Struggling To Keep Former Stray Entertained

[CassieAndCooper]

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new here and have never posted before. But I am currently combing the internet for help, yet again, which is a very common occurrence in my life.

I adopted my cat, Cooper, five years ago when he was three years old. He is WONDERFUL! I love him like a child. I would do anything to make him happy, hahaha. Pre-adoption, Cooper was found living as a stray. He has FIV and has had serious health scares because of it, so it is not safe for him to go outside unsupervised. That being said, I am perpetually concerned about his mental health as a former outdoor kitty who now lives indoors. I just can't come up with enough ways to appropriately stimulate his hunting instincts and keep him from getting bored or depressed (which I really hope is not the case!).
Cooper has an incredibly strong prey drive. I give him supervised time outside in the summer when possible, and we take walks at night through our apartment building in the winter, exploring empty units and office rooms. Cooper will not walk on a harness, unfortunately, but I have tried that too. We have tried every toy: hunting mice, "Da Bird" (very effective for a while), the cat dancer, self-propelling balls. He has two cat trees and a four-way tunnel. He has three or four treat puzzles. He has even had a full work-up with a cat behaviorist to try to resolve his issues with boredom and her suggestions all helped a lot for a little while and then lost effect.
Have any other cat parents encountered this issue and found anything to be helpful? Is this just a necessary truth of rescuing a former stray? I so wish I could jing give him outdoor access. I think that's what he truly wants.
Thanks for reading!
Cassie

 

[daftcat75]

Is there something he does that suggests boredom? Is he acting up or acting out?

Does he have a perch with a window view? Can you hang a bird feeder outside that window so he can watch the bird and squirrel channel?

If he isn't going to walk on a leash and harness (and cats take to it differently than dogs), can you clicker train him to heel when "called" (clicked)? It's actually very simple with a clicker you'll find in the dog obedience training section of a pet supply store and his favorite treats. Click. Reward. Click. Reward. Doesn't take them very long to associate the click with a reward. That plus practice and distance (e.g. make him cross the room or come from another room for his treat) may be all you'll need to train him to come when called. That would be a nice piece of insurance when you're walking with him in the building off leash. If he gets spooked and runs away, the click sound carries and he'll be able to follow it back to you.

 

[CassieAndCooper]

Actually, the clicker suggestion is one I hadn't thought of. His behaviorist suggested clicker training just because, but instead we went with... non-clicker training? He's very motivated by treats, so I've taught him fist bump, turn around, stand up and sit, just as an effort to keep his mind active. He seemed to like it. He rarely gets spooked in the hallway, but he does get very aggressive when he smells the cat down the hall. Redirected aggression is actually kind of an issue these days on our hall walks. I wonder if the clicker could help with that. Currently I carry his bag of treats and crinkle them to get his attention and distract him from the other cat, but the clicker might be a more concise option. The treat bag only works half the time. And he seems to really like the training we've been doing, so that might just be enjoyable for him to learn a new skill.
As for his behavior, he does not act out in any way that's problematic, but he is *excessively* vocal. He's very talkative naturally with me, but he'll meow for hours at the door to our balcony. He even had a full medical workup to rule out any physical issues that would cause excessive meowing. He also sleeps a lot more than I think he naturally would if he was more entertained. He'll meow for half an hour, I'll try to engage him with every toy at my disposal and none will hold his attention, and then he'll give up and go to sleep. So it doesn't seem like he wants to sleep, more like he just doesn't know what else to do. It kind of breaks my heart.
And yes, he does have a two cat trees in front of a window, and I will often move the smaller of the two to a different window for variety. I have considered the bird feeder idea, but I don't if it would be a good idea year round. He has caught birds on the balcony in the summer before (and brought them, alive, back inside with him), and I do not have a feeder, so I'm hesitant to attract birds intentionally. He does enjoy looking out the windows, for sure. Maybe a bird feeder would be a good option just for the winter.
Thanks for your response!!

 

[daftcat75]

Since he does like to have his brain engaged, you might also try the Fluent Pet recordable buttons to teach him to vocalize in ways you understand.

I follow Billispeaks on Instagram. Her cat mom records her voice onto these buttons and then teaches Billi the location and the meaning of the buttons. I'm still not entirely certain how much is intentional and how much is her just being a cat knowing that pressing buttons will get attention. But it's certainly engaging and it might be fun for you both.

Here's her Instagram:
Login • Instagram

And her YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGMTesZlKa0Lokb7ZNqOJXQ

And the Fluent Pet website:
FluentPet

 

[CassieAndCooper]

Hahaha, that's a really cute idea! I just watched a couple of the YouTube videos. Pretty adorable. There was a period of time recently when I was trying to teach Cooper the names of different toys, so I was repeating one of his toy's names and he was pawing at the corresponding toy. That proved pretty hard for him, actually, BUT he is really quick at learning words pertaining to him and many of them he's picked up himself without me intentionally teaching him. I'm convinced he's a genius cat, but I'm probably biased, hahaha. The Fluent Pet could be a bit beyond his intellect, but maybe I'm underestimating him...

