well that was a waste of 160$.

BEER · 10-14-2012, 12:32

me and Girl adopted one of the feral kittens out of the barn awhile back to have an indoor cat for pest control and dog annoyance. we bottle fed it, got all it's shots, oil changed, tires rotated, and whatever else it is that vets do to animals. "lump" is now a fat and healthy hallway speedbump.

earlier today Girl comes in with a giant bag from petsmart and tells me i need to go unload the truck. i go out and there's one of those giant carpet covered cat condo things, so i take it inside and set it up. from the look of the living room floor it looks like she bought 2 of every cat toy petsmart offers.

fast forward to now.

the cat gave a brief cursory sniff of it all including the cat condo and is now curled up in an empty 30p beer box with the ring off a milk jug and is adamantly ignoring all the new fangled crap. this is the way it's gone with every cat i've ever met. give a cat an empty box or a paper bag and they're good. i honestly don't understand why pet stores even have cat toy sections.

DreamWeaver88 · 10-14-2012, 12:42

I hear ya.

I would like to get my cats one of those big condo/climbing platform things that they have at Petco eventually.

Maybe your cats will like the condo if you rub some catnip on it.

MAC702 · 10-14-2012, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEER

.... i honestly don't understand why pet stores even have cat toy sections.

Because they know we have girlfriends.

noway · 10-14-2012, 12:44

Same here, when I got my 1st cat, anything from petsmart was ignore. I found the best condo and scratch pad where packing materials and boxes.

The same with cat toys. Packing peanuts and a few aluminum balled up in a ball, where the best toys for a cat.

BEER · 10-14-2012, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamWeaver88

Maybe your cats will like the condo if you rub some catnip on it.

Lump spends about 30 minutes a day completely sp***ing out at mach 3 all over the house, the other 23.5 hours are spent finding new and exciting ways to do less than nothing. the worthless animal literally lays down at the bowl to eat or drink. lol

i'm not sure cat pot is a good idea, she might just go into a stoner coma. lol

TK-421 · 10-14-2012, 13:10

My cats love the cardboard scratchers, which is basically a bunch of cardboard pieces laid on their side and glued together, so that they can scratch at the corrugations. My step-mom has cats that just love to hang out in this green multi-tiered cat bed tree thing that they have by a window. It's just like four round cat beds attached to a thick central post, and they'll lounge in that a lot of the day. It really depends on what kind of cat you have and how you raised them. If you get a very young kitten and try to get it acclimated to all the toys and cat posts and all that, and then let it breed and let it get it's kittens acclimated to all that stuff too, then I'm sure the kittens will just have a ball with all the new toys, but that takes a lot of time and a fair bit of money. But if you just take a random cat who isn't used to it, and throw all this new stuff at it, then it will more than likely ignore it.

treeline · 10-14-2012, 13:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEER

i'm not sure cat pot is a good idea, she might just go into a stoner coma. lol

It's more like cat crystal meth. One of mine loves the stuff and ends up drooling, staggering and trying to fight the wall.

Harper · 10-14-2012, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEER

i honestly don't understand why pet stores even have cat toy sections.

I honestly don't understand why people have cats as pets.

***jpa*** · 10-14-2012, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by treeline

It's more like cat crystal meth. One of mine loves the stuff and ends up drooling, staggering and trying to fight the wall.

The cat or the girlfriend?

I agree that if you just put the cat in a room with a bunch of new toys, the cat has no idea what they are or how to use them. You need to introduce the cat to the toys. Try playing with it or putting it on top of the cat condo and making it climb or something. Just like my dog when I got her a dog bed, I had to get her to lay down on it for the first time, then she's been laying on it ever since.

***slhfarm*** · 10-14-2012, 13:56

BAILIFF · 10-14-2012, 13:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harper

I honestly don't understand why cats have people as pets.

I FTFY.

