Specific toys/enrichment for an aging, declawed cat?

[cmshap]

First of all, I did not declaw my cat. That was done by a previous owner before I adopted him.

He is about 9 years old now, and while he is healthy, he is starting to lose interest in playing quickly. For most of his life, he has gone nuts for small toy mice. I repeatedly tossed them across the room, and he'd chase after them and play with them until he got exhausted.

He always had trouble gripping his "prey" when playing. He kind of adopted a style of squeezing it between his two front paws. But as he's gotten older it seems like that is getting more difficult for him. And he is more quickly losing interest in playing now.

I want to have him in my life as long as possible and I want to give him good exercise. I understand that his age is going to make him have less stamina in general. But lately, it's like he is barely trying to catch "prey." He tries for very brief periods of pawing at toys, and then gives up.

This is the first cat I've ever owned, and I e done a lot of research. I know a key part of playing with them is letting them win. I want to get him more interested in playing at his age.

 

[susanm9006]

Cats do slow down as they get older but most will continue to play, just for shorter periods. Mine are 13 and 11 and I put out some new potential play things like a piece of packing paper or a cardboard box every few weeks and throw a few of their toys on it. As they get older it really helps to rotate toys and to try new ones. If he doesn’t have cat springs, that seems to be a favorite regardless of age. I also hide treats and toys for them to hunt and find and have several food puzzles where they need to move or push levers to get the treat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think some of his disinterest is likely related to aging more than anything else. I am sure you have tried laser toys, and other things like what is so often referred to here as "Da Bird"? Have you tried the kickeroos? They are large 'prey' that most cats hang into with the front paws and bunny kick them with their back paws. Some of these, and others, are depicted in the article links below.
15 Best Cat Toys of 2023 (goodhousekeeping.com)
The Best 10 Cat Toys for Any Age: Your Complete Guide - Veterinarians.org

I know you said he is healthy, but has he been checked for arthritis? It is usually visible on x-rays of his extremities and back. A lot of folks will tell you that arthritis is even more common in cats that have been declawed, in terms of their toes especially. I have had 3 cats that were declawed and there was arthritis in other joints. If arthritis is involved, there are a number of joint supplements on the market that you could give him - Cosequin and Dasuquin seem to be the most often ones used, but there are others as well.

 

[cmshap]

If he doesn’t have cat springs, that seems to be a favorite regardless of age. I also hide treats and toys for them to hunt and find and have several food puzzles where they need to move or push levers to get the treat.

Thank you, I was actually looking at some of those plastic spring things. They are super cheap and would probably work great in my home as I have hardwood floors.

I also already have this puzzle thing that's like a big square with various puzzles on it for digging out treats. It's enrichment, for sure, but not much in terms of exercise. But he is very food-motivated... something else that is more mobile that he could knock around to dislodge food could work.

Some of these, and others, are depicted in the article links below.
15 Best Cat Toys of 2023 (goodhousekeeping.com)
The Best 10 Cat Toys for Any Age: Your Complete Guide - Veterinarians.org

I know you said he is healthy, but has he been checked for arthritis?

Thank you for the specific recommendations, and also the point about arthritis. I had no idea that it is more common that way in declawed cats, but it makes sense why it would be. He goes in for annual checkups to a vet that is thorough, but I will bring it up at the next one.

 

[susanm9006]

Cat springs come in wide or narrow sizes. One of my girl loves the fat ones and the other one loves the skinny. But they are so cheap buy a package of each.

 

[Alldara]

cmshap Have you spoken to the vet about pain management?
You likely already know but declawed cats are at a higher risk for arthritis, and the risk is already high for other cats
I would expect his feet are causing him pain and that's why he's being less feety.

 

[Furballsmom]

Have you tried fresh catnip to rub on the toy? A member mentioned lightly wetting catnip infused toys to help freshen the smell. If you can find raffia balls those might be of interest, or deer, rabbit or mouse fur toys (Etsy has some interesting ones) but there are lots of varieties of toy mice on the market now.

Keep trying, you can always donate the ones he doesn't care about. That's what I did, because my angel Poppycat who also had been declawed before we got him was the same way and I bought quite a few different things

 

[cmshap]

cmshap Have you spoken to the vet about pain management?
You likely already know but declawed cats are at a higher risk for arthritis, and the risk is already high for other cats
I would expect his feet are causing him pain and that's why he's being less feety.

I was made aware of this fact earlier in this thread, that declawed cats are at higher risk for arthritis. I actually did not know that before. Although I expected it to be a general issue as he got older.

This actually makes a lot of sense. I have been observing him more closely lately, and he is less likely to jump down from a higher surface than he used to be... for example, he used to jump off the top of his cat tree, but he now steps down on the built-in "stairs" instead.

Also, he used to frequently do the butt-wiggle-then-pounce thing, but isn't doing that so much anymore. And when he does pounce, he immediately stops playing with the toy.

This is definitely a conversation I will have with my vet.

