New Cat Mom's Questions About Playing with Kittens!

[thisyearsgirl]

Hello! I adopted two 7-month old kittens, Leo and Loki, last Sunday (Leo is the one in my profile pic! Loki is still shy, so no good pics of him yet). I had a very independent indoor/outdoor cat growing up and cat sat for friends while in grad school (including a 5-month old kitten for 2 weeks), but this is my first time (a) living with kittens, (b) having a completely indoor cat, and (c) having pets that are completely my responsibility, so I'm definitely pretty anxious about them. As kittens, they definitely have a lot of energy so I've scheduled playing 30-minutes with them before their AM meal, 15-30 minutes before their PM meal, and an another 30 minutes before bedtime. I usually play another 1-3 extra times in 5-15 minute bursts in between tasks/work, but I won't be able to do that once I'm back in the office (WFH at the moment, but I'm expected back in next month). They usually tussle with each other a couple times a day too. They also have some interactive alone fun time, such as one of those toys that dispenses treats, and I also leave a couple treats around the house in easily accessible locations to get them to explore. There's always a variety of toys on the ground for them to play with, which they maybe use 1-2xs a day unprompted. I hope this is enough playtime for them since they usually manage to settle down for bedtime within an hour after I turn off the lights, but I get so worried that they're bored! My main questions are:

(1) When I play with them, usually one kitty will take over and the other will sit back and watch. I usually play with the first kitty for 5-10-ish minutes before trying to entice the other kitty to play. The problem is Loki is hard to entice to play, so Leo will often jump in if Loki is taking too long to get interested. But once Loki is interested, Leo doesn't really sit back patiently. If he gets impatient, he'll start getting into trouble like trying to get into the trash, chewing on my plants--basically anything he knows will get my attention. I've tried distracting the non-active kitty with other toys (like tossing a foil ball) but usually that will distract the active kitty instead. Or if the non-active kitty gets distracted by the other toy, once I start playing with the active kitty, non-active kitty will stop playing with the other toy. I'm worried they're not getting enough play time since usually by the time I'm done playing and feeding, they're still bouncing around. Playing with one kitty in another room isn't really feasible since I live in a studio. Is my current strategy of just alternating kitties okay (since they're sleeping at bedtime anyways)? Should I be playing with them longer? Any strategies to get them to both to play at the same time?

(2) My boys are very vocal, especially Loki, so they usually wander around meowing for a while, especially if I move off my desk. I can't tell if they're doing this for attention or if they're bored or if they're just being chatty! I always feel compelled to give them a couple pets or toss a few toys at them when they do, but I don't know if I'm reinforcing attention seeking behavior because I'm worried that they're bored but I don't want to ignore them, in case they're bored. This has definitely cut into my work hours haha, so I'm seeking advice on how to tell whether they want to play or whether I can safely ignore them. I'm probably excessively anxious about this since I live in a studio so I see what they're doing all the time, versus growing up in a two-story house where our family cat would just wander around as he pleases (and be out-of-sight haha).

(3) I've been trying to reward Leo and Loki for good behavior with treats, especially since Leo is a little troublemaker. The problem is, I'm not always by the treat drawer in my desk, so by the time I get the treat out, I'm being swarmed by two little greedy kittens who just want a snack! For example, if I'm on the couch and I see Leo is using his cat scratcher across the room, I want to reward him for doing this (versus scratching my couch haha). But by the time I get off the couch and into the drawer, Leo has launched himself to my desk and Loki is there as well! So I'm worried that if I give a treat, I'm not actually reinforcing scratch cat scratcher = good because the elapsed time. And the other kitty is disappointed he has no snack, haha. Is there a better way of doing this?

Any other kitten playing tips are appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

I think you should find a toy that both can enjoy. For example, the laser pointer. I had some good results getting the most inactive cat interested in playing. Some cats don't have a strong play drive, those are the ones who just sit on the sideline and observe. I have also seen cats step to the side, so the more dominant cat can play.

Also, cats have their own taste in toys, some may like wand toys, while others like balls, spirals, or any thing they can knock around. While you have the toy(s) you can get both of them interacting with at the same time, you need toys your cats can play with themselves (e.g.The Ball Tower toy). You may need to separate the inactive cat and put him in a room where he can spend time playing with toys by himself. Let him have time for himself. You can also put the TV on a bird watching channel (this may spark your cat's prey drive). You can also use catnip mice or other toys. Tire the kitties out, so they do not keep you up at night.

Spend time petting, brushing their fur/ talking to & praising your cats to deepen your bond with them and give them the attention they need. Do not use treats all the time to reward your cats. Use praise and petting as a reward.

I am including some articles to give you some more ideas. Best of luck to you and your kitties.

10 Simple Ways To Raise A Confident Cat

Cats are territorial creatures of habit. They crave dependability, familiarity, and ... Read more

iheartcats.com

17 Techniques You Can Try to Encourage Your Cat to Play with You

I have a lazy cat. And one of the main problems with lazy cats is it’s really hard to get them to play. While it’s true that finding a magical cat toy that a lazy cat will go crazy for is often the key to helping him or her get off that warm pile of...Read More »

kittyclysm.com

 

[molly92]

It's actually very easy to train cats....to do what you weren't trying to teach them.

It's usually easier to modify things so that they want to do what you want. For example, if you need them to not scratch something, you can provide scratchers of different kinds (cardboard, carpet, sisal rope, vertical, horizontal, slanted, etc...each cat will have their own preference) and block the thing they're scratching, perhaps by putting foil over it or a double sided tape like Sticky Paws. Provide cat grass and make other plants less accessible if they like to chew on them. Things like that. Different strategies will work for different cats.

