How do you teach a cat how to play?
 

Melody is working out fine as far as my desire to have a nice lao cat but she doesn't play. I have this string on a stick that she plays with and that's all. Her foster Mom says she doesn't like balls, bells, anything! I love to have my lap warmed by a nice cat and to have her purr and all but I also like to play with her. Now Adora didn't play much either but I knew I could always count on her batting around a wadded up piece of paper. I just love the look of anticipation as I would tear a piece of paper because she knew what was coming. I do't know if I just haven't given her enough time to get to know us and the house or what.

I know one thing that might work is to get another cat but that is out. I would have loved to adopt both her and her sister together but her sister was adopted

How old is the cat?
If you just got her recently I'd give her a few days to settle in.

Our chubby 4 yr old male cat likes to get into paper grocery bags and then we scratch the outside for him to attack the noises.

Some are lap cats and some are loners and players I guess. Ours prefers to be petted or on our lap for only a few minutes then he is off to his own place to nap.

Until recently I always had cats and the last 3 we had for around 18 years. I had other cats at different times over the years but these 3 were with us for such a long time, and each of them was different.

One was a cuddle cat. He wanted to be petted, stroked and hugged 24 hours a day.

One cat wanted to play 24/7.... paper bags, cardboard boxes, ribbons, balls of wool....... just about anything was a toy. She would play all day long if she could.

Then there was the other cat which was so placid you could do anything you wanted with him. When he and she were younger, my daughter would dress him in dolls clothes and cart him everywhere.... in the doll's pram, in her back pack, on her bike...... anywhere! She would drape him over her shoulders or around her neck, the cat let her do anything she wanted with him.

Each cat was different, and their traits were not interchangeable.

They're all different Doydie. My daughter got a new cat last year and he's only just started to play during these past few months.

Give your little one time so you can see what her personality will be. After she settles and she'll becomes more comfortable, she may start to play a bit more, but for now.... just enjoy this gorgeous baby stage.... and don't forget we want pictures :D

When cats are nervous, they don't play.

She probably can smell your previous cat, and she is worried
this cat will appear suddenly and the play will attract her.

Cats that have been living on the street, have to learn about
homes, and develop new interests.

Weezie has specific only things she likes to play with.
She loves the twist ties, which I roll into a spiral any sharp ends folded in onto the main part --especially black ones. She will play with me for a long time with these...I throw them on a count of 3...
and she chases them squealing with delight and brings them back to me. When my son helped us install the new flat screen TV he left these back ties on floor which she found and brought them to me! She likes my emory board I keep by the computer. She is always stealing it. Also the plastic sticks that come with plants from the nursery. When she was a kitten she loved the tinkle balls, but now less so. She chooses odd things to play with...for sure! I've always wondered if she has low vision, and only likes certain things for that reason? But she does catch mice and chipmunks and birds..so she can see outside well?

When we adopted Houdini...he had never been in a house. He was afraid of tinkle balls, or boxes, or bags, etc. But slowly he has become a toy connoisseur. His favorite are plastic springs, which roll around "seemingly on their own" . I found them at
Amazon: very inexpensive too!
http://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Wide-C...9724260&sr=8-4
He loves these, and Weezie won't touch them. Now I have toys all over the house. Houdini carries them around and dumps them everywhere! Houdini was afraid of tinkle bells for a LONG time and still is leary of bell sounds.

I think you can try some quality cat nip for her. This tends to make for a playful mood. Also we find play time often comes after eating. That is when our cats run around alot.

One game they all love is "mouse under the covers". You play this by putting a cloth or towel down on the couch or floor,
and move a stick or toy mouse on a string under it. You can use your hand, but be careful if the cat is rough you will get bitten thru the towel. Do this gently making a little scritching sound --this is why I use a stick or like my bamboo backscratcher.

Basically there are 3 types of games. Birdie, mousie, and rabbit. Birdie is string on a stick or a feather on a stick etc, that moves thru the air. Mousie is under something like I described and mimics a hiding mouse, and rabbit is a chase game two cats play and wrestle and tag each other.

One store bought thing both Weezie and Houdini play with endlessly is the donut plastic circle with a ping pong ball inside that they try to catch. We've had this toy for over a decade!

