This monster (some people insist on calling it a "cat") is my constant unwelcome companion because I've been working from home since March (thanks Covid-19!). It insists on prowling around my legs and staring at me, and seems to crave the most attention when I'm on a conference call which is obviously the least convenient time.
I don't care for the horrible creature but everyone else in the house seems to love it for some reason. For mainly selfish reasons - that is, to keep it away from me when I'm working - I'd like to give it things for entertainment, and this is where it gets difficult. We've tried giving it toys in the past; the usual things these beasts seem to like, like soft toys, things that squeak or rattle, scratching posts etc. It doesn't really seem interested unless something is covered in catnip spray. It will fight with a piece of dangled string every now and again but loses interest quickly.
So I guess it's bored, and I'm out of ideas to entertain it. I was wondering if any of you are harbouring similar little horrors, and if you've found anything that entertains them that I might not have thought of?
Ours likes the classics. I left a copy of The Brothers Karamazov (in the original Swedish) on the sofa and it kept her occupied for days.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
My cats like the toy that has a ball on a circled track that they can constantly knock around the ring. But the best toy is the one I'm guessing you least want to get: another cat. My two cats spend most of their energy chasing each other around the house.
Unagi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:45 amLaser pointer.
Yeah we've tried it. Two flaws:
1. As with most things, she doesn't give a toss about it. Shame because the potential for mirth is huge!
2. It wouldn't help my current predicament anyway since it would require interaction from me.
Ralph: You're absolutely right, the last thing I want is another spawn of Satan around here.
Our cat is 16 years old and has turned into an annoying old man. He wakes me up at 4:00 am like clockwork, won't leave me alone until I feed, him and then wakes me up around 5:30 for the hell of it. I have had to change my bedtime because of him.
He doesn't wake anyone else, or doesn't intend to. If someone else gets up, he keeps wailing until I feed him.
We tried more food right before bedtime but he'll just eat until he pukes and then wake me up at 2am.
We're considering giving him CBD.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff.
In work terms we lucked out with our cat. He has no use for humans outside of feeding time. That also means he's never going to willingly cuddle, but he generally also stays off my keyboard and away from me when I am working.
Generally, I haven't found many toys that maintain a cat's interest for a long time that don't require human manipulation. There is a toy called the cat dancer that comes with a wall mount that my cats played with on their own a bit, but after a day or two they mostly ignored it.
In my experience, their personalities are so unique that you can have completely different results with different cats. While certain things like boxes are genuinely irresistible, they're not going to occupy any of them constantly. I've had cats who have lost all interest in play once they've matured from kittens and just stare at dangled string and laser pointers stupidly (as they probably should). On the other hand, we currently have a little girl who's around eleven and is more rambunctious and goofy than she ever was, and it's taken the leaders of the household passing away to bring her fully out of her shell. She leaps up the wall after sunlight reflections, and amuses herself racing around the house in the middle of the night batting at any object she can find and and barking and yowling like a deranged puppy. A feline playmate would probably give (her back) an anxiety disorder.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:06 am
There is a toy called the cat dancer that comes with a wall mount that my cats played with on their own a bit, but after a day or two they mostly ignored it.
That's what happens with our own wretched beast. She shows interest for a day then ignores it forever.
Maybe if I spray catnip in a large circle on the floor she'll follow it around in circles for a few hours when I need to work.
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:44 am
My cats like the toy that has a ball on a circled track that they can constantly knock around the ring. But the best toy is the one I'm guessing you least want to get: another cat. My two cats spend most of their energy chasing each other around the house.
We have 3 cats.
1 of them loves loves loves this toy.
Plays with it for hours. Around and around and around......
The other 2 basically ignore it.
Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:40 am
In my experience, their personalities are so unique that you can have completely different results with different cats.
This is very true. My two cats are siblings but they have entirely different things they like playing with. Zelda loves toy mice, Loki can't be bothered with them. Loki loves playing with newspapers, Zelda ignores them. Both like the cat dancer and similar mouse/ball-on-a-string toys, but they play with them in different ways and those toys require human interaction. And some cats just don't care about playing at all and I'm not sure there's much you can do to change that, especially if it's an older cat.
hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:56 pm
try the 'concealed motion' pounce engine. i know of a cat who is completely uninterested in all other toys except this one:
That looks interesting. Hopefully the little bastard will think so too. Thanks.
I feel guilty about the little monster that's been foisted on me. The idea to buy it some live mice has crossed my mind. It didn't care one bit for that circle with the balls in a race.
My experience has been mostly the opposite. The meanest damn cat I’ve ever had was a tabby. On the flip side, the tortoiseshell I have now is pretty affectionate.
Yeah, the stick under a blanket is a good toy. But as said, every cat is different, and will like different toys.
You will try various toys until you find out what it likes. Some other suggestions, if you have hardwood floor or linoleum, try some plastic skitter type toys, roundish ring things that sort of bing around when you bat at them. Ping pong balls are also fun. One of my cats really really likes twist ties bent into loops. Puff balls are also good, large and small, those can be gently tossed, don't be surprised if they are carried around at night.
A stuffed animal with crinkly bits is good, especially the long ones, so cat can bite the head, and disembowel the entrails. its adorable really!
We have had great success with leaving package paper on the floor. Also a you can put out a folding chair and drape a blanket over it, sort of like a tiny fort.
Many cats enjoy being in positions of height, so if you have a place to put a cat tree thats good. Or cat shelves on the wall.
But kittens, which you seem to have, most kittens desire companionship and interaction. Thats just the way of it. Some of them turn into the aloof solitary lurkers, and some turn into fat lazy lap sitters, but they generally all start off as tiny balls of teeth and attention seeking.
when you get on a meeting and start talking, and there are other people talking (if you are not on a headset) , that means something interesting is happening, and the kitten has to come investigate. So if you know an important meeting is coming, and you want to be sure to be kitten free, you will need to play with the kitten before hand, to get it wore out and have a nap.
But don't fret, this hyper involved stage doesn't last forever
