Question about play time and treats for shy cats

[Remi&RiRi]

I was reading some articles on this site about shy cats and things you can do to make them feel more comfortable and move towards slow progress. One of the things I saw someone mention was play therapy, basically just taking time to play with your cat. This makes sense to me because if I don't attempt to play with RiRi, my shy cat, I don't see her much otherwise. Her favorite toys are anything she can bat around, balls or mice. She will bat at the wand toy a little bit but not for long. My question is what is the best way to play with her? I am not sure if play therapy is more helpful when you have an interactive toy vs a toy that she can just play with herself. When she's playing I just kind of sit there and not much interaction happens between us which is fine. Just wondering what others think. My other questions is about treats. She won't eat them. I know that its not a huge deal if she never wants to eat treats but it would be nice if she could make a good connection with something that could possibly aid in interaction. I have been told that you want to reward your cats with treats and not just give it to them randomly. I am having a hard time with it. I tried to give her a treat after playtime and she didn't seem to be interested. My other cat Remi is very food motivated so he often tries to swipe her treats. I am not sure if that means I need to exclude him when attempting to give her treats or what people would suggest? I will attach a link/album of a few clips I took yesterday to give you an idea of what's going on (I explain a few things in the videos but they are kind of long so if you don't want to watch them I understand - also made me compress the video files so they are super BAD quality, sorry). Thank you! - p.s. I am sure some may say to try some different treats which I am planning on doing... does anyone have recommendations for treats that work well with your cats?
IMG_6166.mp4

 

[game misconduct]

pure bites freeze dried chicken,shrimp or salmon treats

 

[susanm9006]

If she likes to bat things then you might be able to teach her how to fetch. Once cats figure out the game they love it because they have some control over when and how they play with you. All you do to start is to take her favorite toy and toss it. Then you retrieve it, go back to your original spot and toss it again, repeating this over and over until she seems interested in the game and runs to get her toy herself. Then you wait to see if she leaves it closer to you and then take it and toss it again, You keep repeating this until she catches on that the game is to bring the toy close enough that you can pick it up without moving. Once cats catch on they will bring a toy to whenever they want to play.

I might also suggest you buy some cat springs as cats adore batting and bouncing them and they work super as a fetch toy.

 

[Remi&RiRi]

If she likes to bat things then you might be able to teach her how to fetch. Once cats figure out the game they love it because they have some control over when and how they play with you. All you do to start is to take her favorite toy and toss it. Then you retrieve it, go back to your original spot and toss it again, repeating this over and over until she seems interested in the game and runs to get her toy herself. Then you wait to see if she leaves it closer to you and then take it and toss it again, You keep repeating this until she catches on that the game is to bring the toy close enough that you can pick it up without moving. Once cats catch on they will bring a toy to whenever they want to play.

I might also suggest you buy some cat springs as cats adore batting and bouncing them and they work super as a fetch toy.

Great idea! I will try this, thanks! : )