This is a variant on the donut type, that I am considering for us now:
http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-Design-S...9724260&sr=8-5

I think your kitty is going to need some time to learn the other
cat is no longer there. When she feels safe, and understands the other cat will not zoom out of hiding and jump her, she will begin to play. Use a very soft encouraging tone of voice too..some cats are really afraid of loud things or loud voices.
I can whisper a call from another room and both Houdini and Weezie will come! (BTW Houdini is playing with his spring as I type this! ;) )

All cats love boxes, so try leaving a couple around, different sizes, and see if she goes in them, to hide or be safe.

Gently invite her with the string. Start slowly, and don't move quickly or tensely, slowly tease her interest with it, and use a encouraging soft tone. Cats study the "toy prey" and move slowly to catch it. So be patient and tease her and do things slowly...and she will get interested. Fast movements may startle her. This is the opposite of dogs IMO.
In our house I have words for the toys...the string is "stringywingy" The cats love funny words and it adds to the game! :rolleyes:

This photo is of Oreo, playing with an old string on the dock upNorth. Simple, and one of her favorite games. She loves any string thing.

I agree. Give her time to settle in, get used to the smells, and realize that another kitty isnt coming out.

A cardboard box is worth its weight in gold.
Anything hidden. take a mouse on a string and pull it under a blanket
wadded up paper is normally irresistible.
a laser light is usually great fun. Chase the light under the edge of things
a cardboard scratch-er box is usually great fun too.
Lay newspaper out on the floor and let her try to dive bomb to get under it.
Da-Bird! its a set of feathers on a stick that twirls and makes the same noise a real flying bird makes.
Ping Pong ball in the bathtub.
Dripping water in the bath tub draws them in from far and wide.

Cats play for about 2 to 5 mins in the early days. as kittens they play longer, and as adults their play time shortens, but they may play in frequent bouts. My 5 year old lily will only play for a few minutes with toys, and then she lays down and wants to be brushed. Jack is just re-learning how to play.

Best advice is to brush her. Get her used to her feet being touched so you can trim her claws. This way she will not want to sharpen them on your couch.

I agree.....cardboard boxes are the best. I get alot of deliveries (mostly cat food!) but there's always a cardboard box to play in once I open the package.....and my cats know this.

Give her some time. It might take several months but give her a chance. New smells, new noises.....cats have very sensitive noses and ears. Anything "new" will cause her to have to investigate it and determine that its not a threat to her.

I'd start keeping a notebook of what she does each day. Then, in a few months re-read it and see how far she's come! :)

I love this thread... can't ya tell? LOL

I have an old basket, that is 15in across that I put the cat toys, catnip, etc in when I do get going to collect them all.

At Xmas WalMart had 75% off a cat stocking with toys from China.(this made it around $1.50!) A few I thought were unsafe so I threw those away.
But the rest I left in the stocking, and tossed it into the basket.
I was thinking I'd bring one out on days they seemed bored.

But what happened instead? One morning I caught them both
studying the basket so I went to look and sure enough one of them (probably Houdini) had already managed to get some toys out for themselves! They were so much fun to watch. Houdini and Weezie seem to have formed a nice duo now and worked cooperatively on this project. I am now going to keep the see thru stocking and restock it myself with new things, to keep their interest.

I also found at Joann's fabrics, in their Xmas sale bins, 90% off, a pair of cute baby socks...they were in the basket too. I plan on stuffing them with cotton laced with catnip and stitching up the opening, but they ended up a plaything already. 10 cents...not bad!


BTW I haven't found my emory board yet! ;) It is distinctive as the wider end is chewed up. Maybe it is a nice way to clean cat's teeth? LOL

My cats love emery boards, too! They seem to like the smell. If I'm using one they will come out of hiding to find it! I have to use it quickly because they try and take it away from me while I'm still using it!

I have to hide my emery boards. They will file down their teeth if I dont watch um.

Mine too have a toy box. I gather all the toys on vacuum day and put them in a box. Cats like it when you rotate their toys. I have several hidden in the closet, and rotate from that stock. Something that never got played with anymore, six months ago, all of a sudden is magic again! For some reason mine like socks as well. I slap them with the sock and drag it over them. After a couple of whacks its irresistible to not attack it. Finger or feet under the blanket is another good game. I miss how my 24 y/o would jump on the bed when it was time to make it, just to play. I miss her.

