Toys for an Adult Cat

[tammyp]

Hi Primula - tuck away your toys that she loses interest in, and practise toy rotation.  When you bring them out again in a month (depending on their memory - for us it is more like a year), it will be attractive and 'new' again.

I think your assumption that Pandy is growing out of interest of toys is not 100% correct - if you play with those toys WITH her (eg, attach them to a wand toy), she will have more interest in them in her solo-play as the 'good fun' memories remain.

 

[Primula]

^I originally said I wanted toys that were not interactive. I wanted her to have something she could play with without me. I have played tons with her and her new toys, but, to reiterate, she has other ways that she would prefer to spend her time. She is a very happy and contented cat, but maybe not so much toys-oriented. Some cats are just that way. Her housemate, Zimmie, has never played with a toy in her life.

 

[mservant]

Primula, thanks for your feedback on how Pandy responded (OR NOT) to the suggested toys. You must have spent a small fortune!  I agree that some cats are less drawn to toys once they grow out of that initial kitten crazed play phase, though if they then develop a very lazy lifestyle and start to pile on a few ounces/pounds we humans still have a responsibility to try and engage them in some form of activity... Where extra weight isn't an issue and looking at play and activity levels is out of concern that the cat is happy and engaged and not developing depression (which I think Primula has been doing from the content of her thread start post) then it has to be acceptable that the cat can choose his/her preferences in how to spend their time. They have all the fickle individual preferences that us people have!  It's the impact that this process has on the human purse that is a challenge. In this indoor cat home I am coming to the conclusion that the most favoured toys as usually the ones that are free, and I buy very few new ones these days.  Like Tammyp I hide the many toy mice/bird/wands and general 'stuff' that I have bought over the past 2 years ( in a similarly unused cat bed 

 )and periodically swap them about. It does help.  I also refresh catnip scent from time to time. As my boy heads past 2 1/2 he is sleeping more and I find my self worrying about him being bored and depressed vs just being a cat - it's always challenging and interesting being a cat parent I fear.  That's why I love the support from this site soooo much. 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Of all her new toys, this was the one she disliked most. I thought they were adorable, but I think they are more suited to a kitten. Pandy had zero interest in them.

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions.

Mooch still loves them at age 8 and still brings them to me to play fetch.  Noodles will bat one around on occasion.  Just shows that all cats have different personalities I guess! 

^I originally said I wanted toys that were not interactive. I wanted her to have something she could play with without me. I have played tons with her and her new toys, but, to reiterate, she has other ways that she would prefer to spend her time. She is a very happy and contented cat, but maybe not so much toys-oriented. Some cats are just that way. Her housemate, Zimmie, has never played with a toy in her life.

That sounds right.  As my girls get older they still play with toys; but not in the same way they did as kittens.  A favorite way to spend the day now is on their cat tree watching the bird feeder we've hung from the eve of the house.  One of my cats growing up only ever loved "live" toys...mice and such that she found outside and would bring home.  Also a snake one time.  

 

[Primula]

Primula, thanks for your feedback on how Pandy responded (OR NOT) to the suggested toys. You must have spent a small fortune!

Not really. I think the cat chaser was the most expensive thing because I did not buy it from Amazon.com. I bought it from a fancy pet store and it cost $17. Will most likely give it to a local cat shelter when I am tired of it taking up space on the rug. The other little doodads all cost about $4.99 a bag so I spent about $20. A friend emailed this cat toy. It looks like a lot of fun, but I have no clue whether Pandy would like it. Someone else mentioned laser toys, but they left Pandy stone cold. She could not see the point of them at all.

http://ww2.ordercatsmeow.com/?tag=im|sm|go|gn&a_aid=011&redirectto=ww2.ordercatsmeow.com

I agree that some cats are less drawn to toys once they grow out of that initial kitten crazed play phase

Pandy is the only cat we have ever had who does not go outside so everything with her has been different. She has not experienced any of the things our other cats have: she has never chased a bird or eaten fresh grass or ran after a squirrel. But she is safe and alive and we love her though the 11 months she has been with us have been a learning experience.

 

[mservant]

Not really. I think the cat chaser was the most expensive thing because I did not buy it from Amazon.com. I bought it from a fancy pet store and it cost $17. Will most likely give it to a local cat shelter when I am tired of it taking up space on the rug. The other little doodads all cost about $4.99 a bag so I spent about $20. A friend emailed this cat toy. It looks like a lot of fun, but I have no clue whether Pandy would like it. Someone else mentioned laser toys, but they left Pandy stone cold. She could not see the point of them at all.

http://ww2.ordercatsmeow.com/?tag=im|sm|go|gn&a_aid=011&redirectto=ww2.ordercatsmeow.com
Pandy is the only cat we have ever had who does not go outside so everything with her has been different. She has not experienced any of the things our other cats have: she has never chased a bird or eaten fresh grass or ran after a squirrel. But she is safe and alive and we love her though the 11 months she has been with us have been a learning experience.

Actually that toy looks pretty good, you need to be able to slip a few biscuits in to the ball that moves about under the mat though - so the wiser kitties don't get bored after the first shot! It could be like the laser, if they don't get a reward what's the point?  And if the cat is like Mouse they will just pull the mat up to find out what's underneath.  

