Advice On Playtime With My Two Cats

[tecetyeintyale]

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to get some advice on how to make sure both of my cats, Kit and Nita, are getting what they need out of play time with me. They're almost two years old now so still very young and energetic!

My main problem is that Nita has SO much energy and I can never seem to get her to participate enough during play time. It's not that she's not interested in the toys -- I think that Kit has sort of become the alpha cat, so if he is showing any interest in a toy she tends to defer to him and stay back and watch. I have tried just letting things play out to see it I can get Kit tired enough that he'll sit back and rest and let Nita have a go, but he never rests for more than a minute or so before he wants back at it. He does not want to stop as long as I'm waving around a toy LOL.

I have also tried to play with two toys at once so they can each "have" one, but Kit just ends up alternating between both of them, which basically results in the same thing as above.

I have also tried letting them play as normal until Kit starts seeming a bit tired and then closing him in the bedroom to try to take him out of the equation. This also doesn't work because they are so attached to each other and hate being separated! So I can maybe get Nita to play with me half-heartedly for a minute or two, but she's constantly stopping to look over at the bedroom door, and eventually, she walks over to the bedroom door and looks at me like, "I want my brother back!" LOL. This happens whether Kit is meowing or not. I live in a relatively small one-bedroom, so I can't take her further away from the bedroom to create more separation or anything. In addition, I worry that maybe Kit will interpret this as a punishment, which I don't want!

Any other ideas? I CAN sometimes get Nita to play fetch with me -- which Kit is not usually interested in -- and she really sprints after the toys I throw, so that helps. And they do also play with each other fairly frequently, but I still don't think it's enough. Her energy seems limitless! Any other ideas or tips you can give me would be appreciated!

 

[duncanmac]

Playing with two cats at the same time can be very hard. Playing is hunting and cats are solitary hunters. I can't really play with my two boys together - the best that happens is that one plays and the other watches and as one gets tired I encourage the other one to get more active.

You have the right idea about playing fetch with Nita (?). If she has a special fetch toy, keep it separate and out of sight except when you play fetch so it will be "special" and maybe she will get more excited.

 

[KarenKat]

I agree with D duncanmac - we have three cats, and it's a struggle. Even Jackson Galaxy's cat wouldn't really play much.

Gohan especially is more of a play voyeur than a participant. If there is any distraction, he hunkers down and watches. He also likes to stalk for a veeeery long time, and Trin hardly even waits to pounce on anything. So while Gohan is considering pouncing, Trin rushes in and ruins it lol. Trin is a bit older, so I can tire him out after a while and for a few minutes try and engage Gohan in at least a swat or two.

Keep at it, I figure even watching is somewhat useful, and if you get a pounce or two I call it a win.

 

[ArtNJ]

Do you use a laser pointer? Its definitely one of the best for getting energy out. Lure/ribbon toys take a lot more effort on your part.

 

[KarenKat]

Do you use a laser pointer? Its definitely one of the best for getting energy out. Lure/ribbon toys take a lot more effort on your part.

Right? Sometimes I feel like one of those old magicians, pulling out three or four toys out of a hat and begging for the audience to be amused.

 

[tecetyeintyale]

Thanks for the ideas so far everyone! I feel a bit better at least knowing I'm not alone in this problem LOL. KarenKat your Gohan and Trin sound exactly like my two! I think that's also part of the issue, that Kit is just all over the toy immediately while Nita likes to stalk a bit before going for it, so he's already "caught it" before she even wants to pounce.

The laser pointer isn't a bad idea! They did love it as kittens, so much so that I got one of those automatic ones that you just set down and let it run, but they haven't shown much interest in that in the past six months or so. Maybe the handheld one I have is worth digging out and trying again, since I can control it myself and make it more random than the automatic one. The automatic one does do stops, starts, and seemingly-randomized movement, but maybe they've played with it enough over the year-ish I've had it that they've figured out the patterns and it's not exciting anymore. Will try the handheld one tonight if I can find it!

 

[tecetyeintyale]

Update: Found my handheld laser pointer last night and tried it out, and it worked wonders! Nita went bananas and actually seemed a bit tired by the end of it. Wohoo! I can't believe it was that simple -- I thought for sure they were over laser pointers since they hadn't been interested in the automatic one for a while, but I guess it was just that they had learned the patterns. I'll start using the handheld one more in combination with other toys for Kit, so they both get some good exercise.