How Much Do You Play With Your Cats?

[saleri]

Got two kittens myself. 7 month and 5 month. I try to have two play sessions of 15 minutes each by themselves a day.

Everyone else?

 

[duckpond]

I dont think i time our play, sometimes a few min, sometimes longer. I have 4, so they often will just sit and stare at each other, and no one will play. or they all try to play at once and get frustrated. If you shut some up in another room then the one im trying to play with is so worried about the ones shut up they just sit at the door...lol. cant win.

Luckily they play a lot with each other, running up and down the stairs, chasing across the furniture and up the cat trees , wrestling. so they get lots of play time together. Seems like when they have their play burst and zoomies it may last 2 min, it may last 30 min. Mine are 3 to 6 years old now, so they might not need as much play as your kittens.

 

[verna davies]

I play with my three several times a day for as long as I can. They know that if I go to the bedroom during the day , it means playtime and follow me into the room. They have me well trained.

 

[Kieka]

When it was just Link and Fury, I had to play with Link for 30 minutes before work and a minimum of an hour after work. Many times even after that I'd end up playing with him on and off until I fell asleep. It was common to keep wand toys near any chair/seat and toss-able toys on every flat surface throughout the house. "Your cat wants you," was common. Fury has never quite gotten the hang of play and tends to just want a few minutes of imitating a cat playing then actually playing (he's hesitant and doesn't get all into it most of the time).

Then Rocket came along and Link had a living play buddy. I'd just have to move the cat tunnel or toss a toy when Rocket tired out or on a rare occasion entertain Rocket when Link had enough. Thankfully Rocket is usually right there with Link in terms of energy level. Most of the time, if Fury is around, Link will try to engage Fury before I have to step in or, now that he is older, he will grab a toy out the toy box without me interfering.

View media item 420579View media item 420666

 

[Brian007]

I play with Parker whenever he brings me his feather duster wand or Cat Dancer for however long he is up for it, sometimes several minutes, sometimes several hours. I ping balls etc around whenever I come across one. And other games are played with as and when I happen to be at a loose end and there's something near at hand. Dudley is harder to play with as Parker always gets in the way. However, Dudley and Parker play with each other every day for anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour at a time, multiple times a day. In fact, I can hear the tell-tale sounds of chirruping and bottoms brushing against the cardboard box in the hallway as I type. If I were to never lift a finger to play with them again, I'm perfectly sure they'd entertain themselves.

 

[Neo_23]

I play with my 1 year old girl about 30 mins-1 hour in the morning. I wake up early to make sure I have time to play before work. I’ll try to play with her again in the middle of the day for another hour and we always play for up to 2 hours before bed. So I guess I try to play at least 2.5 hours a day. She’s an only cat and also a very social and active young Siamese so she needs lots of stimulation. She wishes we would play more than that too.

 

[saleri]

I play with my 1 year old girl about 30 mins-1 hour in the morning. I wake up early to make sure I have time to play before work. I’ll try to play with her again in the middle of the day for another hour and we always play for up to 2 hours before bed. So I guess I try to play at least 2.5 hours a day. She’s an only cat and also a very social and active young Siamese so she needs lots of stimulation. She wishes we would play more than that too.

Honestly don't know how you guys do it. My two very young kittens are already losing interest in the various wand toys I have.. And they have pretty much no interest in stationary toys like toy mice or larger toys.

 

[Neo_23]

Honestly don't know how you guys do it. My two very young kittens are already losing interest in the various wand toys I have.. And they have pretty much no interest in stationary toys like toy mice or larger toys.

I like to think of playing with cats as a bit of an art. I agree with Jackson Galaxy that you can’t, for example, just wave the wand toy- you have to “become” the toy. I have found that often times cats have no interest in a toy until I make it interesting for them.

 

[Kieka]

Our couch is a good five feet from the wall so I stand at the back side and use a wand. I get the cats jumping over, around and up the couch to the point of panting. The cats know that if I stand behind it they are likely going to play and work themselves up before I even grab the wand. I'll also drag the wand behind me and quickly walk around the house, drawing them on top of beds and furniture as I go. Getting into it and being the toy is one of the key thing.

 

[Etarre]

Juniper is an only cat, and I try to play with her for a few minutes (5-10) every morning before work, and then make myself available for play in the evening for a couple of hours while my husband and I watch TV together. Sometimes she's more interested in playing than other times. She likes to monitor the birds out the window in the morning, and sometimes doesn't take me up on my invitation to play at all. Other times, she's really into it. The evening time also allows her to take frequent breaks for rest and snacks and come back to it when she feels like it.

