Relieving boredom

[Gillian Harvey]

Tried the drinking straws last night - they were still in exactly the same place I left them this morning. However, Millie and Molly in the other pen, had a lovely time with straws by the state of their pen this morning lol!

Put some of Sooty's treats/dry food in loo rolls, that must have kept him occupied a bit overnight, as all the treats were gone this morning, so thats something.

[Gillian Harvey]

Thanks, will try those suggestions.

I forgot to say, I did try him a couple of times in my catproofed area - but he spent the whole time looking for a way out  . I also tried him out in the main garden but he kept going up the top and annoying Chico which meant a lot of loud yowling from both of them! I decided in the end that giving him that taste of freedom was actually making things worse - so I'm not sure about a harness either because of that.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Could he wear a harness and go out for times with you in the garden?

[Tiggy's Mum]

How about popping a few drinking straws in with him, he can bat them around as and when the mood takes him and they dont take up any room. You need to check on them fairly regularly to check they're not damaged and could be eaten as Riley tends to over-chew them!

I remember you saying you had a catproofed section of your garden, could he have a short-time in that while your cats are shut in the house to give him a bit of a change? Maybe even a bit of da-bird action if that was an option.

[Liz]

I have the laser thingy from the Purrs shop and stand it on the windowsill for the clan cats inside crew for about an hour each day they love the red dot and aged vary from 5 months to 11 years and all will have a go

I also have treat balls with cat biscuits in them they are well played with, I know how hard it is to keep them occupied I put low cal treats in the treat balls or cat biscuits and they don't seem to notice

[shirleyp01]

I think even  after all this time of being in a cattery he may still remember his days of running free and finds its too restrictive being locked up all day.  I am not an expert by any means but i know from my two that they like to be out in the open air.  I hope he finds a new owner soon

[Dawn F]

I read in a vicky halls book about hiding treats in toilet rolls and tissue boxes to make them work for them, supposed to make life a bit more interesting

[Gillian Harvey]

Sooty has been with me since February    hardly a whiff of a new home for him so far and being stuck in a cattery pen all the time is taking its toll I think. Obviously there is a limit to what he can do in the small space, he chases a ball around sometimes and I play with him with a feather toy each time I go in, but he seems to lose interest half way through. Food is a big interest for him - but can't give him too many treats otherwise he'll be as big as a house when he finally leaves 

He has a multi level cat tree, but he spends most of his time either in his bed, or on the shelf looking out into the garden. He's only 7 yrs old, and lived mostly outdoors with access to a garage apparently - so this is a big change for him, to have no outdoor access and limited space.

Ideas for relieving his boredom please