- Joined
- Mar 18, 2016
- Messages
- 1,765
- Purraise
- 645
Hey all. I have an inquiry as to how to get my cats to play. I have three in total: two males of six years and a female of three years. I would not usually have cats of such an age difference but the female was kind of an accident. A very happy one, I assure you, but we do have our problems. Her father was feral and I do believe this has an affect on her personality. Not that she's necessarily mean or a bad cat, but she is skittish.
So to begin with, I will admit I slacked off on play for a while. It somehow left my routine and, once a habit is broken, it's hard to remake. However, I wanted to make up for it. The only problem is that the cats don't make it easy. To boys are rather lazy and I can't figure out how to get them to move for more than a couple of minutes. Frost is more than happy to play if you dangle it over his head so he can bat at it while laying on his back. Ash was more willing to play, but it's faded away and I can't keep his interest anymore. I'm not as worried about them though because they do play together and neither are overweight, but I know they need some stimulation too. So my first inquiry is how can I get lazy cats to get off their butts (or backs as the case may be) and play?
The second issue is the female, Ember. She's willing to play with me, but she's often nervous about any noises or anything. I don't have very many places to separate them from though I haven't had a problem with the boys playing together. With Ember, I've tried playing with her in the living room and my bedroom. She used to be okay with playing in the living room, but there's been a bit of tension between her and Ash and she no longer feels comfortable there. I tried playing with her in my room with the door shut, but Frost will scratch at the door and then she goes running over there with her tail lashing. So my second question is what can I do for her? She's such a nervous little cat though she's very friendly. Of all the cats I've had in my life, she's the first to really bond with me and I feel bad because she isn't really one of the group. The boys have accepted her into the household, but they're not exactly close. Sometimes Frost with play with her and Ash will let her lay next to him, but not much else. I'm also so happy when I see one of them groom her or something that shows both her and me that she has, indeed, been accepted. But they still don't play with her a whole lot and she is more of a people cat so I feel obligated to be the companion she needs.
So to begin with, I will admit I slacked off on play for a while. It somehow left my routine and, once a habit is broken, it's hard to remake. However, I wanted to make up for it. The only problem is that the cats don't make it easy. To boys are rather lazy and I can't figure out how to get them to move for more than a couple of minutes. Frost is more than happy to play if you dangle it over his head so he can bat at it while laying on his back. Ash was more willing to play, but it's faded away and I can't keep his interest anymore. I'm not as worried about them though because they do play together and neither are overweight, but I know they need some stimulation too. So my first inquiry is how can I get lazy cats to get off their butts (or backs as the case may be) and play?
The second issue is the female, Ember. She's willing to play with me, but she's often nervous about any noises or anything. I don't have very many places to separate them from though I haven't had a problem with the boys playing together. With Ember, I've tried playing with her in the living room and my bedroom. She used to be okay with playing in the living room, but there's been a bit of tension between her and Ash and she no longer feels comfortable there. I tried playing with her in my room with the door shut, but Frost will scratch at the door and then she goes running over there with her tail lashing. So my second question is what can I do for her? She's such a nervous little cat though she's very friendly. Of all the cats I've had in my life, she's the first to really bond with me and I feel bad because she isn't really one of the group. The boys have accepted her into the household, but they're not exactly close. Sometimes Frost with play with her and Ash will let her lay next to him, but not much else. I'm also so happy when I see one of them groom her or something that shows both her and me that she has, indeed, been accepted. But they still don't play with her a whole lot and she is more of a people cat so I feel obligated to be the companion she needs.