Playing with more than one cat...

Hi something has been bothering me and I wanted to know how everyone else deals with it...
Before we brought Nismo home in December we would play with Sleeves all the time, using the cat dancer, balls and all the other countless number of toys we have. He was also quite content playing on his own, with his ball or his favourite mouse or whatever he could find to play with!
Now that we have Nismo since she's so young she wants to play all the time and I'm finding it difficult to find something that they can both play.
Everytime Sleeves goes to play with something Nismo will drop what she's doing (even if it's sleeping...) and go over and steal his toy, this is starting to sound like my childhood...
Sleeves then gives up and lies down. This also happens when we play with him aswell as when he starts to play on his own, whatever toy it is Nismo just comes and jumps right in and Sleeves gives up.
Although they adore each other and play together all the time and use a lot of energy together I think it's still paramount that they BOTH play with myself and Mark aswell. I don't want to just be the food provider to them.
Does anyone know of any ways to combat this? Or will Nismo start to grow out of it and let Sleeves play with whatever he has?
Does anyone know of any toys which can be played with by more than one cat at the same time? Im just starting to feel bad watching Sleeves sit back and stare at me playing a game with Nismo, which he started. I also dont want to separate them for individual playtime.
Other than this everything is going great and getting a second kitty was the best thing we ever did for Sleeves! (and us)
Lauren

Sophies never really went and grabbed a toy that Rosie's played with, but if i throw a ball up the stairs she makes sure that she's out in front to get it even if Rosie was in the lead, and Rosie will stop dead in her tracks and let Sophie get the ball

What i've started doing is to bounce a ping pong ball through to the livingroom where Sophie will chase after it, then throw a ball up the stairs for Rosie to chase after, that way their both getting to play with a toy

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Sophies never really went and grabbed a toy that Rosie's played with, but if i throw a ball up the stairs she makes sure that she's out in front to get it even if Rosie was in the lead, and Rosie will stop dead in her tracks and let Sophie get the ball

What i've started doing is to bounce a ping pong ball through to the livingroom where Sophie will chase after it, then throw a ball up the stairs for Rosie to chase after, that way their both getting to play with a toy

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IVe tried this too, although into different rooms as we don't have stairs and it works for about 2 seconds until Nismo realises that Sleeves has a toy...whether it be identical to what she has or not she just has to have it...

Can you enlist someone else to help? My s/o and I have this problem (with a bit more moderation) and we keep two toys going at once (usually the wand with the feathers at the end). When one cat switches to the other toy, we switch who we are playing with. Now try this with three kitties!.....

I have a long cord and a hook on the end, and a lightweight toy on the other. When I do housework, I hook this to the back of my jeans, and start my routine. I have anywhere from 7-9 cats/kittens following me and playing with this thing. Thankfully none of them are strong enough to pull it off, but it is a lively game, especially on the stairs. It keeps my hands free to do other things.

One great toy is a paper grocery bag with the handles cut off. One cat jumps in the bag, the other cat jumps on the bag, and both will have a great time!

Hissy that creates such a great picture in my mind

Yes I live my my boyfriend Mark so we often try playing with one cat each but guess what...whoever has Sleeves just ends up with a little Nismo aswell lol. Maybe she just loves her big brother so much she can't stand to play without him
Oh well I'm going to have a play about with them tonight and see what I can come up with. I had an idea of holding the cat dancer in the middle of the wire and hooking something on the other end so that it could possibly work for both of them at the same time. If not I'll try it with a stick of some sort and a toy on each end. Hey maybe I could sell this idea...

Sounds like my childhood too You could try having a special play time with Sleeves only. Have Nismo nap in a room you can close the door of.