Have you tried fresh catnip to rub on the toy? A member mentioned lightly wetting catnip infused toys to help freshen the smell. If you can find raffia balls those might be of interest, or deer, rabbit or mouse fur toys (Etsy has some interesting ones) but there are lots of varieties of toy mice on the market now.

Thanks for the recommendations. He actually never cared about catnip at any point in his life. I owned some toys stuffed with catnip and he never really chose them over other toys. But I will try a wider variety of toy mice (he has always preferred mouse-looking toys).

 

[cmshap]

Just adding pictures. This is Willy.

 

[cmshap]

Sorry, didn't actually attach images on the last post. I couldn't find the option to edit my last post. THIS is Willy.

 

[cmshap]

Just a follow-up piece of information... He does "scratch." My cat tree has posts built into it with the scratching-post rope wrapped around them. He frequently "scratches" by basically rubbing his paw pads on them repeatedly. Also does that on other surfaces sometimes.

Does that reveal anything about this issue?

 

[Furballsmom]

This is pretty normal, Poppycat did that as well. I think they never lose the instinct.

 

[cmshap]

This is pretty normal, Poppycat did that as well. I think they never lose the instinct.

I guess what I meant was, if he may have arthritis, does the fact that he is "scratching" that way indicate that maybe not the case? (But I am going to ask my vet regardless).

 

[Furballsmom]

This actually makes a lot of sense. I have been observing him more closely lately, and he is less likely to jump down from a higher surface than he used to be... for example, he used to jump off the top of his cat tree, but he now steps down on the built-in "stairs" instead.
Also, he used to frequently do the butt-wiggle-then-pounce thing, but isn't doing that so much anymore. And when he does pounce, he immediately stops playing with the toy.

I realize every cat is different, but although Poppy slowed down a little bit (for example he was less interested in some toys), he didn't seem to have arthritis. Granted I was fairly conscientious about giving him a joint support supplement for at least couple years. Whether your cat is slowing down because of an age-related thing or the declawing catching up with him might be challenging for a vet to determine.

 

[cmshap]

I realize every cat is different, but although Poppy slowed down a little bit (for example he was less interested in some toys), he didn't seem to have arthritis. Granted I was fairly conscientious about giving him a joint support supplement for at least couple years. Whether your cat is slowing down because of an age-related thing or the declawing catching up with him might be challenging for a vet to determine.

Can you please recommend joint-support supplements that you have used, in that case?

 

[Furballsmom]

I looked for a product with as few other ingredients as possible, the three recommended ingredients required for the best support (MSM, Chondroitin and Glucosamine) and is very easy to give since it is a liquid. It comes in a couple of flavors including unflavored (Poppy was an extremely finicky cat). Just to note, this isn't a cure.
It is made by Liquid-Vet, and is called Hip & Joint Support.
There's another one I got when Liquid-vet was having supply chain issues, which is by BiologicVet, called BioJoint.

 

[cmshap]

I looked for a product with as few other ingredients as possible, the three recommended ingredients required for the best support (MSM, Chondroitin and Glucosamine) and is very easy to give since it is a liquid. It comes in a couple of flavors including unflavored (Poppy was an extremely finicky cat). Just to note, this isn't a cure.
It is made by Liquid-Vet, and is called Hip & Joint Support.
There's another one I got when Liquid-vet was having supply chain issues, which is by BiologicVet, called BioJoint.

Thank you. I understand it's not a cure. I will have this conversation with my vet regardless of any treatment or outcome. But Willy has been my best buddy for the last several years, has been with me through some tough times in my life, and I want to give him every advantage to keep him as long as he is comfortable and happy.

 

[Alldara]

cmshap Sorry! I was reading at work on break so I must have missed someone else pointing it out.

The "scratching" is still to rub pheremones. It's a good sign as it means the arthritis isn't too progressed, but he can still have it. The vet told me last month that it's a good sign that it's not too progressed in the back. Usually legs and feet gain arthritis first I believe.

For arthritis I was using Tri-Acta. The cats would all eat that one.

 

[cmshap]

cmshap Sorry! I was reading at work on break so I must have missed someone else pointing it out.

The "scratching" is still to rub pheremones. It's a good sign as it means the arthritis isn't too progressed, but he can still have it. The vet told me last month that it's a good sign that it's not too progressed in the back. Usually legs and feet gain arthritis first I believe.

For arthritis I was using Tri-Acta. The cats would all eat that one.

Don't be sorry, I appreciate all recommendations even if they are repeated. And repeats from multiple people only mean an explanation that is more likely.

Thanks for the info. I now strongly feel like he may have started developing arthritis, and I wouldn't have known that without the responses to this post. It definitely makes a ton of sense based on his behavior, and I will be asking my vet about it.

 

[Alldara]

Don't be sorry, I appreciate all recommendations even if they are repeated. And repeats from multiple people only mean an explanation that is more likely.

Thanks for the info. I now strongly feel like he may have started developing arthritis, and I wouldn't have known that without the responses to this post. It definitely makes a ton of sense based on his behavior, and I will be asking my vet about it.

Good luck and we are happy to hear any updates you want to give.

Arthritis is fairly manageable if it's caught early with some pain management, suppliments and environmental modification.