Best interactive toys

tdonline

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My kitties are 9 months old so they're technically still kittens. But they don't play very often. They used to get pretty crazy in the morning and fight vigorously but if that has stopped within the last two weeks. They just lay around alot....

They do play and are energetic when I break out toys and ribbons and I lead the activity. But that's usually only the only time they outright play. Josie sometimes tries to initiate play with her sister, Dory, but lately not much has arisen from it.

It may sound strange, but I feel like I've trained them to only be active when they play with me. I leave out paper bags, boxes, bottle caps, balls along with a number of true cat toys but they seem to bat them around a bit and then lay back down. Even the cat tree doesn't seem to elicit the same excitement anymore. Are they bored? They've only lived with me for about 2 1/2 months. We are in a small one bedroom so I guess there's not much to explore.

Are there any toys or setups that I can use to encourage more activity? Nine months seems awfully young for kittens to start slowing down. And yes, they seem to be generally healthy. Josie is getting tresaderm for her ears but that's been a chronic problem since day one and has improved greatly. I'm using tresaderm to see if we can knock out whatever lingering infection is still around.

It's a fine line...they are very well behaved for kittens so I don't want them to get out of hand, but I'm worried that they don't seem to be active enough for their age.

**I can't change the subject heading, but interactive here means between cat and toy. No human involved.
 

fifi1puss

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My cats like the toy where you bat the ball around inside a track. They have a few styles to choose from.

They also really like a scratching post/lay about/ dangliy toy thing I got at petsmart, but have also seen at target. It has carpet and sisal and a dangly toy underneath. They absolutely love this thing! Even my older cat. They lay on it and play with their toys around it, batting it underneath the "wave" of the piece. It looks like a wave. One of my cats love to sit on it and look at all thats going on in the house.

Try cat nip, they are old enough for it now and see if they like it. My cats love it. They get crazy and then they nap really soundly.

If they were bored they would probably be getting destructive...so they may just be hanging out enjoying the good life.
I don't think 9 months is too young to start to mature and get out of the kitten crazies. Sometimes when they have each other to play with too the play is satisfying and they don't need alot of other stimuli. My cats favorite playthings are each other.
 
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tdonline

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The turbo-charger? That was the first toy I bought them. They'll swat it a couple of times and then leave it. I'll keep an eye out for the wave. But I'm leery of buying more toys since they show little interest. I just bought a pom pom bag on a spring and I've played with it more than they have


Josie used to go wild, I mean, wild over the hanging door toy. But since she destroyed the mouse, I replaced it with other toys and she doesn't even look at it anymore. I've tried looking for a replacement mouse but can't find it or it's not available and I'm loathe to buy the toy again when everything else about it is fine.

Catnip doesn't seem to do anything for them other than to make them sneeze.

Yes, they're sweet and not destructive at all, knock on wood. They have each other, but they aren't playing with each other. They used to play fight and it was pretty rough at times but I haven't seen it in a couple of weeks. That's my main concern actually. They were always pretty light on toy playing but now they've even stopped playing with each other. Maybe the feliway is working too well?
 

dragulescugirl

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I purchased a motorized item that has a feather on a rod and spins around at random. My cats loved it until they tore the feather to pieces. I'm going to try and add some ribbon to it and set it up for my kittens.

Those these motion activated toys look awesome and I may invest in them once the kittens are big enough to roam around the house by themselves:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...48&pcatid=7348
 

fifi1puss

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The thing thats good about the "wavey" thing is that its also a nice scratcher and some new piece of furniture to lay on. So it's multi purpose


Has the weather gotten warmer by you? When the weather gets warm they ar less inclined to play around also.
 

dragulescugirl

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Honestly, after only getting 3 hours sleep I hope my kittens start to chill soon!!!! I'm going to look for that "wavey" thing today. Maybe it will keep them out of trouble.

I did realize that the cheapest toy is their favorite... the cardboard roll from inside TP! They love spinning it across the floor and chewing on it.
 
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tdonline

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Yes, it's warmer and more humid here in the DC area but it hasn't been overwhelmingly so. But perhaps, cats are just more sensitive to any weather change. I leave the AC temp at about 80 in my apartment.
 

snake_lady

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Do they like treats?

If so, try one of those treat balls.... if they bat it around, the treat falls out.
 

dragulescugirl

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Do they like treats?

If so, try one of those treat balls.... if they bat it around, the treat falls out.
OMG! Where do I find that?!?!? That's exactly what I have been looking for and I cannot locate one at all - only in the dog section.

I need one of those to save my sanity from lack of sleep!!!!!
 

carolina

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I need to say the turboscratcher... I also have the panic mouse and the Fling-ama-String; but the all time favorite s really the turboscratcher - they nevver get tired of it!
 

hosman

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I have heard that this toy is goodtimes for cats: Da Bird Interactive Feather Cat Toy (aka "Teaser"). Like a little fishing pole thingy to make your kitty 'go fish'. I swa it on amazon.

Laser pointers? Probablly good if you don`t go overboard with it.

Remote control toys that you guide and kitty tries to catch. High tech cat toys.
 

tenorgirl33

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Originally Posted by DragulescuGirl

OMG! Where do I find that?!?!? That's exactly what I have been looking for and I cannot locate one at all - only in the dog section.

