Pet Lovers

[PickyCindy]

The only toy my 7 year old cat (adopted at 5) wants to play with is that red laser light.  He never knew what it was before until I introduced him to it.  He is addicted to it big time and wants to play all the time.  He will even just sit there and cry for me to play with him.  

[software]

I had a cat who would literally steal a straw out of my drink and spend the rest of the day chasing it across the floor.

I have a cat now that loves to play with me, when he's in the mood.   He likes to stalk and pounce.   

[Jaspersmom]

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@NickNack wrote:

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions.  I'll just add that if you get any of the fishing rod type toys to interactively play with your cat, make sure you put it away in a cabinet after use.  The cat could try to swallow the string and hurt himself.

I have a bird feeder outside a window for my cat to catch.  I have a cat tree set up with a shelf right in front of the window.  He loves to sit there and watch the birds.  He also has lots and lots of toys. One thing he loves is called a Tower Of Tracks.  I think I ordered it from Amazon.  Chewy has it on sale for $9.59 right now.  This is what it is.  He loves it.

He loved little stuffed toys when he was younger.  I've ordered him quite a few felt toys from Etsy that he plays with all the time.  I do play with him for a little while every day, but he keeps himself entertained, too.

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My cat's favorite toy.  So funny to watch her.

[ScenicMaine]

Hi @NickNack 

Does Sweet Henry also "cackle talk" to the birds & squirrels?  It's quite comicaL.

When my 2 were younger, they talked to them all of the time.  Recently 1 of them did & I was surprised to hear it because it's been awhile.

[NickNack]

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@ScenicMaine wrote:

Hi @NickNack 

Does Sweet Henry also "cackle talk" to the birds & squirrels?  It's quite comicaL.

When my 2 were younger, they talked to them all of the time.  Recently 1 of them did & I was surprised to hear it because it's been awhile.

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@ScenicMaine   Henry doesn't do that, but I've had other cats that did.  Henry isn't a very vocal cat.

[x Hedge]

      Q-tips!   @Pook lol!!

   Speaking of impromptu, inexpensive cat toys ...

Lol, i have a running joke with a friend who shelled out $12 for a hard plastic cat toy, and the cat managed to swat it hard enough that it flew across the room and cracked the window!

@Julie_23 , cats adore crawling into $free cardboard boxes and paper shopping bags.

Or, crumple up a sheet of stiff paper and toss it onto the floor for your cat to bat around.

 

Don't forget to give kitty the plastic screw-on tops from your empty milk bottle. (No cow's milk to cats please! They lack the enzyme to digest it.)

The oddest free thing that became a beloved cat toy was the trimmed off toe portion of a cushioning shoe insole. Trimmed the insoles to fit in my shoe, and tossed the trimmings into the garbage can.

One missed the can, and kitty pounced on it and claimed it. He pushed or carried that thing all over the house for weeks before it started to crumble and I confiscated it.

But sooner or later you'll want to spend some money on a toy. I recommend the Star Chaser- Turbo scratcher cat toy, and spend the few extra bucks for the motion activated flashing ball.

[NickNack]

I already replied about toys but wanted to mention that you need to have at least one scratching post.  I have both a vertical and horizontal.  Henry prefers the vertical one.  I have the Smart Cat Ultimate Scratching Post.  Amazon and Chewy both sell this.  It's tall enough that they can really stretch and scratch.  It's also very sturdy.  It's sisal, which cats really like.  

[manhattan1950]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Julie_23 wrote:

Hi!  Does anyone have any suggestions on entertaining cats in an effort to keep them healthy physically and emotionally?

We adopted a kitty we fostered.  She is about 3 yrs old.  

Thanks for any suggestions!

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My experience has been cats that entertain themselves by knocking over things, climbing the drapes, lounging on the stovetop, jumping on the dog, chasing imaginary things around the house, attacking the feet of anyone napping on the sofa, swinging on the tablecloth, and "fishing" in our aquarium.  

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MY experience with cats that I've had for decades DIDN'T knock over things, climb drapes, go on a stovetop, swing on a tablecloth, or attack anyone. MINE play fetch with bottle caps and catnip mice and use a cat scratcher.

[gardenman]

Both of my cats like to play what I call the mousey tail game. My toilet is just inside the bathroom door and one day my oldest was scratching at the door to get in as I sat on the toilet. I took a single sheet of toilet paper and holding it diagonally, rolled it up so the corner of the paper became the tip of a mouse tail. Sliding that back and forth under the door had my cat going gaga trying to catch it. Now whenever I go to the bathroom I end up with both cats outside the door waiting for the mousey tail to appear under the door for them to chase. It's their favorite toy/game.

[shopperqvc]

I have had cats in my house for over 40 years. Not once have I ever had a cat climbing the drapes or getting into any type of damaging mischief other than some very young kittens emptying the tissue box. They aren't desrtuctive, but they are curious and playful.

Toys that have strings or feathers can be fun for them, but when playtime is over they should be put away for safety. I took my cat to the doctor the one time and waited for awhile in the exam room. After a bit the tech came in and said the doctor wanted to know if I would reschedule. It seems the doctor had to do an emergency surgery on a kitten that had swallowed a piece of ribbon. The owner had been playing with the kitten with the ribbon and then left the room. Later when they came back the ribbon was gone. Kitty had to have surgery to remove the ribbon since it had gotten into her intestines and if not removed she wouldn't live.

My one cat claimed a bow off of a package. She really loves playing with it, and we set aside time to toss the bow and she jumps quite high to catch it. But, when playtime is done the bow goes into a toybox. I watch her to see when she wants to stop. She's older now, so we don't play as long.