Any ideas on making an interactive toy for a very bored cat?

I think my boy Louie is bored. He wanders around the house meowing. If I show any sign of life, he is all over me purring and flopping on me. He is bothering the other cats, who seem quite content. He is a very smart cat, and I'm thinking he may be really bored and need something to do to keep him occupied (and out of my hair while I work).

Does anyone have any ideas for a homemade toy that will keep him interested? Preferably something easy to make that will keep him guessing. I'm thinking his Christmas stocking will have an interactive or puzzle toy in it, but I need something to keep him busy until Santa Paws gets here.

Thanks!

A treat ball kept my two occupied for a good while. It's like a little ball that you can unscrew and put treats inside, and they fall out of a hole when the cats play with it. I just had to roll the ball a couple of times as an example and they got it--more precisely, Christy got it first and then Tiny learned it from her. I think it's probably better to use a different brand of kibble than they usually get, instead of treats, because it's more nutritious. Treats often have a lot of filler stuff in them.

If you like and they enjoy it, you can actually feed them some of their meals from treat balls.

I hide treats (usually freeze dried meat of some sort) in random spots around the house at night sometimes. So my guy has to go sleuthing around the house to find them all. I usually put them under things or up top on things so he has to climb to get to it. You could use kibble or pieces of freeze dried meat, as they are healthier, if you are worried about extra calories.

I guess I am not a good hider because he usually finds them fairly quickly, but it still keeps him busy because he does not know how many treats I have hidden and he has to check all the spots just to make sure there is no treat hiding out someplace.

Other than this, his favorite interactive game is if I put a mouse toy under some crinkly paper (it's this eco bubble wrap stuff made out of textured recycled paper cut into crinkly shapes. I put the roll down in a long strip and put his toy mouse under the wrap and then I leave him to it. He does running leaps and slides down the floor on it (For best effect put this on a hardwood floor or slick tiles or linoleum). 

Also does Louie have a cat tree? The other thing I do is put a bunch of his balls on the top of my guy's cat tree, and then when he's bored he'll jump up on the tree and start knocking all the balls etc off the tree and then can chase them when they roll away.

A window perch is also good, esp if it has a good view of birds. My guy watches that like it's TV,.

Hope these ideas help

There's no problem with giving them treats as part of play. All you have to do is reduce their normal meals to compensate, make sure the treats are reasonably nutritious, and there you go.

Awesome replies, thank you!

I had a few of those treat balls, for some reason I can only find half of a ball, I guess it's time to get new ones.

Yes, they have a lot of cat scratches and a 7 foot cat tree. I love the idea of putting toys at the top to knock off, I will try that!

I put bird feeders outside my dining room and office window where the cats can lounge and watch. The office windows have tint on them, so even better as the cats can't be seen as well. The squirrels and the birds frequently hang out, and the cats take turns watching. In the morning I ask the cats "wanna watch tv?" and then I open the blinds. :-)

Hiding food/treats around the house may work, but as they have dry food out all the time I'm not sure if they'd find it stimulating to find it around the house. They'd probably figure one of the other cats is just a really messy eater.

I love the idea of the mouse under something. I think I'll have to rig up something like that - all of the kitties would love that.

Love the suggestions, keep them coming!

I have a large piece of packing paper (brown craft paper) that I pull out from time to time.  I cut a hole in the middle of it.  I place the paper on the floor with a piece of cotton string (tied off, no strings loose) under it.  I draw it under the paper and my kitties love to pounce on it.  DaBird is a great toy for interactive play.
 

Our one cat, Bazinga, loves it when 'Daddy' orders stuff from Newegg.com; they use a long piece of brown paper crinkled up in the box for packing material. She LOVES that paper!  It's all crinkly and noisy.  One time, we had a piece long enough that I was able to pile it up into a hill shape for her to crawl under and through.  Provided hours of endless entertainment.  And, of course, she loves her boxes.

If I notice our cats seem bored, I'll either break out the laser pointer or start rolling/tossing toys across the floor.  All three love to chase!

I also vote keeping a roll of kraft paper around. A great big sheet of it — even 3 yards — crumpled a bit and laid across a sofa or the floor is a favorite around here. 

I know that people make "tunnels" by cutting the bottoms off grocery bags and rolling the edges and connecting them somehow. Then you cut holes for windows. I gather that is always a hit but I haven't tried it. I'm not crafty, so I'd buy one of those collapsing tunnels for cats.