Remember you dont have to entertain her all day everyday. it will stress her out if you constantly wave toys in her face all day. Let her pick her times, then look at the clock. Usually 5 mins is a good limit. If she is still playful, grab the brush and let her have some loving time. Then back up and let her find out for herself whats in the pile.

She may miss her mate, but she will get used to it. I promise.

Socks yes a good thing here too!

Houdini really missed sleeping with his siblings and mother.
He kept trying to snuggle with Weez and she would have NO part of that.

So I made him sock buddies. I made the first socks stuffing for Weezie's crocheted bed which kept collapsing. I got the idea
for Houdini to expand the stuffed socks as buddies in his cat bed, and cat bookcase shelf. I have so many socks, most are my son's in a drawer in his old room, so I raid that and take a long tube sock and stuff it with others. We have one that is a wrestle toy called the biteybite. I use this word for them safe to claw and bite. We now have 8 sock buddies in various job applications now in the house. When I look in on Houdini in the studio--a South facing room with alot of sun, he is sleeping with his chin on a sock buddy and looks so satisfied and comfy.

My cats like the toys they can "hug", too. I've caught Panda sleeping with one of these toys (see link below) wrapped in her arms and her little chin resting on the side of it. It's so cute.....and she seems to like having something close to her when she sleeps. If it's not one of these toys....then it's me! ;)

http://www.petco.com/product/110291/...pplies_CatToys

Yes, we have a white/black zebra one like that.

The cats really like the socks better, for some reason? :confused:

I use the sock buddies mostly for sleeping places.
If we put the zebra one on the main cat tree, Houdini throws it off. He also throws off Big Beaver (the puppet we use to wrestle with). He definitely wants total possession of that climbing tree!

While I was on Amazon this morning... I found THIS:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

When we give catnip they spill it all over roll in it and make a huge mess. This nice scratcher thingey looks like it would work
for the catnip spot, and also the cats on Amazon seem to like it in the comments for other activities. So I am going to get this today,
and defer the other tube toy (which we don't "really" need at this time). Soon will be Houdini's outdoor introduction, not long now right after we have his neuter operation. (maybe in 2 weeks). He gets his CORE 3 rd vaccine shot Fri and I will make the operation appointment for him then after I talk to the Vet.
Once he goes outside, I don't think indoor toys are going to matter much to him anymore!

I need some other things from Amazon so we will qualify for free shipping.;)

playtime teaching!
 

I got sammy from someone who did not engage him in any activity. He is going on three years old, and had no play time. we found he loves catnip! The fresh where it is grown is the best. We put it inside a ball, and he bats it all around the house trying to get at the catnip. An old sock works too. Put the sock at the end of a stink and stick, and you may have a jumping kitty! This started the idea of play. After this, I dumped my clean wash on top of him, and played "where's sammy?" eventually he got it, that this was fun to do. Now we play that while I make the bed, fold wash, open boxes, or christmans wrapping piled on top of him For Christmas we had a cat wrapped up with bows and ribbons dragging behind. He still needs active encouragement to play by himself, but at least now, he engages with us on a regular basis. good luck with your new kitty, and I hope you have lots of fun in the future. Home depot carries cat nip, as do growers. I sprouted my own this winter in the garage with seeds. Not hard to do! ginnie

My cat has that exact toy, and LOVES it. he wraps around it and kicks it to shreds. Then he snorts and drools on it.

The Rabbit Game.
 

I had a cat "PURRFECT" that liked to play games WITH ME!

It liked to "go outside" to go. It did not like the "cat box". So it would act very frustrated and play very roughly with its toys when it wanted out.

One time it tossed a toy rabbit way up in the air and I immediately leaped out my chair and ran to the door and let Purrfect out.

The next day I put the toy rabbit in the same place and sure enough "Purrfect" tossed it way up in the air and then he immediately looked at me and I again leaped out of my chair and ran to let him out.

The game part comes when I put the rabbit in different rooms and locations in the rooms. The poor cat would find it and throw it in the air in "the other room" and then come and look/stare at me.

The cat knew that the toys name was "rabbit". It took a while but I convinced "Purrfect" to find the rabbit and bring it into the room where I was and then to throw it into the air.

The FUN part was that I would then HIDE the rabbit and make him find it and bring it to where I was and again throw it into the air.

