# Entertainment for intelligent cats any suggestions?



## ginalee (Jul 29, 2008)

My cat, Jessica is a little over a year old. She's incredibly smart and often is bored because I think she just figures things out too quickly and then wants a new challenge. Her brother will play with a toy for weeks and she will play with the same toy for 2-3 days and then she doesn't bother with it anymore. Her favorite game is "Hide the Mouse". She often will bring a toy mouse to me and drop it on my hand. I started hiding it for her and she seems to really like that, but as soon as I start repeating hiding spots, she gets bored. We've played this game for up to 2 hours at a time. Other games that she is bored with:

The ball in the circle toy - http://www.cattoys.com/cheesechasetoy.html
she still plays with it once in a while, but only for a few minutes

Feathers on a stick or string toys (no interest)

Toys on bungee strings (she chews the string in half in about 2 minutes and ruins it for her brother)

Laser pointer (she could care less about it)

Balls (no interest)

Fake mice (she still likes these, but you have to be creative and she gets bored with them quickly)

I've never had a cat that was so hard to please, but I'm determined!

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Make her work for her food, or for treats if you're feeding wet. Some ways to do that:

- hide the food or treats around your place

- treat balls (they're a hollow ball with a hole - you put treats inside and the cat has to roll it around to get the treats out)

- some takeoffs on treat balls: treat boxes, treat cups, treat jars, treat bags ( the treats are inside and the cat has to get them out)

- once your cat has those figured out, make it harder - put the treat in a box that has the flaps loosely closed; put the treats under a paper cup; put the treat ball _inside_ the box or a cup so it has to be removed before it can be rolled, put the treats inside something that has to be tipped over to get the treats out, etc etc

- have your cat chase after treats - toss them so they skitter along the floor

- teach your cat to do tricks for treats - that deserves a whole thread of its own. 

Don't get into a rut with any of the above. Vary the challenges so your cat has to do some problem-solving.


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## Lou&Ko (Jul 18, 2008)

Have you tried getting a cat dvd? we got one kind of as a joke - didn't really think it would work, and BOTH of my girls were all about it....checking behind the tv that the bird or squirrel wasn't really right there...worth a try?


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

Clicker training  (if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about I can give some more info)

I also suggest rotating toys every few weeks so old toys become new again.

She might like something like this: Prize Toy Maze

or maybe make your own toys. If you can use cardboard to make a maze (a cardboard base and then pieces of cardboard as walls in the maze) and put a ball in it that she has to roll our of the maze she might like it. start with something simple so you can make sure she likes it before you go big and complicated.

And I agree with all the feeding ideas if you feed any dry food.

Edited by doodlebug to make the link a reasonable size.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

A cardboard box with some holes cut in it is just as much fun for cats and a whole lot easier on your credit card account.


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## Smirkitty (Apr 19, 2008)

coaster said:


> A cardboard box with some holes cut in it is just as much fun for cats and a whole lot easier on your credit card account.


As can sturdy paper bags.
Wads of paper rolled across the floor (at one time I had 8 cats and hardwood floors, we would play "soccer" in the dinning room pretty regularly, was great fun!)
The cardboard roll from paper towels hidden (and moved around) under a blanket or towel.
Rings from milk jugs.
The cap to a water bottle (if it isn't too small)


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Our kitty loves drinking straws, my guess is they are somewhat like feathers - hollow shaft, nice and chomp-able. We bought a big cheap box of straws, and Gracie likes to hide them under the edge of the rugs and then pounce on them...

We also toss balls into the bathtub - she likes to leap in and chase them as they roll up the walls of the tub and go round with centrifugal force.

At first, she didn't like fishing type toys - things on elastic with sticks which the person holds, but we have found a few that are good, and we also have learned to mimic prey animals better. Her absolute favorite is now this cat wand - the mouse has such a well-designed spring attachment that it completely behaves like a frantic rodent, Gracie gets so into it that she growls at us when we try to continue the game by taking the mouse away from her...

http://www.thecatconnection.com/page/TCC/PROD/8227 

Mostly, though, we try to maintain a lot of variety. I am always looking for inexpensive but safe-looking toys for Gracie - watch for dyes that can come off, paint which may have lead in it (i.e. careful if made in China), aim for feathers in natural colors instead of bright fake colors...

Lots of luck! The more stuff you find to amuse her, the brighter and more interactive she'll be - it's just like enriching your kids' lives....

 Fran


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

[Sorry - double post!]


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## Linus&friends (Mar 24, 2008)

I know it sounds simple, but have you tried screwed-up balls of paper? My cat, Linus, is pretty smart too -- it took him about a day to figure out the ball on the dangly string was attached to a stick, and from then on he was only interested in trapping the stick! But he loves paper balls! We have different "games" with them: throwing them high so he has to leap up & catch them mid-air; flicking them across the (tiled) kitchen floor to chase; or just flicking them at him while he's lying down so he can catch them (lazily) with his paw. He also likes retrieving paper balls now & again :lol: You may have already tried this, though!


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