Playing with my cat

[katman14]

First of all, I wasn't too sure where to put this so to all you mods and admins, feel free to move this topic.
I have had only one cat through my whole life, Meeko (see my sig). I got him from the human society when he was about 6 months old. We got him the day before they were about to put him down... but that doesn't have much to do with my question. Anyways...
Meeko is about 9 1/2 years old now and he still zips around the house like a kitten. He doesn't seem to be slowing down yet but he doesn't play with his toys as much. I leave 2-3 out and change them almost everyday. He scratches his scrathing pole, climbs trees outside, and chases birds, etc. But we never seem to fins a time to play. It started about a month or two ago when my schedule go even busier. When I find time to play with him, he doesn't want to. And when he wants to play with me, i don't have time.
In winter he is kinda lazy because he can't go outside. And in summer he is outside alot, and then he gets hot and comes in for a huge nap (therefore we can't find time to play).
My questions are...
1. This is my first and only cat at the moment, so I don't know when cats usually slow down. When do they usually start to really not want to play? How many more years do you think we have before he doesn't want to play at all?
2. Does andybody have any suggestion for toys that I can make/buy that will be exciting for him? We already do/used to do some homemade activites and play with toys (both homemade and manufactured) but I want to do even more. Can anybody give me some ideas?

Thank you to all in advance!

 

[sharky]

try rotating the toys and using catnip if you dont already... has the baby seen the dr for a senior work up??

 

[katman14]

I do rotate toys, and I use catnip every so often. Maybe I should use it a tad more though. And he has been in to the vet for shots and a check-up about a month ago.

 

[kittylea]

can you make a schedualed time to play everyday? If you can then he might start wanting to play at that time.
I find my cat, or any cats that i know can't resist a laser pointer. You can usually find them in dollar stores, so its cheap too.
What I do when sakura doesn't really like a toy is that i put it in a zip lock bag with fresh capnip, shake it around and keep it in there for a day or so. When i give the toy back it becomes her favorite. Maybe you can try that to attract him. Make sure its fresh catnip.

 

[katman14]

Ok Thanks alot! Our catnip is fairly old so we should probably buy new stuff. does the spray work as well as the real grass? What are the pros and cons to the spray? I have been looking for a laser pointer in stores everywhere and I only found one and it was about $50. I don't want to pay that kind of money. Does anybody know of a reasonable price for a laser pointer?

 

[valanhb]

We got a cheapy little laser pointer at Petsmart, for like $5. It can go on a keychain. Mine weren't terribly impressed with it, though. Ophelia is too smart and figured out in like a minute where it was coming from, and Trent just got frustrated that he couldn't grab it (he's very good at grabbing toys and holding on to them).

They did both love the Cat Dancer when we got that, and that's cheap too. I think I only paid like $3 for it. And any kind of feathers on a string with a pole - fishing pole type toy. They LOVE that!

 

[mybabies]

Originally Posted by katman14

First of all, I wasn't too sure where to put this so to all you mods and admins, feel free to move this topic.
I have had only one cat through my whole life, Meeko (see my sig). I got him from the human society when he was about 6 months old. We got him the day before they were about to put him down... but that doesn't have much to do with my question. Anyways...
Meeko is about 9 1/2 years old now and he still zips around the house like a kitten. He doesn't seem to be slowing down yet but he doesn't play with his toys as much. I leave 2-3 out and change them almost everyday. He scratches his scrathing pole, climbs trees outside, and chases birds, etc. But we never seem to fins a time to play. It started about a month or two ago when my schedule go even busier. When I find time to play with him, he doesn't want to. And when he wants to play with me, i don't have time.
In winter he is kinda lazy because he can't go outside. And in summer he is outside alot, and then he gets hot and comes in for a huge nap (therefore we can't find time to play).
My questions are...
1. This is my first and only cat at the moment, so I don't know when cats usually slow down. When do they usually start to really not want to play? How many more years do you think we have before he doesn't want to play at all?
2. Does andybody have any suggestion for toys that I can make/buy that will be exciting for him? We already do/used to do some homemade activites and play with toys (both homemade and manufactured) but I want to do even more. Can anybody give me some ideas?

Thank you to all in advance!

Allowing him to be out on his own, is usually dangerous! There, are dogs, sick cats, cars and cat hating people! Also IF they are inside only or only allowed out in an enclosed area they do not need vaccinations! Even so they only need them every three years or more as they generally protect for a lifetime.

A good toy to play with is one that sounds just like a bird and is called DaBird! IT is feathers on a string and all 3 of my cats like it. I got to say it bugs ME though as it sounds like a birds wings flapping right next to me!

 

[millyanddaisy]

I have a nine-year old who does still play with her toys, but she is quite picky about which ones she will play with. Her favourite is a woollen glove which has toys-on-strings attached to the end of each finger. The human is supposed to put their hand in the glove and waggle the finger-toys about but this is too dangerous in my opinion. She happily plays with it on her own -pouncing, carrying about and kicking it. I find that leaving the good toys about on the floor is a good way of getting them to play (albeit rather messy) as she tends to come across the toys on her way around the house and has a quick play in passing. One of my favourites is a long strip of cloth attached to the end of a long flexible stick. I can sit on the sofa and whirl it around on the floor - she races around while I sit in comfort!!

All cats are different as to when they slow down due to increased age. Milly may be nine but I have noticed no signs of age in her yet.

As far as catnip goes, fresh is definitely best - try looking in a pet shop for some.

Have fun playing!

Sue

 

[coaster]

There's an interactive toy called "Da Bird" which is irresistable to cats. It's made by Go-Cat and is available online and many pet stores.
http://cats.about.com/od/playforcats/fr/dabird.htm
My cats are crazy about it.