Overall it sounds like things are going pretty well. I'm not worried about them playing unequally. Kittens have different preferences for play, too. You certainly don't need to have them play together for any reason.

It could make things a little more interesting to rotate toys. Put most in a drawer, and pull out different ones each day so it's always a bit of a surprise.

As for the meowing, that's up to you! Personally, I think that the louder the meow is, the less likely it is something is wrong. Cats like to be dramatic if it gets your attention! You can ignore them if you don't have a moment and pay them attention when you do. It won't harm them either way. When you start going back to work, it will be an adjustment just because all changes are adjustments, but I'm sure they'll get used to it and be just fine. When you're not within eyesight or earshot, they'll find their own fun.

You've only had them a week, so you're going to find out a lot more about them as they grow and get comfortable in their new home. Just about any behavior that you're observing now may change with a bit of time!

I think you're doing a great job with enrichment! It's great that you have a pair. Kittens really do best with a buddy!

 

[thisyearsgirl]

I think you should find a toy that both can enjoy. For example, the laser pointer. I had some good results getting the most inactive cat interested in playing. Some cats don't have a strong play drive, those are the ones who just sit on the sideline and observe. I have also seen cats step to the side, so the more dominant cat can play.

Also, cats have their own taste in toys, some may like wand toys, while others like balls, spirals, or any thing they can knock around. While you have the toy(s) you can get both of them interacting with at the same time, you need toys your cats can play with themselves (e.g.The Ball Tower toy). You may need to separate the inactive cat and put him in a room where he can spend time playing with toys by himself. Let him have time for himself. You can also put the TV on a bird watching channel (this may spark your cat's prey drive). You can also use catnip mice or other toys. Tire the kitties out, so they do not keep you up at night.

Spend time petting, brushing their fur/ talking to & praising your cats to deepen your bond with them and give them the attention they need. Do not use treats all the time to reward your cats. Use praise and petting as a reward.

I am including some articles to give you some more ideas. Best of luck to you and your kitties.

10 Simple Ways To Raise A Confident Cat

Cats are territorial creatures of habit. They crave dependability, familiarity, and ... Read more

iheartcats.com

17 Techniques You Can Try to Encourage Your Cat to Play with You

I have a lazy cat. And one of the main problems with lazy cats is it’s really hard to get them to play. While it’s true that finding a magical cat toy that a lazy cat will go crazy for is often the key to helping him or her get off that warm pile of...Read More »

kittyclysm.com

Thank you! I'll definitely try the laser pointer and experiment with some other toys. I suspect Loki doesn't have a strong play drive, but I just feel worried that he usually just sits and watches his brother goes nuts lol. The only other room I have is a bathroom (studio problems haha), but I'll try putting one of the kitties in there during playtime to see if it helps.

I'll also try petting/talking as praise rather than treats. My main problem is Loki is still pretty shy so he bolts half the time when I try to pet him, which makes treats a pretty good reward. But we'll get there!

 

[thisyearsgirl]

It's actually very easy to train cats....to do what you weren't trying to teach them.

It's usually easier to modify things so that they want to do what you want. For example, if you need them to not scratch something, you can provide scratchers of different kinds (cardboard, carpet, sisal rope, vertical, horizontal, slanted, etc...each cat will have their own preference) and block the thing they're scratching, perhaps by putting foil over it or a double sided tape like Sticky Paws. Provide cat grass and make other plants less accessible if they like to chew on them. Things like that. Different strategies will work for different cats.

Overall it sounds like things are going pretty well. I'm not worried about them playing unequally. Kittens have different preferences for play, too. You certainly don't need to have them play together for any reason.

It could make things a little more interesting to rotate toys. Put most in a drawer, and pull out different ones each day so it's always a bit of a surprise.

As for the meowing, that's up to you! Personally, I think that the louder the meow is, the less likely it is something is wrong. Cats like to be dramatic if it gets your attention! You can ignore them if you don't have a moment and pay them attention when you do. It won't harm them either way. When you start going back to work, it will be an adjustment just because all changes are adjustments, but I'm sure they'll get used to it and be just fine. When you're not within eyesight or earshot, they'll find their own fun.

You've only had them a week, so you're going to find out a lot more about them as they grow and get comfortable in their new home. Just about any behavior that you're observing now may change with a bit of time!

I think you're doing a great job with enrichment! It's great that you have a pair. Kittens really do best with a buddy!

Thank you! I'll definitely try those strategies. Leo seems pretty impervious to double-sided tape and foil (maybe I need to give it more time?), but I'll try getting some other scratchers to see if he has likes some other types better!

It's also a relief to hear about the playing, since that was my biggest worry. Do you have any suggestions regarding playtime? I've mostly been doing playtime on my terms (aka scheduled ones before meals/bedtimes, or when I have a break such as lunch), so sometimes it takes them a while get going because they weren't in the mood. Is it better to play with kittens when they come asking for playtime?

 

[molly92]

It's also a relief to hear about the playing, since that was my biggest worry. Do you have any suggestions regarding playtime? I've mostly been doing playtime on my terms (aka scheduled ones before meals/bedtimes, or when I have a break such as lunch), so sometimes it takes them a while get going because they weren't in the mood. Is it better to play with kittens when they come asking for playtime?

I think it's fine to go by what your cats want to do, unless you want to tire them out for a reason like before bedtime.