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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / September 2005not interested in cat tree?
Hi, my kitten is really not interested in any toy unless I am there to fling it around. His favorite is the grey fur mouse on a string that looked more realistic. I would very rarely catch him playing with a feathered toy, and he will not touch any of those fake dolls with unnatural colors. At first I got him a 3 story condo and he would almost never go in or on top of it unless he was chasing the toy mouse. I now bought a 7 ft tall cat tree with multiple sisal posts, he might use it to stretch out but he would never go up to the platforms or the condos up there. He is not interested at all. I think he is not fond of the heights. He prefers the floor to sleep on. As you can guess I am stumped as I spent a bit of money on the tree. There are these unrealistic hanging toys hung on it but he is not at all interested. I just adopted a second kitten so hopefully at least one of them will use the tree! Or maybe fight over some of the toys. Oh, his favorite game seems to be sticking his paw under my small berber rug or just chew on the edges etc. He thinks it is some kind of prey. > Hi, my kitten is really not interested in any toy unless I am there to > fling it around. His favorite is the grey fur mouse on a string that > looked more realistic. I would very rarely catch him playing with a > feathered toy, and he will not touch any of those fake dolls with > unnatural colors. How old is he? Also when was he taken from his mother and litter mates, do you know? You might have to teach him how to play a bit. > At first I got him a 3 story condo and he would almost never go in or > on top of it unless he was chasing the toy mouse. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > condos up there. He is not interested at all. I think he is not fond > of the heights. He prefers the floor to sleep on. The good news is, cats change all the time, as much as they can be creatures of habit. Give it some time--and rub the cat tree with catnip!! You can get some at the link below or locally. Also some cats are horizontal scratchers. My cat Topaz is. He loves this one: http://www.petcarecentral.com/cospetprodsc.html I think I might even try putting him on the cat tree and stroking and praising him. Deep in their squirrely lttle hearts they long to please their humans--or drive them crazy, by turn! We need pictures!! Have you put up a free yahoo photo site yet? :) Cats are like kids. You can't force them to play with the toys when they'd they'd rather play with the box it came in! chas Where is the tree located? It needs to be where you can SEE him being cute (I swear, they will not generally use trees that aren't in line of vision of human.) and usually by a window is good (so they can see what is going on). I actually put new trees SMACK in the middle of the room first. So they can "discover" it. Leave it there for a bit (hour or so) and make a big deal of it. They usually are immediately interested then. Then you may just have to experiment on where the "best" place is. I also move mine occassionally so they become "new" again. HTH > Hi, my kitten is really not interested in any toy unless I am there to > fling it around. His favorite is the grey fur mouse on a string that [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > berber rug or just chew on the edges etc. He thinks it is some kind of > prey. Thanks I moved it to the middle of the house. I am carrying or luring him up on the higher platform, he seems to get the idea better now, I caught him sleeping on the platform a couple times. He does not care about the hanging toys so I have to find something he will play with. Oh yeah. Get RID of the hanging toys. Can be dangerous and really they aren't that keen on them. Glad he is using it! > Thanks I moved it to the middle of the house. I am carrying or luring > him up on the higher platform, he seems to get the idea better now, I > caught him sleeping on the platform a couple times. He does not care > about the hanging toys so I have to find something he will play with. On Tue 20 Sep 2005 01:18:01p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1127236681.002851.55970@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com): > As you can guess I am stumped as I spent a bit of money on the > tree. There are these unrealistic hanging toys hung on it but he > is not at all interested. I just adopted a second kitten so > hopefully at least one of them will use the tree! Or maybe > fight over some of the toys. When I got my first big tree for the kits it took a while to catch on. Like Karen said, placement is everything. Now, it's a very much loved, much used piece of furniture! :) They always crack me up when they run at full speed, climb up one of the poles, or just jump to the top perch. One of my cats sometimes moves so fast up the tree that he practically falls off the other side, hangs there like he's doing pull-ups and then looks at me like "I meant to do that". Congrats on both of your new furry friends! How old are they?  