"I’m Bored with My Toys” —The Cat

You may know this scenario: Playing with your cat used to be a piece of cake. You’d pick up a toy, any toy, and toss it along the floor. Kitty would chase after the toy, swat it, pounce on it, and generally amuse himself. He and you would get a lot out of one throw. But these days, you get much more exercise than kitty when you try to initiate playtime. You repeatedly throw the catnip mouse and fetch it, while kitty watches. What happened to the fun times?

Why is Kitty Playing Less?

There are a number of possible factors that could diminish your cat’s interest in playing:

• If the interest has declined rapidly, there could be an underlying medical problem. So the first step in this case would be to consult your veterinarian.
• It is also possible that a cat will be reluctant to play if he is depressed or chronically stressed. Usually there are other things going on that are causing this, so those need to be addressed. But note that playing is very often part of the therapy for restoring normalcy; play can be a wonderfully effective way of boosting a cat’s mood and confidence.
• If kitty’s enthusiasm for play has gone down gradually over the years, that could be a normal function of getting older. Or it could indicate boredom with the same old routine. Fear not—there are many ways you can rekindle your cat’s interest in playing, even if you have to take the activity level down a notch for your older or “couch potato” cat.

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