He might like watching kitty videos, too. And if he's really smart, you can turn on PBS.

We play bird videos on our laptop.  Our cat, Faux Fudge watches it intently then circles the laptop searching for the birds, the goes back to watching some more.  We used to have a video for the television of birds and squirrels but that was during the VHS days.  I've also put up a bird house right outside the window in a cedar tree, they all like to sit up there and watch the birds.  And my friend's cat likes to ride his roomba vacuum cleaner around all day

8whiskers said:

I think my boy Louie is bored. He wanders around the house meowing. If I show any sign of life, he is all over me purring and flopping on me. 

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Do you actually play with him? Or are you expecting him to just entertain himself?

Many cats enjoy interactive play more than nothing from their human, just a few 10-20 minute sessions a day will keep him occupied. Along with other toys he can play with himself, or the treat hiding that was mentioned. Perhaps take away the dry food, switch to wet or raw and timed feedings which is healthier anyway.

DaBird, wand toys, laser pointers are favoured interactive toys. We have dozens and dozens of different cat teasers here that keep everyone entertained. It's also part of their bedtime routine, play session, raw food then bed. 

missymotus said:

Do you actually play with him? Or are you expecting him to just entertain himself?

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 Of COURSE I play with him, what kind of cat mom do you think I am? I play with and cuddle all my kitties. Louie is an exceptionally needy cat, and since I can't give him 24/7 attention (close to it, I work from home) and he's one of the smartest cats I have, I am looking for ideas to keep him stimulated and entertained when I have to work. I'm thinking anything that requires him to think about how to get his reward would make him a happier cat. The toys and entertainment that seem to satisfy all my other cats seems to be falling short for Louie.

8whiskers said:

 Of COURSE I play with him, what kind of cat mom do you think I am?

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didn't mean to offend, you never mentioned that you play with him just that he's bored and wanders the house meowing.

There are "Peek a Prize" puzzle type boxes, basically, a sturdy box, with holes cut out, and you place various items in the holes.  The idea is for your cat to get the item, whether it is food or a toy mice or a plain cork.  Switch the sizes and thicknesses of the toys in the puzzle box.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10239

Turbo scratchers are also popular with some cats.

have you tried soap bubbles?

If you can't be there to blow them yourself, maybe try one of those automatic soap bubble blowers.

Try him out with t he cheap dip wand kind first to make sure he is into first before investing on one of them

Definitely try out the cheap kind first:  Ritz was scared to death of bubbles.

PS:  they make cat-nip soap bubbles, too

Here are a few Ive had success with with several cats over the years...go to a place that sells pipe tobacco and get a package of pipe cleaners..what they are are about a 6" piece of thin wire covered with like a felt..take them and coil them around something like a pencil thil they are one tight coil..let them smell them and then throw one down the hall and watch the fun begin..

Another is this..go to a place that does shoulder therapy..theyll have 1/4" rubber tubing..they use it for shoulder strengthening excercises..I know Ive used them often....cut it into about a piece of 5" and then tie it into a knot..let them smell it and then throw it down the hall..watch the fun begin..

I second the catnip bubbles!

I just got this wand toy and my cats go CrAzY for it like I have never seen them go for a toy before: https://www.nekoflies.com/ They have the Kragonfly (and will surely be getting more in the future). The first night I brought it home, my sweet-as-can-be cat caught it in his mouth 4 feet in the air, walked away with it, and growled if I tried to gently tug it back! (After a few days, he doesn't growl anymore.) They're more durable than they look - my cats haven't been kind to it but they are still in good shape. They get physically tired after playing with it for about 15 mins. because of all the running and jumping.

My cats already love it when bugs get in the house, so I had a guess that this would be a good toy for them. When your cat does get going, what does he like? Bells, feathers, furry things, crinkly things?

Stick, string, bit of paper or feather on end of the string.  Costs almost nothing, a long whippy stick is best.  Don't leave it out when you are not around.

Small toys that skid round the floor - a ping-pong ball for example.

The Stair game, if you have them in your house and they have a turn at the top.  Stand at the bottom, attract his attention, throw ball up stairs, and it will bounce off the wall where the turn is and bounce down the stairs.

Best of all, if you can manage it, an enclosed garden.  My cats love going out even in cold frosty weather.  They sunbathe, hunt, chase each other round, and one of them lost about 400g the first year it was finished.  Failing that as large an enclosure as you can manage.