Attention Seeking Cat

[cpacat]

We adopted a neutered 14 month old cat named Loki a week ago. We know it can take time to adjust and he's been absolutely wonderful. He has his favorite lounge spots, is making himself at home, and everything has been great. However, he doesn't seem to be entertained unless we are directly playing with him. Both my significant other and I don't start our new positions until October, so we can play with him during the day, but in a few weeks he will be home alone during work hours.
We have bought so many different toys, everything from interactive ones to catnip ones, but he shows no interest in playing. He enjoys playing with the laser pointer or wand toys, but that's it. He will walk around meowing and will even start racing around the house like crazy if we aren't actively playing with him. Vet have him a good bill of health but I'm not sure what I can do. He has very attention seeking tendencies (weaving around our feet, jumping on the counter when we are making dinner). It's not like he's deprived of cuddles, toys, or anything else. Any ideas on how we can cut back on the neediness? Getting a cat companion isn't an option with our lease either.

 

[tabbytom]

Welcome to the Catsite cpacat

Thank you for adopting Loki.

Your kitty looks pretty normal. As long as he is hanging out with you guys and doing his own stuffs like lounging at his favorite spots and zooming around like crazy and hopping on counter tops to see you prepare food, this are things he likes to do. My boy does the same thing too.

About his meowing, proably he's just a little more vocal. Again my boy does that too. We'll just ask him whst is it he wants and just have a little conversation with him tho we don't understand each other :lol3:

It's just his character unless he is meowing with discomfort.

Do post his photos for us to see!

Forgot to add this - get him cardboard boxes to play in and dangle some toys for him so that when he's alone he'll play with them. Cats like cardboard boxes.

 

[tabbytom]

Or get ping pong balls for him and watch him chase the bouncing ping pong balls!

 

[cpacat]

Glad to hear it's just his personality. We were told that new cats can "test" their humans and see how much they can get out of us, so we weren't sure if he was simply begging to get more food, etc.
We have set out cardboard boxes and have gotten new ball and crinkle toys as well. He seems to just prefer string toys but maybe he will come around.
We are trying to get him used to his collar. He seems to hate it but I like knowing he's "ID-ed" in case he gets out. He is microchipped but it's still a good piece of mind. Hopefully he comes around, we removed the bells but the ID tag ended up being a bit bigger than we expected. Here's a picture of our cozy guy snuggling up on our coffee table.

image.jpeg

• cpacat
• Sep 10, 2016

 

[tabbytom]

Yes, they can and do test how much they can get out of us. But it all depends on how much we give in. My boy meows if he wants something like going up to the top of the wardrobe where there's no access for him to climb up. So he'll meow and look up to get us to put him up there.
As for food wise, if he's not being fed enough, he'll ask for more like hanging around his food bowl. But that is when he misses a meal or two but usually he's fed enough.
For the toys, you have to test out different ones to find out which ones are your cat's favorite. They are not interest in all the toys that are available to them. Sometimes diy toys are better than buying but of course certain toys we can't diy. My boy likes small strips of cardboard pieces so we save up some paper towel rolls core and cut them up. He even rolls them around uncut.
It's good to get your cat get used to the collar. Mine hates the collar so it's hard to get it on. He just struggles with you :lol3:
You have a nice kitty here. Looks like a DSH Broken Mackerel Striped Tabby. How old is he and what's his name? Is he neutered?
So every cat is different and they can be trained. Find out what is his favorite toys and also talk more and often with him and most of all give him all your love

 

[cpacat]

He is 14 months old, neutered, and his name is Loki (Norse god of trickery, and this little guy is a trickster). We love him so much and he gets lots of cuddles. The begging for food has definitely declined over the past few days, as has his devouring of food. My guess is that he may have had to fight for food. He was being fostered at a cat cafe, so I'm sure he misses his 15 other feline friends. It's only been a week since we have had him so I'm sure he's still adjusting and finding out what he likes. We are so happy to have him here with us! I snapped another picture mid-nap - he has the cutest spot on his nose!

image.jpeg

• cpacat
• Sep 10, 2016

 

[tabbytom]

Oh, you mentioned his name and age at your 1st post. Yes, proably he has to fight for his food before. My boy wolf down his food when he came home after his rescue. When I touch his plate to adjust the angle for him while he was eating, he was making 'nom nom' sounds while eating. Tink he was afraid that I take the food away from him. It took him awhile to eat slower after that he felt I wasn't a threat to him.
Yes, Loki must be missing his friends as suddenly he's alone in a new place. He'll get use to that.
He's a handsome boy [emoji]10084[/emoji]️

 

[carpdirector]

I'm having the exact same problem with my young cat!  He was a stray that we took in a couple months ago and he is not happy that we're turning him into an indoor cat.  My older cats won't play with him yet and I think that might be what he really craves.  I've bought all sorts of toys for him like you have and most of the time he ignores them unless we're playing with him. I know he prefers string over feathers and likes things that move across the floor rather than dangling. I have a motorized toy that drags a lure in a circle (by Petlinks) and he will run and pounce on it from the other end of the room, but I think he's getting bored with it.  I also bought him a Hexbug mouse that he really liked at first, but now gives it a token chase and then walks away.  I'm not sure what else to do!

 

[tabbytom]

Carpdirector,

Whatever the case is, even our cats have lots of toys to play with, most important thing is interaction between our cats and us. Yes, they can entertain themselves at times but we must be the main focus in their lives.
Don't just let them depends on toys alone, have to play with them and that's bonding.