Hi everyone. Lilly is 6 months old and I feel like she's bored with all her toys. I think I've bought every single toy in Petco! After about 5 minutes of me playing with her she's over it and has no interest in that toy again! Any ideas on some free play ideas?
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Play Ideas
- Thread starter lillys mommy
- Start Date
My cats love cardboard boxes, paper bags, the plastic rings from milk jugs, card board tubes from toilet paper or paper towels.
Cats can definitely get bored of their toys at times. Best thing is to put them away for a bit and rotate which toys are out, not allowing him to get bored with one before putting it away.
Cats can definitely get bored of their toys at times. Best thing is to put them away for a bit and rotate which toys are out, not allowing him to get bored with one before putting it away.
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- #3
Thank you. I will try those things. She seems to love chasing balls but only the ones that don't make noise (she's particular!). I freaked out after she put one in her mouth and almost choked. What a handful these kittens are!
Hi Lillys mommy, I have two active cats - an almost 3yr old, and a 6 month yr old. We are ALWAYS needing to come up with play ideas (my theory is the smart ones get bored quick). luckily, my husband has a very very creative brain. I have loads of our ideas and road tests of toys on my blog (see my signature). Enriching the environment is also good for getting a 'new' toy.
Totally with the people who have posted you already! All great advice. It is SOOO hard to resist all those lovely looking toys we see in the shops / on line but you are right - hardly any hold our cats' interest for more than a few minutes or days
The best ones are usually home made and short lived.
Just looked at catstuff4aussies and THANKS, I've already added it to my favourites!
Another thing I do regularly is play with the opened envelopes, card and paper that comes through the post. Envelopes are often nice and crinkly, can be stuffed with rolled up paper for added fun, and some even big enough to try and climb in to. The card is fun for waving about or folding up for chewing, and the paper can either be rolled in to balls for chasing, or better - folding in to paper aeroplanes for chasing and leaping after until they are so battered and chewed they don't fly any more...
Tough paper bags are great once the handles are cut off (and tied in to spider like toys for chasing and chewing as on the catstuff4 aussies site does too), and can be hidden in, used for hiding toys in, or throwing treats in to so your cat leaps in and chases them. Use standing up or on their side, like boxes for variety and interest.
Putting news paper or tissue sheets on the floor when playing with your cat also adds variety as they get the different textures, the added movement and slipping on the floor, and potential for moving and hiding toys under the paper for that rustle and hunt element. Just make sure you don't leave the paper down in case your cat eats it.
I also strip the sisal off spent scratching posts if I can - it makes a great springy rope toy. Just cut in to lengths of about 50 cm / 24", and if you like either tie knots in each end or tie small objects like the paper bag handle spiders on to one end. Use it like any other toy moving about for your cat to run after. Even if your cat doesn't take interest you can always use it for tying up plants in the garden! (I give my spare stuff to my mum as I don't have a garden).
My apartment is always a mess full of big paper bags and boxes as well as the obligatory cat trees and scratching posts.
The best ones are usually home made and short lived.
Another thing I do regularly is play with the opened envelopes, card and paper that comes through the post. Envelopes are often nice and crinkly, can be stuffed with rolled up paper for added fun, and some even big enough to try and climb in to. The card is fun for waving about or folding up for chewing, and the paper can either be rolled in to balls for chasing, or better - folding in to paper aeroplanes for chasing and leaping after until they are so battered and chewed they don't fly any more...
Tough paper bags are great once the handles are cut off (and tied in to spider like toys for chasing and chewing as on the catstuff4 aussies site does too), and can be hidden in, used for hiding toys in, or throwing treats in to so your cat leaps in and chases them. Use standing up or on their side, like boxes for variety and interest.
Putting news paper or tissue sheets on the floor when playing with your cat also adds variety as they get the different textures, the added movement and slipping on the floor, and potential for moving and hiding toys under the paper for that rustle and hunt element. Just make sure you don't leave the paper down in case your cat eats it.
I also strip the sisal off spent scratching posts if I can - it makes a great springy rope toy. Just cut in to lengths of about 50 cm / 24", and if you like either tie knots in each end or tie small objects like the paper bag handle spiders on to one end. Use it like any other toy moving about for your cat to run after. Even if your cat doesn't take interest you can always use it for tying up plants in the garden! (I give my spare stuff to my mum as I don't have a garden).
My apartment is always a mess full of big paper bags and boxes as well as the obligatory cat trees and scratching posts.
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- #7
Thank you so much for the advice! I used a plastic bag and small box I had to play hide and seek with her parrot. She got so riled up that she even started playing with all her other toys! I'll def be trying the airplane!
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I definitely second the theory that smart cats get bored faster.....mine figured out the source of the red dot, and now they only play 'laser tag' when the feel like it
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- #10
Lilly played with the laser tag for about 2 days until she came over to me and knocked it out of my hand lol [emoji]128514[/emoji]
I don't play with the laser often, and now when I do, as I finish the game I sneak a biscuit down where the dot ends up so he finds food. Seems to enjoy it more since I started that.
That's a great idea! Last night I threw a stuffed mouse out afterwards but it didn't exactly leave Cocoa satisfied I think
That's funny! When I tried the laser with one of my cats, she just looked at the dot, and then looked at me like "Seriously? That's the best you've got?"
When our cats were kittens, a friend suggested we get ping pong balls for them. We bought neon colored ones so we could find them later because they ended up all over the house. Kitties freaking LOVED those things--one bounce and the cats were chasing them everywhere. The cool thing about a ping pong balls is that when the cat swats it and it hits a wall or something, it will bounce again, so it's sort of an interactive toy the cat can play with on its own.
Our cats are almost 4 now and we still have a couple of ping pong balls lying around for their occasional amusement.
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- #14
What a great idea! I tried it today with her treats and she loved it!
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- #15
Thanks for the idea!! Did they put the balls in their mouth? She puts all her toys that fit in her mouth so I'm scared she's going to choke on them
I've used ping pong balls for my cats to play with for years and they do love the way they bounce and respond so easily (and from my point of view they're not heavy so don;t do too much damage). Like with anything I guess there is always a level of risk but they are about the same size as the medium to large balls you get in most pet stores so fine for most felines. I'd use them supervised if you have a particular concern for your cat - at least for the first week or so. They're pretty good for playing with water too if you want to try and get your cat to dip its paws in - either in the sink or a shallow bath.
They were too big to choke on. And they're slippery, the kitties really couldn't get their teeth around them. Mostly they batted them with paws. I have to say, we were as entertained as the cats were--so funny watching them chase those balls everywhere.
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You can get balls that you put treats in as well-They're about the size of a tennis ball. Of course if your cat is REALLY smart, it'll just roll the ball around with the end of it's nose, and eat the treats one by one as they come out like Matt does
I mostly use that toy when I want to give myself a good chuckle
I mostly use that toy when I want to give myself a good chuckle
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- #19
Thank you everyone!! I'll be getting ping pong balls and treat balls ASAP! If stores were open now my crazy cat lady self would probably be running to buy them now! Can't wait to see her bouncing off the walls [emoji]128571[/emoji][emoji]10084[/emoji]
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- #20
What a smart boy Matt is!!You can get balls that you put treats in as well-They're about the size of a tennis ball. Of course if your cat is REALLY smart, it'll just roll the ball around with the end of it's nose, and eat the treats one by one as they come out like Matt does
I mostly use that toy when I want to give myself a good chuckle
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