TK-421 · 10-14-2012, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by slhfarm

Cat vs Printer - The Translation - YouTube

HarleyGuy · 10-14-2012, 15:07

We have 2 red tabby persians (12 years old).

We have a "cat tree" in the family room and one in the basement.
Seems the only use them mostly to hang around on either when we're in the room or when we have company.

Toys?

Cardboard boxes (any size) are their favorite, followed by a piece of string.

One has a favorite "baby" (a wool lamb) that she will actually go pull out of the (overflowing basket) toybox time and time again.

They're sisters but totally different personalities.
Either would be totally happy being the only cat.

One loves to be groomed, the other hates it....really hates it.

However, they do share one bad habit...
They live for their TREATS at the end of the day, and yes, they do know what that word means just as they do "din-din".

We've never called them "kitty" and they know their own name.

***syntaxerrorsix*** · 10-14-2012, 15:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harper

I honestly don't understand why people have cats as pets.

Because they are far cooler than you and I can leave for a week at a time and they have the ability to supervise themselves

turretg · 10-14-2012, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harper

I honestly don't understand why people have cats as pets.

Amusing lovable's in my case.

Bren · 10-14-2012, 15:14

My cat also prefers empty boxes and walmart bags to any bought toy.

He was a feral cat found under my porch. I'd have a lot more money today if I ahd taken him straight to the shelter. Instead, we waited until we had fed him for a while and he got into the fan of a car and broke his leg multiple times, then we paid to have him put back together by that same team of scientists that were in the weekly intro scene of The Six Million Dollar Man. Now he's an indoor cat and won't go outside for anything.

***syntaxerrorsix*** · 10-14-2012, 15:17

My "cat condo" is is out on the back porch. It took the two mouse eaters about three weeks to warm up to it. One now calls it home and the other could care less.

Milk jug rings and cardboard boxes are known cat traps. Only the sunbeam of death is more alluring.

Glock&KimberLady · 10-14-2012, 15:20

Best cat toys ever...

Stick with feather on the end
Ring from a milk jug
One of those little cage balls with a bell in it
Piece of string

Best cat bed ever? A cardboard box. It doesn't shout I LOVE MY CAT ENOUGH TO SPEND A BAGILLION DOLLARS ON IT, but your cat doesn't care. Just like Honey Badger.

UtahIrishman · 10-14-2012, 15:43

We have a cat tree and our cats love it. We attached a couple cat toys on string to it and they bat those around it constantly.

Might try rubbing some catnip on new toys...we have some small little mice that we've done that to and the cats go crazy over them.

**JLB768** · 10-14-2012, 15:53

Our cats seem to be like everyone else' here...empty cardboard box is the preferred toy, followed by the empty walmart bag. The $100+ carpet tower...a place for the cats to eat, where the doberman can't reach their food, then it's back down to the empty box.

RenoF250 · 10-14-2012, 16:07

WE have some new cats but have learned out lessons on the toys. They have some pipe cleaners they play with constantly. A little springy and they slide good on the tile.

BamaTrooper · 10-14-2012, 16:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEER

... i honestly don't understand why pet stores even have cat toy sections.

Because cats don't spend money?

Steel Head · 10-14-2012, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC702

Because they know we have girlfriends.

The force is strong here

Give the lil furball something safe to scratch on and some good grub and it WILL be happy.

Detectorist · 10-14-2012, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bren

My cat also prefers empty boxes and walmart bags to any bought toy.

He was a feral cat found under my porch. I'd have a lot more money today if I ahd taken him straight to the shelter. Instead, we waited until we had fed him for a while and he got into the fan of a car and broke his leg multiple times, then we paid to have him put back together by that same team of scientists that were in the weekly intro scene of The Six Million Dollar Man. Now he's an indoor cat and won't go outside for anything.

You didn't seem like a cat person to me..

***syntaxerrorsix*** · 10-14-2012, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Detectorist

You didn't seem like a cat person to me..

Agreed.

Respect added