bored cat, any suggestions

either Able is bored or he wants to go outside. he will walk around down stairs and cry, when i go down to see what he wants he will go to the door. he has food and waterwhen he does this, and its normally around midnight or noon. i will not let him outside because that was the reason he came into my house, he was hit by a car and someone who didn't have 17 cats was needed to care for him.


does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep Able occupied, the feather teaser and toy mice only last for so long with him.

Is he neutered? Sorry to hear he was hit by a car- but glad he survived the impact.

he is neutered, but hes blind in his left eye (another reason he is not allowed outside) after about an 45 mintues to an hour of his crying he either playes with the other cat or falls asleep.


limerick (the other cat) is also a neutered male who has been raised by my sister since he was 4 months old. he fears the outside Able no fear at all of anything

is he big on toys? you could try lots of different ones or get one of those kitty videos? with birds etc

A few suggestions, maybe get him some play balls. One of my cats loves them. The other would be to get a nice big cat tree and some ledges so he can see out the window. You could also hang a birdfeeder outside. They love to watch the birds.

There is a toy called Cheese Chase and it's a round thing with two plastic balls that cats bat around in circles. It also has a mouse in the center on a stick. Not cheap (I paid $14), but our cat Geisha LOVES the Cheese Chase and I often hear her in the middle of the night playing with it. I bought it over three weeks ago and she always comes back to it when she gets tired of playing with her feathery mice!

I'm glad that you were able to rescue Able. does he have any other cat or small dog for a companion? Also, you might check out http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=20837 - I've read some positive articles on this cat video. Some cats just seem to hear "the call of the wild" more than others; it's a real dilemma! I hope that you can find out a good solution that Able finally agrees with - it is a very cruel world out there, yet some cats seem to have the "give me liberty or give me death" attitude that can have such disastrous results. If you find something that works, please share it with the rest of us...

The two best toys I've ever known are an ice cube on the kitchen floor (which you'll obviously have to replenish after a while) and a ball of foil (just aluminum foil crushed into a ball about the size of a golf ball).

I have NEVER known a cat that would tire of these toys!! You should give them a shot!

Hope this helps!

Oh, P.S., I read on another thread that their cats liked playing with an uncut, uncooked green bean. Might wanna try that one, too.

Yeah, it sounds like he does want to go outside. Unfortunately if he's been used to it it will take a little time to get him UNused to it but it's worth the effort!!

When Sashka was little and used to go mental about being inside I used to find that two sessions of interactive play-time every day really helped her - ie not just leaving her to play on her own, but I would play with her for AT LEAST half an hour twice a day. It would wear her out and keep her stimulated. We played with feathers, balls, a laser-light pen (which is the all-time favourite) we played chasey - everything. Then she would pass out for about three hours. When he cries at the door you could use that as an indicator of a good time to play.

Also, you need to rotate his toys - after a few days take all the toys he is used to playing with and put them away, and then replace them with new ones. This will stop him from getting bored. After a few days, you can give him the old ones back again and they will seem new.

There's a couple more GREAT toys - Da Bird, the Cat Dancer, Thing-In-A-Bag and one that is kind of like a disk that goes on the floor and spins around - that's also like a scratching post thingy - I don't know what it's called unfortunately. A couple of those are interactive and a couple he can play with on his own. Also, I have accidentally discovered that an abandoned hair elastic can keep a kitty occupied for AGES. They catch them, throw them in the air, chase them around - it's hilarious!

Good luck!

Originally Posted by maherwoman

The two best toys I've ever known are an ice cube on the kitchen floor (which you'll obviously have to replenish after a while) and a ball of foil (just aluminum foil crushed into a ball about the size of a golf ball).

I have NEVER known a cat that would tire of these toys!! You should give them a shot!

Hope this helps!

Oh, P.S., I read on another thread that their cats liked playing with an uncut, uncooked green bean. Might wanna try that one, too.

Click to expand...

Just a warning - aluminium foil is HIGHLY toxic to cats so a ball of paper scrunched up will do just as well but won't hurt them if they accidentally ingest some.

This link has some nice ideas:

Entertain your kitties' brains! Environmental Enrichment (click here)

thanks for the suggestions. i don't think mom will go for the tv on all day for the cats. but some of the other suggetions just might work.

right now he has fuzzy mice, fuzzy mice with feather tails, jungle balls, a feather teaser, shoelace tied to a plush bone (dollar store cat toys, why a bone i will never know), plush mouse (again dollar store) 2 super scratchers, 4 beds with bed skirts which he hides under to pounce on stuff, a drape tie which he removed from the hook, twisty ties (he doesn't eat them, just bats around) 2 beds (he took his cousin's bed too) and the pom-pom things we got for the WVU games

most of the toyes are in a basket, untill he wants to play. sometimes he will get them himself. other times he will cry untill a toy makes an apperance. (kind of like the dog)

i'm going to invest in some cheap fish for christmas.

thanks a bunch

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

Just a warning - aluminium foil is HIGHLY toxic to cats so a ball of paper scrunched up will do just as well but won't hurt them if they accidentally ingest some.

Click to expand...

WOW...I didn't know that one. Thank you VERY much for letting us know!! I guess it's a good thing Hobbes growled and hissed at his sister when he had his (because I promptly took it away, and he hasn't had it since).

Thank you!!

My kittens love the videos and teletubbies - someone on this site suggested Teletubbies and they love it - I don't but they will watch the show all the way through. Cat Dancer is another thing my kittens ike and it was only a few bucks. Also try rotating toys so Able does not get bored with the ones he is currently playing with.