Cat Amusement

OldNotWIse

I am trying to "pimp" my cat's evening enclosure with some activity centres and toys etc Looking on any of the supplier websites, activity centres are impressive but a little expensive for me at the moment. I notice that things like "cat tunnels" are around twenty euro - they're just plastic! Then I thought, Argos have loads of pop up tents/tunnels/playhouses etc for kids that are bigger, more interesting and cheaper...for their short term amusement anyway. Would these be safe to leave for them? Little b*stards will probably p1ss all over them anyway..stand still and they'll spray you Just a thought - any opinions?

Alun

In my experience, old cardboard boxes, paper carrier bags, bits of scrunched up foil and cotton reels work just as well, and have the big advantage that they're free! Basically anything they can climb on, get inside of and flick around with their paws is fair game for a cat.

OldNotWIse

Alun wrote: »

In my experience, old cardboard boxes, paper carrier bags, bits of scrunched up foil and cotton reels work just as well, and have the big advantage that they're free! Basically anything they can climb on, get inside of and flick around with their paws is fair game for a cat.

oh thanks! I never thought of any of those is the foil safe for them? I'm a bit sad when it comes to safety lol

Alun

Never had a problem with it myself, just scrunch it up really tightly into a ball. Mine just flick it around the place like mad things, and don't attempt to eat it, but if they did show signs of this it might be an idea to remove it I suppose.

Oh yes, and if you do have any old boxes, also cut a few holes in the sides like little windows .. they love it ... one gets inside and waits until the other walks by and then out comes the paw and swipes her. Great fun!

thegreatiam

spent over €150 on an order of a cat tower, tunnels, toys and other play things for my cat.
He spent 3 days jumping in and out of the empty shipping boxes.

OldNotWIse

Alun wrote: »

Never had a problem with it myself, just scrunch it up really tightly into a ball. Mine just flick it around the place like mad things, and don't attempt to eat it, but if they did show signs of this it might be an idea to remove it I suppose.

Oh yes, and if you do have any old boxes, also cut a few holes in the sides like little windows .. they love it ... one gets inside and waits until the other walks by and then out comes the paw and swipes her. Great fun!

Aw Super cute!

Alun

And if further proof is needed ...

OldNotWIse

^ the third pic is adorable. So...its boxes then Also, what r views on catnip? Mine love it and get totally twatted on it, but then I feel guilty. Its like drugging your child and watching it roll around the playpen delighted with himself lol

Alun

Our current two don't seem too bothered by it one way or another for some reason, but we had some in our garden where we lived before and the cat we had then used to roll about in it as if he was stoned.

SillyMangoX

My 3 had great craic last night with an egg carton, I put treats into the parts where the eggs go and their faces are too big to pick up the treat in their mouths so they had to figure another way to get it out, kept em amused for about an hour!

salacious crumb

Alun wrote: »

In my experience, old cardboard boxes, paper carrier bags, bits of scrunched up foil and cotton reels work just as well, and have the big advantage that they're free! Basically anything they can climb on, get inside of and flick around with their paws is fair game for a cat.

True story, our oldest cat sleeps in a 24 beer bottle box, and our second eats through one every other week...

bluecherry74

Get an empty kitchen paper roll and put something tasty in it - a bit of something sticky and smelly like tuna or sardines so it's difficult to get out.

Also ping pong balls. My cats go nuts for them.

IvySlayer

Have you tried a straw?

Laser pointer?

A scrunched up piece of paper?

OldNotWIse

IvySlayer wrote: »

Have you tried a straw?

Laser pointer?

A scrunched up piece of paper?

No

No

No



Going to buy them some ping pong balls after work.

Alun

Feathers are great too .. ours love being tickled on their tummies with them, preferably really long ones like pheasant tail feathers if you value your fingers

cuckoo

salacious crumb wrote: »

True story, our oldest cat sleeps in a 24 beer bottle box, and our second eats through one every other week...

One of my cats shreds the post all over the hall if she gets the chance. She loves election time - so many tempting leaflets coming through the letterbox!

teggers5

A cat and a paper bag!
You'll never watch tv again..