I was forced to only have about 6 locations because it just could not/would not do an extensive search of the whole house.

It would check each location to get the rabbit once I hide it. The darn cat would "talk" to me and really carry on something fierce if I did not follow the rules.

It made me teach it other games. I guess this is just part of the problems of being retired with a lot of time on my hands.

jackD

p.s. I had a minor in psychology in college. My major was Sociology. I always wondered what I would do with that degree.

Thanks for all these wonderful replys. It seems like there are many different kinds of cats. It makes sense that all of us humans have different personalities so animals do to. I think my little Melody just needs to get used to the house. Like right now I am in my office and she is sitting on the floor just watching me. So I get out of my chair, sit on the floor and try to play with her. She lets me rub her belly and she does this side winder snake kind of movement across the floor. I guess that's a sign that she likes it. But there aren't any games I have found. My fabric on a stick that Adora loved to play with Melody loves to chew on it and eat the fabric. Si that is out. Last night I did hear her rolling an empty toilet paper roll on the floor. She jsut spends most of her time sleeping.

I don't think she is intimidated at all by Adoras smells. Adora had two chairs that she would pee in, my husbands and my youngest daughters. We tried our best to clean them and put anti odor spray on them. The one my daughter sat in is right by the sliding glass door out to the deck. That is Melodies favorie place to sit in the sun. So I guess she doesn't mind that she may be sitting in another cats pee.

@Jack: that is really unique and funny! Our cat Oreo says
ooooouuuuuu ooouuuu at the door. The only place she makes this sound. Only thing missing is the "t"

@doydie

It is not just the pee smell....

Cats have scent glands on their feet, and chins. When they rub
their face on objects, they are leaving a "mark" on them. Your late cat has left many "marks" I'd expect. Everyplace your late kitty walked and sat will have her paw scent on it. It is impossible to remove it all. I replaced all bedding of Sheba and Tippy, when they died (it was old anyway). This helped Weezie and Houdini accept our home faster. They don't sit in the same places either.
Washable covers are handy. I have old cotton white diapers, I saved from when our son was an infant, and I use old towels and wash those. This eliminates some of the old scents from our elderly late cats. When Weez was tiny she had a towel she always slept on, on the couch next to me.
Houdini has been very picky about his spots too.

Here is a short article to explain communication:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_communication

When we go upNorth, our cats check out the house minutely looking for the late great Aunt's Siamese (long gone). Still after 10 yrs!

Watch her eyes. Fear responses, or some types of excitement (like play/stalking),
result in pupil dilation. A cat with constantly dilated pupils is not resting/relaxed unless the room is very dark.
Also cats have complex sensation with whiskers, doing dangling things too close to their face stirs the air which the whiskers register and confuses them.
http://www.petside.com/article/every...t-cat-whiskers
There was a show on cable, I think A &E once that explained how air currents around the whiskers, enable a cat to sense objects in the dark. So this is why cats don't like windy days, and don't respond well to close in the face movement of toys.
When I use the stick with string/feathers, I make it hop up and down and other ways across the room at least 3-4 ft away, so the kitty can sense it better and jump for it. Cats are nearsighted you know, and there are areas they can't see:

http://manhattancats.com/Articles/eyes.html
most people don't know this. 20/200 is rather difficult. For us 20/200 is no driving etc.

If she likes the empty toilet roll cardboard, I bet she would like
the springs. They are only 4 bucks and free shipping for 10 of them. You can also make spirals out of long twist-ems (fold the ends in so no sharp part is exposed), or pipe cleaners (fold the ends in too), the soft cotton ones(not the prickly ones). Our old past cats loved the pipe cleaners, but now with the rolling springs, our young ones disdain the old pipecleaners!

This toy is also fun, and the same principle as the springs. It is available at Petco and other stores locally: These tend to get lost however quickly whereas the springs do not for us for some reason:
http://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Looney.../dp/B00025YVPI

Both of these spring toys seem to move with inertia and mimic the random movements mice make I guess. We have an area in our old house where the floor of the living room is slightly higher than the dining room. It was built that way...Houdini has learned to put a spring on the high spot and watch it roll down and then he catches it. My husband's father used to push toy cars down that same slope...lots of family stories about it. Now Houdini is taking advantage of it! LOL

If she is playing with the empty toilet paper roll, she wants to play.

