Bored kitty

1200 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by kittygirl04, Oct 3, 2003

Richo

Discussion Starter · Sep 30, 2003

I'm looking for some advice. It seems that especially lately my cat Barnaby is bored and maybe lonely at times. I live alone and he is the only cat in the house. I work nearly 60 hours a week at times and I am busy doing other things as well where I am not at home.

The problem is that when I attempt to play with him, he quickly loses interest in the toys. He has no interest in balls. The fuzzy mice he chews the tails off and then lets them sit. The string on a stick is about 50/50 and the feathers on a stick which he loved when I first bought, does very little for him now. He will sit in front of the fireplace and look up at the mantle (where I keep the 2 stick toys) and beg. When I take the toy down, he will take some interest in it for maybe a minute, then he will just lazily lay on the floor. But if I put the toy away and walk away he will get up and chase after my feet. It's like he doesn't want to play with the toy but doesn't want me to put it away either. If I leave the toy alone with him he will chew on it and destroy it.

I have thought about getting another cat (kitten) but I am so afraid of the risk of changing Barnaby's behavior. He is such a sweet cat and I don't want to make him feel betrayed or do anything to change the way he is. He has had litterbox evasion problems in the past and I am also afraid that another cat using his box will cause problems because he is very fussy about the smell of the litterbox.

I would like to have another cat but what if I bring one home and it causes complete chaos with Barnaby? Like I said, I am gone quite a bit and I feel it would be hard to introduce a new kitten to the household.

What do you think? Any suggestions about the toys or another cat?

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Richo

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 1, 2003

That's my dilemma. I would become too attached to another cat to be able to let it go if there was too much trouble. And with all the homeless cats, finding a good home for a kitten that might not work out here would be so hard to do. It would be nice if I knew someone who would like a cat and would agree to take a kitten if it didn't work out here but I don't know of anyone in that position.

Barnaby hasn't wanted cuddle time in the last month or two. It used to be a nightly thing for him to lay on my lap but lately, he gets his "purr" time laying on the floor and being brushed once or twice a day. I guess that's what has taken over for his lap time. I try to call him to my lap when I'm watching TV but he's not interested.

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Richo

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 2, 2003

I do have a laser pointer which he also quickly loses interest in.

I don't think he feels abandoned. He's still my shadow much of the time when I am home, following me around the house. There are times (usually weekends) when I am home quite a bit during the day but for the most part, he sleeps the day away.

Now with the changing of the weather and it getting dark earlier, I'll be spending more time in the house as well. I just need to find something that interests him more than the toys he has now.

Are male cats usually agressive/angry toward a helpless little kitten coming into the house?

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