Hi all,
I recently got my cat Henrietta this real rabbit fur mouse toy that she LOVES. She's not much one for independent play but straight out of the package she was going crazy with it! Then, I got the idea to loop it on to my DaBird wand (I tried a plain old dowel and she liked it too but something about the DaBird wand makes her go CRAZY!!). She goes nuts for it: I mean jumping through the air, chirping non-stop the whole time. I'm so happy to have found a toy she loves so much that reliably gets her running around exercising every time.
The thing is, she's OBSESSED. It's really hard to end play time because she never even really attacks it, just chases it and lightly jumps on it (therefore we never reach the "catch" or "kill" phase of "hunt, catch, kill, eat" - which is how I used to end play sessions, with a meal!). She'll even ignore her food if I put it out after playing because she wants to keep going! She gets really tired out and I have to pause the play session for a few minutes in the middle multiple times because she starts breathing really hard (not to the point of panting or anything but definitely can tell she needs a rest even though she doesn't want to stop). When I put it away, she paws at the drawer ALL DAY and meows and trills at me telling me while I'm trying to work from home, telling me she wants to play.
I'm so conflicted, I love that she loves this toy so much! But it almost seems to be obsessive, where she brings me out to the living room to play before eating her breakfast in the morning! And it's showing no signs of slowing down after a month of owning the toy. Any tips for setting a definitive end to these play sessions (that will still be satisfying to her)? She's 7 years old and I can't believe she still has this much energy! I want to make sure she can be entertained and get it all out of her system, but I feel so bad having to say no to playing when I have to work since she doesn't like her solo toys, even ones that move by themselves. Ever since getting this toy, she went from begrudgingly playing by herself to ONLY wanting the mouse. Also just curious if anyone has had anything similar, if this is just her "jackpot" toy or if this might be some kind of behavioural problem?
I recently got my cat Henrietta this real rabbit fur mouse toy that she LOVES. She's not much one for independent play but straight out of the package she was going crazy with it! Then, I got the idea to loop it on to my DaBird wand (I tried a plain old dowel and she liked it too but something about the DaBird wand makes her go CRAZY!!). She goes nuts for it: I mean jumping through the air, chirping non-stop the whole time. I'm so happy to have found a toy she loves so much that reliably gets her running around exercising every time.
The thing is, she's OBSESSED. It's really hard to end play time because she never even really attacks it, just chases it and lightly jumps on it (therefore we never reach the "catch" or "kill" phase of "hunt, catch, kill, eat" - which is how I used to end play sessions, with a meal!). She'll even ignore her food if I put it out after playing because she wants to keep going! She gets really tired out and I have to pause the play session for a few minutes in the middle multiple times because she starts breathing really hard (not to the point of panting or anything but definitely can tell she needs a rest even though she doesn't want to stop). When I put it away, she paws at the drawer ALL DAY and meows and trills at me telling me while I'm trying to work from home, telling me she wants to play.
I'm so conflicted, I love that she loves this toy so much! But it almost seems to be obsessive, where she brings me out to the living room to play before eating her breakfast in the morning! And it's showing no signs of slowing down after a month of owning the toy. Any tips for setting a definitive end to these play sessions (that will still be satisfying to her)? She's 7 years old and I can't believe she still has this much energy! I want to make sure she can be entertained and get it all out of her system, but I feel so bad having to say no to playing when I have to work since she doesn't like her solo toys, even ones that move by themselves. Ever since getting this toy, she went from begrudgingly playing by herself to ONLY wanting the mouse. Also just curious if anyone has had anything similar, if this is just her "jackpot" toy or if this might be some kind of behavioural problem?