Are we playing with our cat enough?

by Cheryl Bettin
(Omaha, NE)

How much playtime does my 1 year old cat, Sunny Rae, need? We just got her from the local shelter nearly 3 weeks ago. She is a very sweet and loving little girl, very busy and tons of fun! She stops moving when we do, but otherwise, she's always on the move, ready to investigate and play. Just want to be sure we are playing with enough; don't want her to get bored or depressed. I don't think her activity level is excessive or that she has any behavoir issues. I think we are just used to a little old lady of 17 yrs. that was happy to sleep most of the day. I discovered your site as I was looking for support when my husband and I were coming to terms with the fact that we would have to soon say good-bye to our beloved Gracie. Sunny Rae is her successor. She'll never top Gracie in our hearts, but we're already in love with her. Thanks for any info. or tips you can offer. You have a wonderful site!


Reply
thank you so much for your kind words. It's so good to know that my site is of use to people, that was my aim.

It sounds to me like you are doing everything right for your new cat. She will play as much as she wants too and as long as she has plenty in her home to keep her stimulated and engaged she will be fine.

Boredom comes when people pay no attention to their cat and they live in a fairly small environment with nothing to do. this does not sound like your cats life at all.

make sure you vary her toys from time to time to stop her becoming bored with them. You can alternate the toys she has available to her.

As for your play times together it sounds like you are giving her plenty. Young cats can be on the go all the time and this is completely normal. they will always find something to amuse themselves if there is plenty of different toys around.

i don't know if you have seen my cat toy pages, they may give you some ideas as to all the different sorts of toys around which help to keep cats engaged. here is the first page

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-toys.html

best wishes kate

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Thanks for your time Kate!
by: Cheryl

Thanks for your response! We have tons of cat toys, as Gracie was very spoiled, as any good cat should be. :-) We will rotate the inventory in play frequently to keep Sunny Rae amused. We work during the day, but in the evenings and weekends, we interact with her as much as possible, whether it be play or petting and cuddling.

The cat stories/poems and bereavement areas on your site were extremely helpful when we were saying good-bye to Gracie. You can count on our continued support of your site. It's one of my favorites. Thanks again, Kate!

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