My cat is bored of all the toys and doesn't like catnip, what do I do?

wafflesnomnom

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I have a 1.5 year old ragdoll, and he's a very mellow, sensitive boy. Any toys with loud noises (hard balls, bells) scares him, so I bought an abundance of small poof balls, crinkle balls, wicker balls, bouncy balls, hair ties, crumbled paper, coin rolls, etc. and he is literally bored of ALL of them.

For example, he used to go nuts over the crumbled paper and would chase it all around the house, now I try to play with him, he'll walk up to it after I throw it and just walk back. 

I also have the dabird, and he was nuts for it for a good several months, but now he's also bored of that, and I have a bunch of other types of wand and fishing rod toys, none of which he plays with.

I also have that ball in a circle with the cardboard scratching thing, and he swats it once and is done.

I bought him catnip toys, like the yeoowww banana, and any new catnip toy he'll play with vigorously when I first give it to him and then never touches it again, even if I put it away for a while or seal it with fresh catnip. I also tried valarian and it was the same result.

He doesn't chase lasers because he realized he can't catch them, and he gets bored of those automatic robotic toys too.

I'll spend a good 15minutes throwing everything I've got telling him to go get it, and he's just not interested. I tried rotating the toys so he has less choice too.

What do I do? I want him to enjoy playing with toys and have the same enthusiasm he used to :( 
 

Columbine

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Part of the trouble here is simply that he's growing up. Now he's older, he won't be playing with the same enthusiasm as a kitten. Rotating the toys can help - I have a big toy box for my guys, and only put out a few at a time. Every time I switch the toys around, they get much more interested for a while ;)

With Da Bird, there are all kinds of attachments you can get for it. I have a tone of different ones for mine, and rotate them too. That way, the cats are more likely to stay interested.

Not all cats respond to catnip or valerian. Honeysuckle is another popular one that's worth a try. Kong Naturals make a few catnip blends too - the Catnip Botanicals range. You might find he enjoys one of those more. I find catnip and valerian sprays are the best way to refresh the scent on older catnip toys as they have a longer shelf life once opened. If you do have the dried herbs, they need to be in a tightly sealed bag and, ideally, kept in the freezer between uses. This will prolong their life, as they do lose potency over time ;)
 
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