Feeling Guilty About Not Playing With Cat Enough

[wahine01]

I've not been very well lately, afflicted with migraines and fatigue issues over the last couple of weeks, as a result it's all I can do to get up, feed pets, go to work, come home, feed pets and go to bed some days. I haven't had the physical strength/energy to play with my 7 month old cat very much and I've noticed he's demanding more and more attention over the last few days.

I feel incredibly guilty about not being able to play with him much lately :-( the poor thing is already alone while I'm at work, and it doesn't help that my partner has also had a bad cold and been tied up working full time and studying too. It's just not a good couple of weeks for us lately. I know feeling guilty won't help but I can't help it :-( how does everyone else cope when they are too unwell to play with their cats every day? How do your cats cope?

 

[Lyzzie]

Hello!
I've had migraines too, so I know how it feels.
For the days that you don't feel too bad, I would suggest playing with him with a wand toy, maybe when you're in bed? Even for 5 minutes, and have treats at the ready when you feel you need to stop and rest. Feed him some treats at the end of the session. That may help with him. That can be done by your partner too.

I have 4 cats, 2 of them are 1 yo, and one is 11 months, so if we don't have time or can't play with them, they entertain each other. But I have seen a difference between human play and no human play for a few days, and they have a tendency to "act out", like being a little destructive, or more aggressive towards each other, just because they need to get that crazy kitten energy out.

Does your cat have toys he can play with without humans involved? That may help a lot too. Does he have cat TV? I mean a bed near a window where he can watch the outside.

Some more questions : is he neutered, what's his name, and can we have pics please? We love those around here!

 

[wahine01]

Thanks for your reply.

We keep his cat tree by the window, he's also got fish tanks he can "watch". Most of his toys are wand toys, balls, soft toys, tubes he can run through or feathery things. I do leave some of the string toys dangling from his cat tree but he doesn't have much interest in these.

He is neutered, I wouldn't own a cat that isn't :-) His name is Pebble, I'll try post some more recent pictures later but you can see some on my other posts in the meantime.

 

[wahine01]

 

[Mother Dragon]

He's a heart-stealer. I can see a lot of personality in his eyes.

Check Chewey for some interactive cat toys that might have timers. Trixie makes some good puzzle toys. We got the Trixie Cat Activity Fun Board 5-in-1 Cat Toy. You put treats in it and the cat has to figure out how to get to them. There are also some DVDs made especially for cats to watch. They have birds, squirrels, hamsters, and fish to watch. If your cat likes to chase a laser beam, get a Bolt. It sends a beam in random directions and runs for about 15 minutes. Pebbles gets to play while you rest and watch and encourage him.

 

[Docs Mom]

Very handsome boy ! I love the markings on his face....