The 3 tiered cat toy with 3 balls:
 

Well, we now have THREE various cat toys with tracks/balls.

The first one we bought years ago (the light blue plastic one in a photo I am including) Which is a simple circle and has been the mainstay favorite for many of our cats. Weezie still plays with it sometimes.

The second is a track you assemble that has a heavy ball they can push around. We bought this in 2 parts and connected them, from Amazon.

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So I found this on FB and decided it would be fun for Maya and Weezie.... a 3 tiered toy...

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It came yesterday so I added it to our collection ;)

Here are some photos.
These are taken near the other two, along with the very popular papers. We move the papers off the Catit long track, but they move them back overnight to cover part of the track. They like it best that way.:o
A short play time today ended up with Maya zooming under the papers to break Weezie's stalking attention on the balls. The papers always seem to win. ;)

Thanks mrsD.

I will see if any equivalents are available here - anything which helps to keep my two entertained is a bonus ;).

Hubby decided to put a small bit of our freshly grown catnip on the middle tier. Seems the cats don't like the odor of the plastic ...but they are still playing with it some.

Yesterday Weezie zoomed in from lunch and lay on her side and did a 4 paw attack. Front 2 to move the balls and rear paws to push them back to her.

She sometimes does 4 paw treading on Hubby too.

Our cats are 4 and 5 yrs old. They are a bit hesitant to work the new toy together...some form of cat etiquette? I think younger cats would play more together with this toy.

It will be a long winter with cold temps and both indoors so I am hoping this gets lots of action. I think this will fit inside the Catit long track so I will slowly move it over to there.;)

Thanks mrsD :).

I can relate to 4 paw treading...

Thanks for the idea about catnip - when I get an equivalent I will get some - hope that it will help my two to play nicely together :rolleyes:.

We have noticed that kittens don't respond to catnip much... they have to be adults. Maya (age 4) even as an adult is only modestly affected by catnip.

However, Weezie is quite habituated to it...and asks for it daily if we don't offer it. There seems to be a variation to catnip response in our home, over the years. They play alot and chase each other after a catnip splurge. I put it in a large paper grocery bag, to keep the mess down, and this also concentrates the vapors. I grow my own in a very deep planter/urn outside, and can get 3 crops of bushy plant....by cutting it back every month or so leaving 4 leaves behind. I then dry it upside down, in a paper bag, and then put the leaves (throw out the stems), in an air tight jar or ziploc plastic baggie. When I give it to them I rub the leaves between my fingers to release the scent and oil for them. This works better for us, because the soil in the planter is better than that in our yard! Catnip grows best in partial sun and good moisture.

How on earth did I miss this thread!!??? :o

I'm going to get Miss Panda one of the tiered cat toys. She tends to get very excited and I'm concerned she may hurt herself the way she bolts around and skids on the wood floor. She slammed into a closed closet door at the end of the hall a couple of days ago and I know it had to hurt her hip. She was playing with her mouse toy we call "baby". All I have to say is "where's baby" and she's off looking for it. :p

I think something like this will be good for her. Enough play to keep her interested and safer in that she doesn't have to gallop through the house. Honestly, she sounds like a horse when she starts running around at full speed. She has no fear. :rolleyes:

Here she is resting on her heating pad. She's so spoiled! :o

Kitty, that is a lovely pic of Miss Panda :).

I hope that the toys work for her.

Maya does that zooming around thing too. We call it the "maddies". LOL

Panda looks so much like our late Oreo. I still miss her... sigh

When there is alot of Maya zooming, I try to play with her more. Usually it only takes 15 minutes or so for her to discharge her hunting instincts. A string game usually works for her. Weezie also gets tense but not really as much as Maya.
Maya came from a feral colony and I guess she is just a higher strung kitty. Weezie is more phlematic. ;)

Panda's "spazzy kitty time" is usually around 5 PM. I can see it in her eyes and body language when she's gearing up to spaz out.

She gets very wide-eyed and sits crouched and close to the floor. All I have to do is whisper "get it Panda" and she's off and running. I don't do that much anymore because she isn't careful about slowing down when she rounds a corner. I'm really concerned she's going to break something (like a bone.) :eek:

I've ordered the three-tiered cat toy and it should be here tomorrow. I hope she likes it.

Now that it is getting past Autumn and winter is approaching, Weezie is playing more and more with her cat ball track (Catit Senses), since she is inside more.

She has dragged her large paper over to it and covered it up. She then lies on top of the paper waiting for the ball to move slightly
and make a noise. Catit Senses make light up balls, with motion sensers in them, and I thought this might shine thru the paper some at night when she is playing there. So I ordered them from Amazon today. They are not expensive, only about $6.00 for a pack of two of them.

Many years ago I read a magazine called Cat Fancy. It had a story in it about cat "games", and explained 3 major play styles for kitties.

1) mouse--- This is where you create movement under cover, of a cloth, sheet or thin blanket or newspaper, and the cat then pounces on it. Many people discover their kittens attacking their feet and toes under the bed covers!

2) bird--- the toys with long plastic or graphite sticks with feathers or small toys/strings etc tied on the ends, can simulate birds flying around, and satisfy this hunting instinct. This was Maya's first toy when we got her ... she really loved it.

3) rabbit--- this is played with 2 cats, or a cat and a pet friend...it is the hide, jump out and surprise, and chase the other all over. When very vigorous, we call this having "the maddies". In our home sometimes this becomes a "rumble" as my husband calls it.