Playful cat at all the wrong times!

[CaitlinH]

Hi!
I have a 1 year old cat that we've had for about 3-4 months now. I wake up in the morning (6am) to feed her and play with her. In the very beginning, I would play with her and then feed her but that slowly turned into her being too hungry to play so I feed her first. Normally she would play after eating just fine but over the past couple of days, she doesn't want to play at all. She just stares at the toys in interest but no movement from her. Is she just bored of the toys? or just lazy, or digesting her food? Of course once I have to start to get ready, she is wired and needs all the attention, even though I've spent over 20 minutes paying attention to her/ playing with her. My boyfriend then takes over after I leave, but I feel bad leaving him with a cat has the intense zoomies! The whole point of me playing with her before is getting some of that energy out! What am I doing wrong here?
Pic for cute tax

 

[minish]

Minish never plays before meals since she was 6-7 months old. She doesn't play with me in the mornings but we have crazy fun around midnight. As long as your cat plays, has zoomies etc., there is nothing to be concerned about if she doesn't play same times every day. But if her energy drops in general, that may be a health issue.

 

[ArtNJ]

Cats have their own circadian rythms that don't always correspond with ours. Mine want affection in the mornings, when I'm not awake and can't give it, and then largely ignore me until the evening. And their times can change. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Maria Bayote]

I think its just fine. Just leave her toys around so even when you are out of the house she can play with them. Of all my cats, only one plays after eating. But the rest prefer to sleep after their tummies are full.

 

[CaitlinH]

Thanks!

 

[Lucy&Petra]

Cats do get over stimulated. This might sound like weird advice but you could try decreasing the play time in the morning down from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. And then the remaining 10 minutes is at night time, before bed. I don't know if this will help but I just figured I'd share.

 

[sanfran_kitty_lady_21]

Your cat might be bored of the toy. Cats do get bored of toys so having a few options and rotating them helps. For my cat, even just updating the feather color or style adds some excitement.

I will say that my cat also has ups and downs with her excitement to play. One day she'll be pouncing on the toy right as I'm taking it out, the next she'll act like I'm bothering her with this toy. But I do think routine is important and if we think of play as a replacement for hunting - well it makes sense that she wouldn't be motivated to play after eating. So, maybe turn eating into the play. There are a lot of feeder toys on the market that pushes your cat to use their brain or to move around to get their meal. Like putting dry food into a ball and they have to roll the ball around for the food to fall out.

 

[danteshuman]

Why not let her nibble on a small tiny amount of dry food during the night or feed her at midnight, then play with her before breakfast? Since the Cat Daddy (Jackson Galaxy) himself says play HD before food; why not do it?

Granted I often feed my guy & go back to bed. I feed him at midnight, 8 am, noon & 6 pm. He does have a small bowl of dry food that he can nibble on as need be.

I play with my guy with short burts of play during the day and tire him out with outside time. But I make the toys move! The fake dragonfly is blur flying about. The wand toys drag under and behind things. (Under a blanket is great.) The ribbon toys drag behind me as I walk around the house. I get him to go up & down furniture or his cat tree to get the toy. I even praise him when he bats the toy down.

So think of a animal (bird, mouse, lizard) & try to get your wand toy to act like that animal.

I have no idea why but cats love the cat dancer!!! A hexabug or two running around is sure to delight a bored cat (after use, hide for two weeks or more, to keep the toy fresh.)

For some reason the cats go nuts for this rabbit fur weasel I buy off Amazon. No idea why, but they go crazy for bunny fur toys.

 

[di and bob]

To keep my cat toys fresh and interesting, I keep them in a plastic bag with a bunch of catnip. Then interchange them every few weeks with the ones they are currently playing with. They always go crazy for the 'fresh' ones!

 

[CaitlinH]

Your cat might be bored of the toy. Cats do get bored of toys so having a few options and rotating them helps. For my cat, even just updating the feather color or style adds some excitement.

I will say that my cat also has ups and downs with her excitement to play. One day she'll be pouncing on the toy right as I'm taking it out, the next she'll act like I'm bothering her with this toy. But I do think routine is important and if we think of play as a replacement for hunting - well it makes sense that she wouldn't be motivated to play after eating. So, maybe turn eating into the play. There are a lot of feeder toys on the market that pushes your cat to use their brain or to move around to get their meal. Like putting dry food into a ball and they have to roll the ball around for the food to fall out.

Ohh that so smart!! I love that idea!! that might work!