SignatureCheryl Thanks for the advices, my living room looks more like a cat habitat then a human one with catbed and blankets and now the tall tree. I was wondering maybe if the tree wasn't so stable, it tends to wobble slightly and maybe the kitty is afraid. It has a hammock / napper on the bottom and he absolutely refuse to sit in it! I am growing some catnip and catmint outside currently. Will probably rubbing those soft toys that he will not play with to see if it makes a difference. My kitten (Turbo) is 4.5 months old and I had him for only 2 weeks, I just picked out his companion (Nova) during the weekend and will be bringing him home as soon as Turbo's URI is over, he is on antibiotics. I will be posting pictures once I have both of them! > Thanks for the advices, my living room looks more like a cat habitat > then a human one with catbed and blankets and now the tall tree. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > bringing him home as soon as Turbo's URI is over, he is on antibiotics. > I will be posting pictures once I have both of them! Oh yes, it needs to be stable. Maybe try anchoring it somehow. They need to be able to POUND it. >> Thanks for the advices, my living room looks more like a cat >> habitat then a human one with catbed and blankets and now the [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Oh yes, it needs to be stable. Maybe try anchoring it somehow. > They need to be able to POUND it. I have one like that. Mostly stable, but it does wobble depending on how kitty launches onto it. I lean the upper perch against the wall. SignatureCheryl >Hi, my kitten is really not interested in any toy unless I am there to >fling it around. His favorite is the grey fur mouse on a string that [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >condos up there. He is not interested at all. I think he is not fond >of the heights. He prefers the floor to sleep on. I've had a similar experience. I took some 2x4s and carpet scraps and made Tweaker a first-class Cat Tree, with a nice padded perch at the top and toys dangling from the branches. He wants nothing to do with it. Charlie >As you can guess I am stumped as I spent a bit of money on the tree. >There are these unrealistic hanging toys hung on it but he is not at [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >berber rug or just chew on the edges etc. He thinks it is some kind of >prey. >I've had a similar experience. I took some 2x4s and carpet scraps and >made Tweaker a first-class Cat Tree, with a nice padded perch at the >top and toys dangling from the branches. He wants nothing to do with >it. Went to my first and only cat show last year to see what vendors were there. Met a retired engineer who now made cat trees for a hobby - real quality construction and nice carpet etc. After a few weeks of exchanging emails with him, discussing custom designs and receiving carpet swatches in the mail I went ahead and ordered one. A month later I drove about 30 miles to a service center on a major highway where he was to meet me on his way to another show. Lugged it home and showed it to the boys and I don't think they have used more a couple of times. Oh well - cats, who knew :-) -mhd >> I've had a similar experience. I took some 2x4s and carpet scraps and >> made Tweaker a first-class Cat Tree, with a nice padded perch at the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > -mhd I'm serious. Move it around. They really will use it. > ..... > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > of the heights. He prefers the floor to sleep on. > ....... Sometimes these things go in and out of vogue with a particular cat, but not all cats like them. Instead of a tree, I have arranged my own tall furniture to have access paths and comfortable perches on the top. Also, not all cats are that into heights. I wonder if it has to do with their antecedents? My Sukey is a "cave lion": she doesn't get up high very often, and when she sleeps she looks for a secluded, enclosed place down low, like the back of a closet or under a bed. Riley is a "leapord": gets up on top of things whenever possible and will find high places to sleep and/or observe the world. Most cats want a little life in their toys. Keep in mind that this is their preditor play, so they won't be fooled long by a static object. That said, Riley has this one disgusting "mouse" that he goes beserk over whenever he finds it (he keeps losing it): it's made out of sheepskin and never did look much like a mouse. Now it's so chewed on it looks revolting, but he throws it and leaps after it like a maniac.
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