# Mental stimulation games



## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Prince is hard to please, he gets bored very easily and needs lots of mental stimulation. This is why I take him to the garden downstairs every day for an hour and a half. But it's often not enough, and since he won't play by himself and has gotten bored of DaBird (only toy that ever caught his attention), I'm in a real problem here. Googling I found an interesting idea (by coincidence, it was posted by Susan in Catforum a year ago), and it indeed caught his attention for like half an hour, a huge success. But I'll be happy if others have more ideas, because I need to rotate games. I'm going to put DaBird away for a few months now.

What I did, based on Susan's idea:

I went to the warehouse of the supermarket where I'm a patron and asked to choose a cardboard box suitable for my cat. I found one with round holes on the sides, the very size of Prince's paws. I removed one side of the box (one of the 2 short sides), through which I push the wands, making them poke their heads through the holes for a split second and back in again. I also use the handle of a brown tote bag, which looks very much like a mouse tail. Big hit. Tomorrow I'll make holes in the top of the box too.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

I'm also trying to find some more stimulating games for Milky. So far he's enjoying playing with any toys that resembles mice the most, playing fetch (he sometimes asks me to play with him as he'll dump the mouse in front of me and wait for me to throw it across the room!), tote bags/plastic bags (he loves jumping on them to make a crinkling sound), crumpled up balls of paper, and finally ribbons. The only thing he doesn't seem to bet bored of so far are the mice, which he's played with since he came home. Everything else only seems to get his attention for several minutes...

Any new ideas??


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## WhisperingWind56 (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm not sure what it's called, but the toy pictured below has given my cats hours of fun. It has two balls, one sandwiched between the upper and lower section, and then holes on top that the kitties can reach into. There is also a toy perched on top. They love to spin that ball. Sometimes they'll get on each side of it and bat the ball back and forth between them.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

My cat's favorite game is with his laundry hamper (it was mine, but he became so obsessed with it that I just gave it to him). I cut a whole in the bottom of it and hold it up in the air. I dangle some sort of toy (usually his Wubba) at the opening at the top and he jumps through the hamper to get to the toy. He thinks the toy is the one trying to take his hamper away, so he beats up his wubba awhile. When he's bored of that, we play a hamper game similar to what bull fighters do. Also, anything I can do that makes him jump he enjoys. He loves jumping.


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## BT1 (May 11, 2010)

I suppose you can't really do that, though, if your cat is not obsessed with a hamper.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

My kitties are getting the Nina Ottoson dogbrick toy for Christmas. There are tons of mini training games I can make up for them while they learn how to play the game. Once they've mastered it I'll likely pick up another one. 

I like to hide things from them or wrap up treats or toys while they watch and let them figure out how to get the treats. Small paper bags or even leftover blank newsprint weight paper rolled up. Or small boxes. Sometimes I add the challenge of the box inside something else or wrapped up in paper. Since they like this sort of thing (Apple in particular) I thought the Nina Ottoson toys would be a good fit. I can't wait for Xmas morning!!!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I bought this for MowMow last year and quite liked it. I would put a handful of treats in it at bedtime (it used to be his most active time) and he would spend time digging them all out, after food groom and come to bed instead of disrupting the entire apartment complex. It took him about 3 days to figure out how to shuffle the disks around and even after he figured out the toy he would still shuffle the disks hoping he missed something. The second side was more challenging for some reason. He never did figure out how to move the little dowels out of the way to fish food out but if i put treats in the chamber with the ball he would spin the ball around and fish the treats out.

Shephered Book has been working on the toy for about....3 months now and he's not figured out ANY of it. I'm not sure if it's 'cause he's a baby or if he is just...... well, we love him anyway....


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

WhisperingWind56 said:


> I'm not sure what it's called, but the toy pictured below has given my cats hours of fun. It has two balls, one sandwiched between the upper and lower section, and then holes on top that the kitties can reach into. There is also a toy perched on top. They love to spin that ball. Sometimes they'll get on each side of it and bat the ball back and forth between them.


Mia has this toy too. She has had it for about 5 months now and still has not tired of it. I got mine at Wal_Mart for $11.88. They are still this price as I saw it yesterday while looking for cat toys. She's so spoiled! :kittyturn


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

MowMow said:


> I bought this for MowMow last year....


Oops, by "THIS" I meant WARE Kit-E-Quiz Interactive Cat Game at PETCO


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Yayhappens - I will certainly try the handle attached to DaBird. Prince doesn't like any toys for solo playing, only interactive wands. Could you explain a bit more in detail the idea of the box?

For treats, the only activity Prince is willing to do is sit by the cupboard and whine pitifully like when he was a starved stray. He needs mental stimulation, but anything a bit complex is readily dropped. Life's too short to complicate it - is his motto. He's still fascinated with the box with the holes, though.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

Oh that looks like fun, Krissy! I've tucked that in my bookmarks of gift options for when my Mom asks what they might like. lol


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

I am definitely glad I got the plastic one then. I am a big worrier about splinters with wood in tiny itty bitty gums.

Christmas morning will be so fun!


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Yayhappens, thank you. I was so lucky to find the first box I saw, it has holes in the sides and on one side it has a rectangular opening about half an inch from the bottom, through which Prince watches the action inside the box as I move the wand to try to poke it through the round holes. He's still loving this game. I plan to grab a much bigger box tomorrow and make lots of holes and rectangles like you mention.


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

Great thread guys! I was just looking for tips how to entertain my younger cat Nemo. Unfortunaly for us, he's a smart one. No, he can't spell "Mississippi" or operate the coffee maker, but he's learned how to open doors by pulling the handdle and loves to play catch. He also steals stuff (Accorging to him, they are only new cat toys, but I call them hairpins and jewelry). I hope some new interactive toys would keep him occupied during the day and decreace the stealing. He also has a playmate, but I'm affaid the other cat just isn't enough to hyperactive Siamese .

I've been a little skeptic about the peek-a-poo toys with ever spinning ball like in Whisperinthewind56s picture, but if they work so well with so many cats, I might try them. They are not that expensive. I just thought, it might be fustrating to chase a ball you never catch .

I also like the idea of the Ware Kit-E-QuiZ MowMow mentioned, as Nemo loves to move thing and is realy into food and tearts (any kind of food really). Has anyone other experience of cat puzzles like that?


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

Jack likes this one from walgreens. Got it for $10










the dogs have also started shuffling the disks about looking for treats

I also got the round toy with the 2 balls to bat in circles. The ball in the ring tweets like a bird and drives Gypsy nuts. She loves any toy that has feathers or chirps. Mice are just ok with her.


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

Nemo plays fetch, not catch. I never should try to write English when tired .


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

Viljaana said:


> I just thought, it might be fustrating to chase a ball you never catch .


get the one that tweets like a bird if you don't mind the constant noise, but then you have a Siamese so I think you are used to it by now. Every time it tweets all my cats just HAVE to go look just in case a bird got into the house..And Gypsy likes to run through the room give it a few smacks to set it off then take off again.


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