Tips On Being A Better Prey For Active Cat

[HungryPandaCat]

I have a pretty active 9 month old that loves to hunt. During the day she has an assortment of self playing toys and my other cat to play with, and that only satisfies her daytime zoomies.

Evening is hunting time and despite having a variety of things attached string type toys, lately she seems to be bored during hunting time. I drag it on the floor, make it fly, tried to hide it, but I think it might be too easy for her.

Any tips on how I can up my game? I live in an 500sqft apartment so space is limited.

 

[abyeb]

Hi there! One tip I have for playing with cats is to make the toy move in irregular motions, like stopping and starting frequently, to make it look like injured prey. You can also make it land on perches like cat trees to make her jump for it. This article gives some more advice: Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

 

[KarenKat]

You can try a new toy. Our cat Gohan likes to mix it up (even in the same play session, I feel like one of those magicians with a bag of tricks ). We have worm toys that are “ground prey” and Da Bird which is the best feather toy I’ve ever seen (seriously, you wouldn’t think so but the cats go mad for it since it twirls realistically). Trin loves this leather tassel one that is on a string ( mimicking a leather squid? He’s not our smartest cat). Sometimes variety helps a lot.

 

[susanm9006]

You might try leaving her some things to hunt -like treats left in her favorite places or under plastic cups. There are a variety of food puzzles out there that can keep a cat engaged and active. There are also auto toys like a laser light that you can turn on and it will make an erratic pattern for your cat to chase.

 

[ArtNJ]

9 months is still quite young obviously, but not every 9 month old will play as much as they did at 6 months and your cat does have a buddy. Is your cat undoing your toilet paper rolls, knocking stuff off counters and playing hockey, torturing the other cat, hanging in the sink because the faucet is dripping, chewing on things like electrical cords or other similarly bored cat activities? If not, it could be your cat just doesn't need to play quite as much and/or is playing a lot with the other cat when your not home.

All of that said, toy rotation is good, cats do get bored of toys for a bit. Try crumpled paper balls, ping pong balls, laser pointer, da bird, my cats like:

 

[danteshuman]

You can try moving a toy under a blanket or tissue paper (wand toy.) My hyper bud loves it when toys move under a blanket he can bite and kick. Toy rotation helps. Moving the play around different spots helps to. My Aunt taught her cat's how to play tag. I taught my cats to fetch my hairbands.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'm not affiliated with them but you could try a hexbug nano robot toy, if you don't have carpet.

 

[Timmer]

My cats always liked Dabird toys. I've also taken the wand and moved it under blankets or crumpled up news paper or plain packing paper. Don't forget a simple cardboard box is a thrill. I've cut holes in the sides so they can peek out at each other.
My girl loves treat puzzles. My boy cat never seemed to have the patience for those.

 

[HungryPandaCat]

When I have time I'll post a photos of all the toys she has. She is one picky cat
I bought a new wand toy today and 2 hours later I was exhausted but she's still going. I'm a big fan of Jackson Galaxy and I followed his advice of playing until she's lying on her side. Well I got her there, and after a short break she's good to go again. I ended up leaving the wand on the floor and she had a blast attacking it on her own, followed by another round of zoomies chasing my other cat around.

I love my cats, but sometimes its exhausting keeping them entertained. Makes me miss my dogs, they're so simple minded.

 

[duncanmac]

Cats will sometimes like the stupidest toys. My Barry loves fetching those spring toys. He goes nuts batting them around and chasing them before bringing them back for another round.

Mouse/bird on a string. When I first used the mouse toy (Da mouse I think), neither cat cared and just ignored it, but when it went back in the rotation they both went nuts for it. Another winner for one cat is a yellow bird refill for the wand toys. You have to keep at it until you find "the one"

How to play: Again its trial and error. You have to play around until you find what triggers your cat. Typically, you can't just swish the toy back and forth. There has to be some "liveliness" to it. Barry will hunt and go nuts for a toy that runs around a corner (of the bed, door, box whatever - just so it "hides" from him). I'll combine a wand toy or just a stick with their tunnel and poke it out from underneath or in and out of the entrance and they charge for it. Stairs are good too - they will run up and down and exhaust themselves. The other cat, Duncan, likes when the toys jump - just gig it like a fishing lure. I can stand in one spot and spin around and Duncan will run in circles until he's exhausted. Mix in a piece of furniture he has to jump on or over and I have a panting kitty in 5 minutes.

Don't forget to make sure that they can catch the toy and kill it. And tell him he's a good boy for doing that.

 

[Sonatine]

My cat Amelia also likes to fetch spring toys. After I throw them she'll chase them around and play kitty soccer with them.

She adores her fishing pole+fuzzy lure toy. The lure has a bell on it, and she goes nuts for toys that make some noise. The laser pointer is also a good choice but she gets bored faster with that.

 

[KarenKat]

Gohan has always been a fairly independent play. I think wand toys would intimidate him. He would basically play with these cheap felt-covers plastic mice for hours.

Now we try a lot harder to keep him engaged. He’s exhausting. It has to be the right toy at the right angle with no distractions and moving in the correct way. After 20 min we might get 4 or 5 good pounces our of him. He’s all stalk and doesn’t run around “needlessly” so he tends not to get tired. But since he often plays and runs by himself I think he gets enough exercise.

 

[Frankophile Feline Fan]

Don’t forget cats love playing hide & seek. Any interesting diversion is good playtime. Colette loves playing scaredy cat with the human, and recently I incorporated letting her stalk me & I hide like prey. She loves it! After a few turns we make friendly contact to clarify it’s a game There is also the foot game - where I take a step & place my foot right next to her & she goes darting off, usually with a “prrrt.” That’s good for 5-10 rounds.

Random things around the house make great toys: toilet paper rolls, bottle caps, pens, paper bags, a scrap of paper. Colette is fascinated by the occasional appearance of a bug or lizard. And magic happens when 2 toys are combined. It doesn’t make sense to me except for combining her Ripple Rug & some other toy, but any combination seems to excite her.