 

[dustydiamond1]

If you have the room an obstacle course might be an option, you could keep reconfiguring it. There's lots of info on the web. There is a lady on Instagram who does training videos with her cat.
Our former stray Gypsy when outside on her leash will sometimes ignore the rattle of the Temptations bag even though she comes a running inside for them BUT the slightest whisper of a sound of a Sheba meat stick wrapper and oh my cat! I think I could teach her absolutely Anything with them and/or the Inaba Churu I use to give her probiotics with. She usually will not have anything to do with anything with a creamy consistency but absoutly adores the Churu, I first learned about them from a lady on Instagram who uses them to keep her cat hydrated while hiking in the summer.

 

[CassieAndCooper]

If you have the room an obstacle course might be an option, you could keep reconfiguring it. There's lots of info on the web. There is a lady on Instagram who does training videos with her cat.
Our former stray Gypsy when outside on her leash will sometimes ignore the rattle of the Temptations bag even though she comes a running inside for them BUT the slightest whisper of a sound of a Sheba meat stick wrapper and oh my cat! I think I could teach her absolutely Anything with them and/or the Inaba Churu I use to give her probiotics with. She usually will not have anything to do with anything with a creamy consistency but absoutly adores the Churu, I first learned about them from a lady on Instagram who uses them to keep her cat hydrated while hiking in the summer.View attachment 368861View attachment 368862

I'm actually kind of considering the obstacle course idea also! Cooper has a four-way tunnel, which he loves, and so much other cat trees and perches that I feel like I could rig something up pretty easily. I tried teaching him "jump" a couple of weeks ago, but he was not particularly cooperative. Not sure if he was just being stubborn like the cat he is, lol, or if jumping hurts his little joints. He does have mild arthritis. But the tunnel is his current favorite play item, and he loves charging through it, so that might be a good place to start!

It's interesting how each cat has their own little preferences. Cooper has never liked the Sheba sticks, although I have tried them. Greenies and Temptations are his shit. He does like the Churus, though! And I like them too, because they're hydrating and I used to refrigerate them in the summers to help him cool off. (He's a bigger boy, so he's got lots of insulation.) I haven't been able to find them in a while, though! There are lots of other brands, but he only likes that one brand, lol. Why are cats so picky?

 

[game misconduct]

i do this with graycie she loves to hunt bugs every now and then i will release a cricket into my apartment (gf doesnt know about that) while i am feeding my tarantulas she will hunt them catch and eat them or i will place one into a sealed plastic jar and let her bat the jar around

 

[CassieAndCooper]

i do this with graycie she loves to hunt bugs every now and then i will release a cricket into my apartment (gf doesnt know about that) while i am feeding my tarantulas she will hunt them catch and eat them or i will place one into a sealed plastic jar and let her bat the jar around

Omg, I have seriously considered doing exactly that! Cooper loves crickets and in the summer I'll bring him down to the first floor of our building so that he can chase them. And damn, he's good. He also just loves to hunt, one of the primary reasons he gets so bored indoors. I'll disclaim this by mentioning that I love all animals and, pre-Cooper, had a pet rat who I absolutely adored. But in my more desperate moments, I've wished I was a little bit less of a bleeding heart so that I could buy some feeder mice from the pet store and release them into my apartment. My sister says I'd get evicted. I don't think I would; I think Cooper would catch every last one. It would break my heart to witness, though. I wonder if I could buy like... one or two crickets from Petco...

 

[game misconduct]

Omg, I have seriously considered doing exactly that! Cooper loves crickets and in the summer I'll bring him down to the first floor of our building so that he can chase them. And damn, he's good. He also just loves to hunt, one of the primary reasons he gets so bored indoors. I'll disclaim this by mentioning that I love all animals and, pre-Cooper, had a pet rat who I absolutely adored. But in my more desperate moments, I've wished I was a little bit less of a bleeding heart so that I could buy some feeder mice from the pet store and release them into my apartment. My sister says I'd get evicted. I don't think I would; I think Cooper would catch every last one. It would break my heart to witness, though. I wonder if I could buy like... one or two crickets from Petco...

yes you can buy one or two for like around 15 cents a peice ahhh i neglected to mention that he may not eat the crickets and might instead deposit the chewed soggy corpse of the cricket as a trophy onto your lap or couch for you to find graycie has done that to me a few times while i am napping on the couch in the morning with a wild ones that got inside during the summer