Pumpkinseeds

Our cats love a big paper bag with the handles cut off. The caps and plastic rings off milk bottles. Tin foil balls, ping pong balls, catnip. Da Bird,clock work mice, dangler toys, newspapers to roll on and poke under and running under the bedsheets:)

rannerap

For the last while my kitten has been playing with 2 straws slotted together so that they make a kind of misshapen ring. Found her with it a few minutes around her neck like a necklace

Dubl07

Airflow golf practice balls are light as a feather and the holes are just right to allow a cat to pick them up and toss them around. Hours of fun for all involved and they're available at most golf shops, not just Amazon.

OldNotWIse

Thanks for all the good ideas guys! Definitely going to try the balls, they seem great. I put a box in with them the other evening and one of them (my littlest ) just got in and sat there looking at me. So...you puts a box here...and I sits in it....now what huh? So cute.

Ambersky

My boys like to chill out in the evening playing their MeowFit android computer game. :cool:
Seamus holds the top score at the moment but both cats seem to like to take turns carefully observing both the mouse on screen and what the brother is doing, so I imagine Ben will soon catch up on his brothers score.
Seriously though they are both fascinated by it and will spend half and hour or more intently staring at the movements of the little mouse and tapping on the screen. The game does keep score of "hits".

metaoblivia

Bottlecaps. For some reason, my cats have always loved bottle caps. Coke bottles, Snapple bottles, even my medium matte bottlecap last night - they bat them around like they're hockey pucks. And yeah, balls, boxes and bags. My kitten loves to fit himself in boxes and anytime I bring home a shopping bag, he finds his way in.

salacious crumb

At the moment I've got an empty suitcase on the bedroom floor as I've been too lazy to put it in back in the attic after holidays, and my little fellah is having great fun sneaking in and out of it :pac:

OldNotWIse

salacious crumb wrote: »

At the moment I've got an empty suitcase on the bedroom floor as I've been too lazy to put it in back in the attic after holidays, and my little fellah is having great fun sneaking in and out of it :pac:

haha, mine do that if I am going away. It's a real Disney moment - "mom please take me with you!!"

salacious crumb

Oh, before we go away we get dirty looks from the cats as soon as they see the bags coming out

wnolan1992

I'm working on taming kittens at the moment and one of them loves playing with a cork from a water bottle with a thread through it. Pierce hole in cork, thread the thread through, make a little loop at the top and dangle.

It's rather amusing to see her batting it around in the air.

Noxin

Buy lots of toys / mice / balls from ZooPlus.

Keep any boxes they come in. Watch them ignore the toys and play with the boxes instead...

lubie76

You need to get 'da bird'...even the laziest of cats can't resist it as it mimics a real bird flying through the air. Mind you if they get their paws on it, they will destroy it so u prob need to stock up on refills or else hide it after playtime.

orchidsrpretty

I have spent so much money on all the gimmicky cats toys that my cats would play with for about 2 minutes before they get bored. The only good investment I made was a cat tree. They love playing and sleeping on thst.
Would recommend laser pointer, bottle caps empty boxes, toilet roll.
Cats really love the simple things in life!:)

OldNotWIse

orchidsrpretty wrote: »

I have spent so much money on all the gimmicky cats toys that my cats would play with for about 2 minutes before they get bored. The only good investment I made was a cat tree. They love playing and sleeping on thst.
Would recommend laser pointer, bottle caps empty boxes, toilet roll.
Cats really love the simple things in life!:)

Yeah I think a large, good quality cat tree is a good idea. Bought them one of those mats at the weekend - you know the ones for outside a front door that are super scratchy? And "laced" it with catnip - they were ecstatic. Also bought a cute little wooden kids chair - it's adorable. My little one got up and sat on it straight away and started batting the others from her new height!

wexie

I got a piece of elastic thread (from a pair of broken tracky bottoms), tied it to a balled up pair of old socks.

Tied the other end to a hook in the ceiling

They loved it, swiping at it, chasing it, sometimes even swinging off it.

hours of amusement both for them and us