this. Her playing all but disappeared earlier this year. But she would park her butt in front of the only closed doors in the house (besides the egress points which she has little interest in.) I would first open the home office door (formerly the bedroom.) And she'd walk in and walk right up to the closet door and park her butt in front of that one. I'd open the closet for her and she'd explore. And 9 times out of 10, her exploration ended in finding her favorite wand toy, Da Bird, and taking it out of the closet. I have come to understand that when she parks in front of the doors, what she's really saying is, "let's play!" We only get maybe a couple of minutes of play at a time. But we may get in several sessions a day. I think it helps her because it scratches the hunter's itch and she gets some healing exercise. I know my chronic pain feels better when I remain active. Plus it strengthens the bond between us. She can look to me for something other than food and scratches. We often play for a few minutes when I come home and change into house clothes. Then we may play a few more times at night and at least once or twice in the morning as I get ready for work. Every now and then, I'll pull out the laser for her. She knows the laser comes from me but she still loves to pancake her body, saucer her eyes, and chase that dot, even if only for half a minute. Whatever I can do to break up the monotony of eating and sleeping.

 

[She's a witch]

Up to 2h regularly both in the morning and evening, sometimes 1h is enough because both cats would start to chase themselves instead. For the rest of the day she has another cat to play with if he feels like it. She’s miserable and loud when she’s not played with, at 2.5yo her energy level is only a bit lower than it used to be. Another kitten was a blessing when she was little. Active cat that is not stimulated enough can become unhappy, bored, vocal and stressed.

 

[Etarre]

I spend 10 minutes every morning before work playing with Juniper if she's in the mood-- half the time, she's distracted by something that's going on outside the window and doesn't take me up on the offer. Then again after dinner, I'll get out the cat charmer or cat dancer if she asks me to. Her laser pointed used to be our favorite evening toy-- highly recommended for cats in an energetic phase. She is also quite happy to play on her own and finds all kinds of things to run around with during the day.

She's now about two and a half. We got her at 8 months after she had been in a shelter for weeks, and she would run herself crazy playing then, and would never turn down an opportunity to play. Sure, she's older now, but I think she was also starved for attention and fun after being cooped up on a cage at the shelter for so long.

 

[quietdumpling]

This makes me feel a bit guilty. I have 3 cats and I only really play with them for about 20-30 minutes per week. On the other hand they are always playing on their own or with each other so it's not too terrible. I still need to make more of an effort to play with them regularly...

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

I play with my two six month old boys twice a day - in the morning for about an hour, and when I get home at night for maybe twenty to thirty minutes.

They play with each other so that helps, but I also make sure they have toys that they enjoy playing with that doesn't require me.

Ball tracks are good, they come in different sizes. Those colorful springs by Ethical Pet are dirt cheap and Finny can chase one around the house for hours. You could also try puzzle toys. Sticking the handles of wand toys in couches or chairs so the attachment is dangling is something my mom sometimes does when I'm gone to keep them busy. Kicker toys, whether they are filled with catnip or not, can be good for cats/kittens that like to bite/wrestle things.

Just a few ideas that have personally worked for me.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

It is interesting, your choice of a name for your cat. Neko means 'cat' in Japanese, and chan means female! I have always had a soft spot for that name,, years ago I had a Siamese named Neko.....

my husband and I are fascinated by Japanese culture, which is why we named her Neko-chan (we knew it means girl cat). Hopefully one day we'll be able to afford a trip to Japan even though we don't speak the language

 

[Serenityinaz12]

I can’t even imagine playing with a cat for hours mine gets bored and goes to lay down after like 10 mins.

My cat is about 6 and wants to play usually 2-3 times a day. He does certain things when he wants to play so I know it’s play time. Then I play with cat laser and try to get him running around a bit, sometimes play with different toys. Usually 5-15 mins later he just goes and plops on the floor in this one spot which means he’s done.

 

[quill_luv]

Two hours in the morning, and two hours at night ... and Frankie, my four month old, is out like a light. He's found a stuffed toy he likes to rabbit kick - a big old fluffy skunk ... he goes nuts for it. As a puzzle feeder I'm using a few yards of old fabric, and I sprinkle his dry food into it and he likes to dive in for a snack. Everything in between - a ball of ribbon yarn, a ball track, several wands, a sparkly ball. I have a giant hand made knitted blanket he likes to rummage around in on my bed, and he sleeps on it - I think its his bed now. He's found random things - an old crumpled receipt, a white eraser, random dead leaves. He sleeps pretty well after all of his crazy kitten play, often just snuggling up to me and purring until he falls asleep. At about 6 AM we wake up and begin our day all over again.

 

[Coolgram]

I don't have set times I play with Gracie but I would say in general an hour in the morning, maybe broken up into two sessions, probably another one or two 1/2 hour sessions in the afternoon, and at least 1/2 hour or more in the evening. Some days, the minute I sit down she wants to play and other times she's busy on her tree looking out the window, it varies. Unfortunately, she just doesn't like to play with toys like mice, balls, springs etc. She might chase them across the floor once and she's done. She wants to play with things that involve me, mostly the "fishing" pole and the laser light.

 

[Kvla]

Two hours in the morning, and two hours at night ... and Frankie, my four month old, is out like a light. He's found a stuffed toy he likes to rabbit kick - a big old fluffy skunk ... he goes nuts for it. As a puzzle feeder I'm using a few yards of old fabric, and I sprinkle his dry food into it and he likes to dive in for a snack. Everything in between - a ball of ribbon yarn, a ball track, several wands, a sparkly ball. I have a giant hand made knitted blanket he likes to rummage around in on my bed, and he sleeps on it - I think its his bed now. He's found random things - an old crumpled receipt, a white eraser, random dead leaves. He sleeps pretty well after all of his crazy kitten play, often just snuggling up to me and purring until he falls asleep. At about 6 AM we wake up and begin our day all over again.

I want so badly to be able to play with my cat for 4 hours a day. I feel like she would completely wipe out after it. However, I don’t know if I could do that just because of how long that is!! How do you make time for that? Do you ever skip play sessions?

 

[aliceneko]

When I was socialising Toffee and Fudge as kittens, I'd play with them for a few hours everyday, though as they've grown I reduced it to an hour and now half an hour/15 minutes depending on who I'm playing with as they have very different personalities. Fudge is a lot less energetic and needs stimulating a lot less than Toffee does. He's happy to sleep on a lap for a few hours.

 

[minish]

Since I learned the need and functions of play for indoor cats, I played with minish every chance I got. Routinely mornings, when I came back to home in the evenings and midnight before I went to sleep. Minish is an only cat and wants my involvement even if it's just watching as she shows off. So I never turned down her requests. Since she's an adult this amounts to 4 or 5 times a day 5 to 20 min. she picks the pace, changes style, gives breaks in the middle of long sessions. I accommodate since she knows what she needs or wants better than I can ever do. I also initiate play when she looks depressed or when there is something that makes her uneasy (noise, going to a new place.. ) ıt woks wonders I have a highly confident and adaptable kitty

 

[vince]

All of mine seem to have short attention spans. Five minutes, and they're bored. One is so lazy he thinks the feathered wand toy is a spectator sport. A couple of times daily, max. They regularly run around and beat up on each other, so they do get some exercise.