Is it ok not to play with my cats at all for a day?

Clro

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Since school started ive been physically exhausted and i make a huge effort to give my cats their daily hour of playtime (15min x 4 sessions) with me! Howsoever, the past few days i basically couldn't, i was so busy that i could leave my room at bed time which means that i left my cats unattended (when it comes down to playtime, i always make sure they have enough food and water) and other days when i finally have time, i am so tired i can't get myself to do anything and I feel really bad because i know how much they love to play and its important for their health. however they have been sleeping more since fall started?? I'd feel guilty for waking them up to play so that kinda adds up because I don't know when theyre bored or tired - this adds up because when im free they are usually sleeping because its the hottest parts of the day, another thing that i noticed is that they had shown heat symptoms last week (which was specially when i struggled to play with them, bc they wouldn't stop sleeping when i had some little time), do these affect their sleep schedule?? However back to the point, i feel like im being a bad owner for what happened the last few days.
 

verna davies

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Your not being a bad cat owner at all. Sometimes our lives are busy and we cant spend as much time playing with our cats as we would like. You said cats so I presume you have more than one which means they can play with each other or at least be company for one another. Do they have toys and if there is a window in their room they can look out of put a bird feeder outside so they can watch the birds feed and play with them when you are able .
 

ArtNJ

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We dont play with our adult cats much at all. We always have two or three, and they play with each other. We mostly just pet/cuddle with them. Both of my current cats are happy, healthy, affectionate, lean and still very active with each other or with solo play with toys when they feel like it, so I don't see that its hurt them in any way.
 
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Robyn5678

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I don’t play with my adult cat. We snuggle and I pet and love on her at bedtime and in the morning. I have 3 1 year old cats and they entertain eachb other. You say “cats”. How many do you have?
 

Furballsmom

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If you don't already have some, maybe an automated toy or two, or those with rolling ball tracks :)
 

danteshuman

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My boy gets most of his energy out with his daily outside time. He still wants to play a bit and has delighted ghd bathroom as his play zone. 🙄
 

iPappy

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Since school started ive been physically exhausted and i make a huge effort to give my cats their daily hour of playtime (15min x 4 sessions) with me! Howsoever, the past few days i basically couldn't, i was so busy that i could leave my room at bed time which means that i left my cats unattended (when it comes down to playtime, i always make sure they have enough food and water) and other days when i finally have time, i am so tired i can't get myself to do anything and I feel really bad because i know how much they love to play and its important for their health. however they have been sleeping more since fall started?? I'd feel guilty for waking them up to play so that kinda adds up because I don't know when theyre bored or tired - this adds up because when im free they are usually sleeping because its the hottest parts of the day, another thing that i noticed is that they had shown heat symptoms last week (which was specially when i struggled to play with them, bc they wouldn't stop sleeping when i had some little time), do these affect their sleep schedule?? However back to the point, i feel like im being a bad owner for what happened the last few days.
You're not a bad owner. You're a normal owner. I will play with my cats if I'm free and they ask me to but sometimes I just can't. Since you have more than one, odds are they play with one another while you're not around and take frequent naps as cats like to do. They're learning some independence from you which will keep things like anxiety when you're not around from becoming a problem. Plus, if you're stressed for time and are putting in your normal "15 minutes" the cats are going to pick up on your stress. (For comparison, I never ever trained my dogs for any sort of competition if I was feeling stressed, because they pick up on that and it ceases to be fun.) Playtime should be fun and relaxed! You sound so dedicated to them! Play with them when you have time to really "be there", and if you skip a day or more, don't worry about it.
 

arr

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It’s really okay. There are going to be times when you just can’t keep up that play schedule. What if you go on vacation? What if you get sick and are in bed for awhile? It’s normal to have things come up. Just do what you can when you can.
 

danteshuman

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Mini play breaks of just 5 minutes helps to. That and rotate the toys you leave out during the day. If you can, hang some bird feeders by a window.
 

mxphs

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I think it's more important to play with your cat everyday if you only have one.
Since you have two, you can relax a bit but it's great that you're thinking of their boredom levels.
 
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