Jack is just relearning how to play. He LOVES my socks. I take one and swat him with it a couple of times, and then, the fight is on! he is determined to catch it and chew on it.

He also loves to lay down on those cardboard scratchers and sleep. I guess it really bounces heat back at them.

Woke last night to him spread out full length next to me in bed. he hasnt done that in at least a year. he must be feeling better.

Hi Jack
 

wonderful cat story. Very smart cat! loved hearing about it. ginnie

What a delightful thread! Cats are so funny, aren't they?

I just visited my DD's place in AZ. Her all-white kitty, Casper, plays fetch with soft little balls that bounce. When my daughter throws the ball at a wall, the kitty makes a mad dash down the hall to capture it while its still, errr, "alive."

He loves to anticipate where it might go, and often leaps to catch it on the rebound in mid-flight. Then he casually saunters back with the ball in his mouth and drops it close to you. If it happens to roll so that it is out of your reach, that's not HIS problem! He's done his part! :D It is up to YOU to retrieve it!

Casper is less than 1 year old and, until about a month ago, would bring birds in through the doggie door for all to admire. Sometimes this would happen very early in the a.m. and the family would awake to a sparrow frantically flying around the kitchen! :eek:

That is a cute story, Twink!
Caspar sounds like Weezie! She fetches like mad, only she
does it with black twist-em ties! Sometimes other colors too.
I found a metallic one yesterday and showed her and got a BIG
SQUEAL of delight! Bling Bling!

There is a toy called the ZipShot...it shoots soft discs. Available at Amazon.com
Our cats also love it, esp, Houdini. He is only 6mos old.
Oreo loved it back when she was younger. But she is also now
reliving her kitten days, with Houdini and the discs. Weezie is still watching.. they are too fast for her we think. We shoot it into a corner so it can rebound around. Houdini catches them now in mid air, and then carries the discs around the house!

Some cats are fetchers, and some not. We've only had one other cat many decades ago who fetched. Weezie fetches 100%.
Houdini watches her, but still only brings back the discs 1 in 5.
Weez only fetches her twist-ems. But upNorth last summer she caught a frog at 2am and brought it into the bedroom...it was screaming an awful sound and woke us up. I didn't know frogs screamed!I had to net him and take him back to the lake. We keep a net handy (like a butterfly net) because Oreo brings in live things too. Sometimes Oreo takes her prey to the bathtub!
ick ick.

I didn't know frogs screamed, either! LOLOL!!!

What funny kitties! :)

That zip-shooter toy looks like fun! TYVM MrsD!

casper
 

Casper sounds like a really great fun kitty. I go to bed each night with Sammy purring loudly in my ear. He likes to be by my head. sometimes he beats me in the head with his tail. Cats are awsome. Keep having fun with casper. We should continue telling good cat stories here. Remember that tune "I'm going to get me some kibbles and bits"? he runs to that tune, and waddles a bit when he does! ginnie

Melody is more playful each day, running at break neck speed down the hall, batting around whatever she can find on the floor. She still hasn't found a place to sleep at night, I have left my door open but she goes to my husbands room. I don't know if she doesn't like my sound machine or not. Adora spent major time on my bed so I feel that is what it is. I bought a new pillow and have laid her on it while I am using mine but she immediately leaves. We are moving forward!!!!!

Rocky says "ma ma" when he is desperate. We were gone for six nights for a vacation and then soon after, DH had surgery and I was gone for a night with him at the hospital. Rocky sat on the bed and said "Ma Ma (in a mournful way) when I got home the next morning.

Rocky also fetches. If you throw a Q tip he will fetch it so you'll throw it again. He expects you to play the game on his terms though. :cool:

Daisy our younger cat will play with any little thing. She will also take earrings, rings and jewelry from my container in the bathroom so we keep that door shut now. :rolleyes:

You'll find your play routine soon enough. I'm glad your new kitty is settling in. :)

When DH and I had 2 kitties, they played with each other a lot. But they would bat at anything you threw in their path.

I would sometimes have a martini at night over ice with an olive or two. If I went to bed and left the glass with the olives still in it, in the morning, the olives would be on the floor with tiny little teeth marks all over them..not eaten but chewed.:D