How to keep a smart cat busy

Hi guys! I'm wondering if any of you have a solution for me - Chay seems a bit bored lately. He walks around the house and meows all the time. Part of it, I'm sure, is his needing to be neutered soon (I'm making an appointment this week, I hope) but I think some of it is that he's a very intelligent kitten, and I think his brain needs more of a workout. Playtime helps, but I can only wave around a toy so often. Billy usually entertains himself with pipe cleaners, but Chay isn't so easily amused.

Have any of you come across or made toys that help work out a cat's brain? I'd love to hear your suggestions. Thanks!

My cats play for hours on the condos from www.felinefurniture.com You can also make tunnels out of cardboard boxes and blankets. You can feed the birds outside your window and provide a nice window perch for your cat. There are videos you can buy that will entertain your cat. You can get a fish tank, or a second buddy to play with.

Well, he's got his buddy Billy (he must be bored with him ) and he killed my gerbil. I've thought about the fish tank, but I'm probably moving again in a few months, so I wanted to wait for a more permanent location, since I wanted to use the 10-gallon tank so there was no worry of him knocking it over to get the fishies! (He really is a clever boy - he somehow managed to pull the heavy aquarium the gerbil was in out so he could get to the top of it, then he twisted out one of the little tunnel covers and got him out.)

He doesn't seem to watch TV much, and I don't have a window where I could put a perch lol. I do have a bird feeder near my sliding glass door though, so I'll leave the curtains open more often for him and hope he notices the birds way up above his head. I will try to make him some tunnels and such and see what he thinks of them. Thanks for the suggestions!

Anyone heard of puzzles for cats?

Originally Posted by Sandtigress

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Anyone heard of puzzles for cats?

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I saw this thing which had a bunch of holes that you can hide treats and toys in for the cat to try to find. I think it was at the discovery channel store.

Oh, they have some excellent ones on there! Thanks for the suggestion - Chay may be getting more Christmas present than I thought. And here comes my easy child - Billy playing with a ball lying on the floor.

Originally Posted by zak&rocky

I saw this thing which had a bunch of holes that you can hide treats and toys in for the cat to try to find. I think it was at the discovery channel store.

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I got this for Little Pete and Shorty and the result wasn't as good as I had hoped. They said it would keep them entertained for hours, but within minutes Little Pete has figured out how to get the toys out. I kept putting them in and he kept popping them out. So in the end, it only kept them entertained for hours if I sat there for hours re-inserting the toys
If your kitty is smart, he may end up figuring it out pretty fast as well

(picture is a link to product site)

The balls that come with the thing are too easy to get out. The trick is to put in some toys that just barely fit or that are a little bit fluffy so they have to work to get them out. Also, I only get this out for them on special occasions, like when I need them off of the dinner table

I bought a little mouse that my son wanted. Hobbs used to sit by the tank we kept it in, tap on the glass, meow at it, and sit on top of the tank looking at the mouse. It was a good diversion. We gave up because Hobbs somehow broke into the tank, and my Wife found him with the mouse tail sticking out of his mouth. She screamed horrified, and I had to come get the mouse out of my cat's mouth. We had to get rid of the mouse, who I am sure was relieved to find another home But I am sure that if we could have made that cage Hobbs-proof he would have been entertained for hours at a time.

Originally Posted by furbum

The balls that come with the thing are too easy to get out. The trick is to put in some toys that just barely fit or that are a little bit fluffy so they have to work to get them out. Also, I only get this out for them on special occasions, like when I need them off of the dinner table

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Hmmm. not a bad idea.. I'm going to try and get some bigger toys for it. I leave it out for them 24/7, but I may try taking it away and only taking it out on special occassions.. maybe it'll become more of a novelty!

I made one of those for madden out of a really thick cardboard box that had about the same dimensions. I cut the holes out with a utility knife and made some holes smaller than others, so that not all toys will come out of all holes and Madden absolutely loves it!!

Just a thought for the crafty kind!!

lol I at least like to think of myself as the crafty type! I'll give that a try, what a great suggestion!

They loved the gerbil, but I would hate to get another one knowing that Chay has figured out how to get into the aquarium. Once I move into a place where I stay longer than a year, I'm definately getting an aquarium. I think the problem started a little after they killed Tas, no more moving entertainment. They used to stare at him for hours and try to get him out. Billy went for the glass, but Chay always attacked either the top of the cage or the bottom. Too smart for his own good sometimes.

You can also use a cardboard egg flat and a ping pong ball. Just place the ping pong ball in the cardboard flat and let the cat have fun. One of the favorite things that my cats love is an old telephone book with catnip sprinkled in between the pages

Hmm..I'm not picturing the egg flat in my head and how that would work... But I think I have an old telephone book, and the boys loooove their catnip, so I'll give that a try! Thanks!

This is a question I ask myself every day. Jordan is super smart & so he gets bored very easily. I've tried may differnt things; however, one thing ,my sister suggested is actually a dog toy. It's called the Buster Cube. It's a cube you put food or treats in & they have to roll it to get the treats out, but it's better than the cat balls that just dump treats everywhere. They usualy have to flip it several times to get a treat. My cats love their's. Levi & Jordan each have one, the other two refuse to use them, they would rather just follow thier brothers around & steal their treat.

Oh I should mention it's the Mini Buster Cube.

You could also try clicker training. It only takes 5-10 minutes out of your day but it certainly leads to a less-bored & usually a better-behaved kitty. Check out our clicker training thread for more info: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62604

Amanda

Sounds great! Chay is definately smart enough for some training. Thanks! My baby's getting neutered tomorrow too, so hopefully that helps with the crying. I appreciate it, guys!