Juniper is very clear on how she likes to play, and doesn't engage if I don't follow her rules. She will only chase the cat dancer if it first 'hides' under the couch for a bit and she can stalk it. She also likes it when her laser pointer 'hides' in a pile of blankets or under the couch. Once it reveals itself, she will then work herself up into mad sprinting around the apartment.

She also has lots of toys for independent play, and is equally likely to steal our socks and run around with them as if they're toys.

My previous cat was much less into playing, and less picky about how her play was structured. She did like the cat dancer and the laser pointer, but those were the only toys that really interested her. All the little mousey things and feather stick toys were just ignored. She did, however, love cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and unrolling toilet paper. So not all cats want endless playtime, in my experience, and what they like is very individual!

 

[2rescuekitties]

I like to think of playing with cats as a bit of an art. I agree with Jackson Galaxy that you can’t, for example, just wave the wand toy- you have to “become” the toy. I have found that often times cats have no interest in a toy until I make it interesting for them.

That is too funny! "Become the toy" I find myself trying to chirrup just like them, or when they do an awesome mid air catch I will give belly rubs and they seem to love that..Lots of high pitched and happy excited tones

 

[Dacatchair]

A recent favourite seems to be tearing a 1 inch wide strip of paper from a sheet so it is about 11 inches long and folding the last 1/2 inch at the end to make it a bit thicker and clipping the folded end onto the clip of an old Da Bird wand. It flutters and floats quite provocatively, and boredom doesn’t last long, but I always make sure to burn it in the wood stove after playing so it doesn’t get eaten.

Oh... the question was how much do we play with our cats. I just have one 7 month old kitten and I try to do at least three 1/2 hour sessions a day, but also will do a quickie whenever I have a moment and sometimes when I really should be doing something else, just because my kitten is so darn cute and enticing.

 

[Summercats]

saleri
Also mix up the toys. Rotate them so they don’t get bored of the same ones. I try to buy new toys from time to time or attachments for Da Bird wand type toys.

 

[basscat]

Two or three times day. I play with him about 5 minutes each time...after that, he's playing with me.

 

[prairiepanda]

I play with Jonesy once a day for around an hour. If I don't have time for that, I give him a few minutes with the laser. The laser exhausts him quite quickly, as he will chase it up and down the ladder of my loft bed, jump at it on and off furniture, chase it in circles all over the place.

For our normal long play sessions, though, I mostly let him choose the toy. He has a variety of cat toys, as well as various bits of paper, old socks, bedsheets, whatever. He really enjoys baby toys, too! They're great, because they often make a nice gentle noise instead of the horrible noises some cat toys make, and don't have any eyes/tails/fur that might be choking hazards. He has a couple stuffed rattle toys, teething toys, hanging toys. I don't have a baby, but regularly shop in the baby section for Jonesy!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Our last kitten was kept separate when we weren't around due to her small size and poor health, and anywhere from 15-60 minutes per morning, 30 minutes or so mid-day, and 1-2 hours in the evening was "dedicated" to her time to be loose in the house and interacted with.
We also fed her treats and a handful of kibble from a puzzle toy when we were preparing to leave. She was very young and very sickly and needed to sleep a lot, too.
It was exhausting, but she's incredibly bonded to us (humans) and is what we call "cat-dog"; she's a cat, but dog like as we encouraged play, retrieving (bringing us toys and stuff) and other things.

 

[LAL]

Are we considering snuggle time as part of 'play'? Melody like to jump on the bed and let me stroke her back in a couple of 5 minute or so sessions in the morning, 10 minutes or so right after I get home from work, and then 5-10 when I get in bed to read. [Having pulled the covers back on her side, gotten in on my side, and settle enough so she knows I'm not in her way.]

If we strictly mean actual, physical play, it depends upon her mood. I try to engage her in chasing a ball or the wand. Sometimes I find I am the one going down the hall, retrieving the ball, throwing it again, repeat, repeat, repeat, with little of her participation other than to watch. Other times, she will chase over and over.

She also like me to lay on the floor with her and talk to her as she rubs against her scratching post or rends her chirping bird toy. I don't do anything, just talk to her about what she is doing.

 

[Anne]

Of course, it's not just about how much time, it's also about how you play with your cat. We have an interesting article about how to play with your cat that offers tips on both topics (and more).

 

[Lilacat >(^.^)<]

We play with ours when we are told to play.....which can be once to three times per day. We are also well trained.

 

[2rescuekitties]

We play with ours when we are told to play.....which can be once to three times per day. We are also well trained.

LOL! you are totally right I think cats do a fine job training their humans..Mine have trained me quite well to know what sounds mean what