I need one of those to save my sanity from lack of sleep!!!!!
I got a pair of them at Petco.
http://www.petco.com/product/106780/...at=CatSFC_Toys

My cats love tinfoil balls. (I will put out this disclaimer...I have hardwood flooring so they scoot around easily). They will bat them around and chase them for hours. I have all these expensive toys, and they totally ignore them in favor of the tinfoil. Whenever Maddox hears me rip off a piece, he comes running and sits expectantly by my feet.
 

momofmany

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Rotate your toys in and out. Mine will get bored with the same old toys unless I take them away from them after about a week. Also move your cat tree around if you can. They also get bored with cat trees in the same place all the time.

I find that just about any interactive toy works if they don't have it very long. Mine love Fling-ama-string, but I can't give that to them unless I'm supervising. Koko tries to eat the track that the string is attached to. It's a fun toy but somewhat fragile.


I'm coming up with another idea for a stretchy toy that attaches to a door handle - still planning the idea and will have to test it on my gang before I can offer it. I'll post in members marketplace when I'm ready.

My Pinky just busted thru a closet door recently to get at a bag of cat toys that he knew was in there. Some of those toys are 10 years old. I had to move the toy stash to another closet after that......
 

hosman

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Wait...are you serious? Your cat knew that toys were in the closet and forced her way in? I`m more amazed about such a clever cat than I am her brute strength! Would you say that dogs and cats are on a par intellect-wise?On an average I mean. That is a great story. I`m used to dogs being clever but never gave any thought to the feline mind. Always thought of cats as manipulating people to meet their devious ends. LOL
 

momofmany

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Pinky is a he not a she, and he is a very strong boy. Stuck his humongous paw under the door and yanked as hard as he could. Took the pivot bolt right out of its tracks (folding door with a latch lock).

There's nothing as smart at being a cat than a cat. There's nothing as smart at being a dog as a dog. A cat pleases itself. A dog please you. They both fascinate me.

Oh my, you do have a lot to learn about cats!!!
 

hosman

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I`m afraid so! lol So far it has been interesting and a real eye opener.Cats are certainly some smooth operators,are`nt they?
 

*sporty*

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Originally Posted by HosMan

Wait...are you serious? Your cat knew that toys were in the closet and forced her way in? I`m more amazed about such a clever cat than I am her brute strength! Would you say that dogs and cats are on a par intellect-wise?On an average I mean. That is a great story. I`m used to dogs being clever but never gave any thought to the feline mind. Always thought of cats as manipulating people to meet their devious ends. LOL
Isn't manipulation an elevated form of cleverness?
I've only seen manipulative abilities in a dog once.

My cat knew where I keep the GoodLife treats and would open the cabinet door, and knock the bag out (hopefully spilling the contents in the process). She also knew where I kept my iPod's earbud headphones and would open the desk drawer to get them out to chew on the wires.

Unrelated, she also has an obsession with static electricity.

On many levels, I think cats are far more intelligent than dogs.
 

*sporty*

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I highly recommend "Pawbreakers" for cats affected by catnip.

http://www.edibleanimaltreats.com/

I did notice that my cats will lose interest after an hour or so, so you might want to take them away in spurts to keep them interested. Also, they are small and easily lost under furniture. Oh, and definitely get ONE for EACH cat.


I've seen them at PetCo exactly twice; though the manager told me since they've received so many requests they will order more.
 

sinbadsmom

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Tdonline, my 10-month-old kitten Rusty, a feral kitten rescued from my sister's farm when he was several weeks old, loves that wavy thing fifi1puss mentioned. It's a Smartykat ScratchScroll. I got one for him at Target after seeing it and checking reviews online.

Here's a link to a collage showing him playing with it when he was 9 or 10 weeks old:

Rusty, September 29 on his ScratchScroll

He still loves it even though he looks so large next to it now.

When I'd read the reviews, one had mentioned it looked small for large grown cats but they liked it anyway, and he does. He likes to nap on it, too.

Rusty, May 7, waking up from a nap

It's small enough it can be put up on a bed for the kitty to play there, too. He used to fling himself all over it so wildly that seemed like a good idea.

He also loves his Petstages Cheese Chase toy, a type of trackball toy:

Rusty, September 16, playing with his Cheese Chase toy

December 26

This is usually the first toy he'll play with in the morning after I get up. I don't leave it for him to play with at night since it can be so noisy, especially if he slams into it and pushes it a few feet across the floor. Sometimes he'll lie there with both front paws in that outer track and push the ball back and forth, basically playing ping pong with himself. He likes to play with the mouse on top, too, and half the time he'll have that popped out of the base (he'll play with the trackball base whether or not the mouse is set on it). He's sometimes played with the ball in the inner track, but not as often as the rest of the toy.

Another one of his favorite toys, ever since the first weeks after I rescued him, has been a dog toy from Petco, a Safari Loofa Dog, a tiger-striped plush dog:

Rusty with his Safari Loofa Dog, January 9

I can throw that for him to jump for or run after, but he also likes to play with it, wrestle it and turn somersaults over it, on his own. Once when he was little and was up on that chair I stood the loofa dog on its head against the back of the chair, and I swear he tried to stand on his head next to it. Silly kitten...

I got the Cheese Chase toy originally for Frosty, but she was already quite old by then and didn't seem interested in it. She went to the Bridge last August, two months before her 17th birthday (I haven't had a chance yet to change the banner in my signature). I rescued Rusty a few weeks later when my sister told me of a tiny kitten abandoned by his momcat on her farm. He was starving, only half the weight he should have been, in early September, but he's grown into a beautiful cat (February 20, May 31). He still plays like a young kitten. I don't know exactly when he was born, and his small size threw off the first estimates of his age, but from the most expert estimate, he'll be 11 months old in a week or so. Since he's close to your kitties' age, maybe they'll like the same toys...

Cindy
 
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