Cats and kittens have a need to play. While cats and kittens often sleep, they do have moments where they need to play, have the “zoomies,” or need something to keep them from destroying the things in your house. Having toys and other things to keep your cats engaged and playful is a great way to help your new cat and kitten adjust to your home, adjust to you, and not destroy your grandmother’s legacy quilt.
One thing to note is that if you own a cat or kitten do not let them play outside unless you have a specific outdoor structure for them, they are on a harness, or they have been trained to stay within a certain area. Cats who are outdoor/indoor have a much shorter lifespan than those who are indoor with supervised outdoor activity. Training on a harness will be addressed in a later blog.
All felines have a inherent need to hunt and they love sunny, warm places. Putting a sun catcher in a window is a great way to entertain a cat. As the sun shines through the class or glass beads and reflects on the floors and walls of your home, most felines will chase it until the sun moves and is no longer reflecting, or until they exhaust themselves. Hanging a birdhouse outside of a window is another way to help them feel as if they are using their hunting skills on trying to figure out how to catch the birds using the bird feeder or birdhouse.
If you have a job that takes you out of the house, cat TV is great to have on and there are programs that are several hours long. Of course, one thing to think about is if your television is stable in case the cat jumps on or at it. Another great toy is a laser toy that has a time limit and will turn itself on and off after certain amounts of time. One of our volunteers has a laser toy that is adjustable, so the time can be short (5 minutes) or longer (20 minutes). The toy will turn itself off and then after an hour it will turn itself back on. The great thing about the toy is that it also is rechargeable, so not batteries. There is also the jumping fish, that lasts for several days and will jump around when cats touch certain parts of it. The fish toy is also rechargeable.
Having several scratching posts will help keep a cat from scratching on your furniture. Also, make sure to have several toys available in case the cat suddenly gets the zoomies, which is when they will need something to play with and release that energy on.
Meet Poppy! This sweet boy is a little shy at first, but was the first one of his litter to start bossing the foster mom around at meal time! He loves snuggles and when picked up he sometimes snuggles himself with his head resting on your shoulder. He would love to be adopted with another kitten as he loves to play with his foster siblings, especially Morticia.