  It simulates the kind of games Mouse and I play together with me moving stuff under paper , fleece or bedding: he pounces initially then sits and waits for ever watching me being daft until I get bored and stop. Never sure if he's playing with me or laughing at me. 

  

Pandy sounds like she's bright, quickly figuring out the toys and doesn't feel there's a reward. She may be an indoor only cat but could she still be hunting and chasing things on the QT?   It  usually involves sitting waiting and watching most of the time anyway so it can be hard to tell!   

Mouse spends many hours of the day laying in wait for the odd tiny little moth or insect to fly by or land on the wall so he can sneak up and pounce on them!  Until recently his biggest catch was an unfortunate bumblebee that got in through an open window. He was beside himself for ages after I confiscated that.  Then, last week he got his first sight or a real live mouse and I fear our life will never be the same. He left a trail of devastation where the chase had been. I wouldn't mind quite so much but I swear all he did each time he caught up with it was pat it with an outstretched furry paw, claws retracted, like he was stroking it and it would slip out and run away again. The saga kept being repeated until the pesty rodent got back under the fridge it had appeared from.  

  I feel really mean for instantly going and getting a plug in sonic rodent repellent and putting an 'instant kill' mouse trap behind the fridge (where there's no chance of my boy getting to it) but I have no intention of Mouse keeping pet rodents in the apartment. One Mouse is enough for me. He's still happy for now anyway, he's spending several hours a day with his ears pricked and eyes wide just in front of the fridge or at the kitchen door where he's more out of sight, just in case another furry friend comes out to play.... 

 

[sez2929]

You can buy tonnes of super expensive toys but mine just enjoy strings, fabric mice, to change things up a little cat nip is always exciting, otherwise they do like the circuit sensormatic toy, but keep it simple, my indoor cats are so happy with what they have.

 

[barbgee]

If your cat is food motivated, you might have success in keeping her amused by herself with a cat food puzzle toy.

I bought one of these

<http://www.amazon.com/KONG-Active-Treat-Ball-Cats&tag=&tag=thecatsite>

http://www.amazon.com/KONG-Active-Treat-Ball-Cats

and it took over a month for me to push and roll it around day after day until she finally "got it", and started working it herself.  I measure the food that goes into the ball as coming from part of her daily allowance, so she does have to spend some time "working" for her food.  Once she figured out how it works, however, she can now empty it in about half an hour or less.  I like giving it before bed, so she can burn some energy batting it, and she gets some food, and then settles down for a little sleep, instead of running around when I'm trying to settle down to sleep.

 

[Primula]

Unfortunately, the links you supplied do not work.

 

[barbgee]

Try this:

 

[Primula]

Thank you so much. Pandy is not that food-oriented, but I have put one in my Amazon W-L to buy for her.

What do you put in yours? Regular kibble?

 

[barbgee]

I was filling it with those Temptations cat treats, but I thought maybe it was more calories than she needed.  So then I'd mix some treats with some of her kibble.  She was eating Iam's along with wet food, but i'm moving her to Felidae or whatever it's called, because I want her to have less grains.  So I measure out kibble in the morning, and we play a little "Kibble Catch" with her in the a.m., and take some of it and fill the treat ball.  Then in the p.m., she gets the rest of the dry food, and then the treat ball as a "bedtime snack". 

Basically you can put anything fairly small and dry in there.  Pounce treats would work, too.

 

[Primula]

Thank you so much.

 

[stephiedoodle]

I've also found that cheaper toys seem to be a hit here Lilly has 3 Sisal rope mice two that have feathers for tails and one without 2 brightly colored balls with bells inside a blue and white plastic cylindrical toys with bars around the side and a plastic bell in the center. She also does nuts for toilet role and has a good bat about with my yarn balls though I do keep very close eye on this and ends are fastened down with an elastic hair tie. The cat toys also keep my 2 year old daughter occupied and at about £1-£2 a toy its worth it to wear them both out.

 

[Primula]

^Thank you so much. And hello to a fellow Brit (Brummie, me).

 

[stephiedoodle]

Hi its nice to see another brit I'm a geordie

 

[katayl88]

My male cat loves this crinkly butterfly. It's fabric with crinkly material in the wings. Not sure if it may also have catnip in it, the way he bites it. For those in the UK, it was from Pets at Home

 

[samk1]

Just get her a Turbo Track.

 

[kittycort]

I got this for Cocoa.  She loves it.
As a bed 

Lol!

 

[kittycort]

My four cats are adults..two are seniors.

Fav toys...MYLAR balls are a huge hit.Also...feathers that I collect from outside along with plastic drinking straws...I stick them part way under rugs and the cats go nuts for them.

Also popular..Yeoww brand catnip toys (has to be that brand and prefer the old ones that have been sewn back together) and one of those circular tracks with a ball inside that they bat around. Also a broken wand toy which has been taped more than once to keep it together but they prefer the old one over any new one. Oh...and the end of the wand consists of nothing now but a rubber "stub." Go figure.
I speak only the truth.