Pinsiders are a creative bunch. I'm curious to see what others have come up with in the way of cat play structures/gymnasiums to help keep them interested and active. One of our kitties needs to get more exercise than she currently gets, and while we have built some creative cat trees that they love to lounge around on, I haven't found anything that really captivates their interest and also keeps them active.
Please share your thoughts and pix, thanks!
Harness & leash and explore the great outdoors?
Does your cat engage with play time at all? 15-20 min a day chasing a ball or a toy on a string could get the cat moving around.
I've seen some cats take to cat-sized hamster wheels, while others completely ignore them.
cats are cats, meaning that their hunting instinct is pretty strong, why not using that approach? For example, you can put them the food and water, in a non easy places to access, but easier enough that with a bit of effort from them, they can use it.
Another option, if you are leaving on country side, is let them the door open -> that one is not so comfortable, as they can escape or get some infection...
I installed some shelves for the cats to rest on. Also some climbing/scratching posts, and plenty of toys. What they really like, is a view to my backyard bird feeding tray, although sometimes they are scared of the crows visiting every now and then.
The Rock-Ola jukebox is of course essential for the cats to climb on the shelves 
catgym (resized).jpgOurs definitely both love the laser pointer, and when you play with them they interact a ton. The rest of the day they are pretty content to be lazy sleepers. I know it is normal for them to sleep 16 hours a day or whatever, but am hoping to find something fun and physically active that they'll go for when we aren't playing with with them. I'm curious if there is a "go to" that cats go crazy for that is a bit more self-entertaining, that keeps them on the active side versus being lumps in the sunbeams. Maybe I'm just jealous of those day-long sunbeam naps though...
I've seen the hamster style wheels and they seem like a crap shoot - spend $$ and then they may or may not use the darn things. I like the climbing wall ideas, as that could work well with our existing tree structures for them. I also like the suggestions to use these as hiding places for food etc., or even integrating a bit more "prey play" with toys and strings.
This summer we installed a cat door to the deck (which is above ground and has no escape route for them) so they could come in and out throughout the day. That was a big hit for them. Lots of birds and bugs and stuff to chase, which kept both of them moving. Unfortunately they are a lot less interested in going outside now that our Winnipeg winter has arrived!
Quoted from TDK-WPG:Ours definitely both love the laser pointer, and when you play with them they interact a ton. The rest of the day they are pretty content to be lazy sleepers. I know it is normal for them to sleep 16 hours a day or whatever, but am hoping to find something fun and physically active that they'll go for when we aren't playing with with them. I'm curious if there is a "go to" that cats go crazy for that is a bit more self-entertaining, that keeps them on the active side versus being lumps in the sunbeams. Maybe I'm just jealous of those day-long sunbeam naps though...
I've seen the hamster style wheels and they seem like a crap shoot - spend $$ and then they may or may not use the darn things. I like the climbing wall ideas, as that could work well with our existing tree structures for them. I also like the suggestions to use these as hiding places for food etc., or even integrating a bit more "prey play" with toys and strings.
This summer we installed a cat door to the deck (which is above ground and has no escape route for them) so they could come in and out throughout the day. That was a big hit for them. Lots of birds and bugs and stuff to chase, which kept both of them moving. Unfortunately they are a lot less interested in going outside now that our Winnipeg winter has arrived!
Get a Christmas Tree, lol. We brought ours in today and the cats are already amazed.
pasted_image (resized).pngI went with a friend to pick up a BOP from a big ol’ mansion about 10 years ago. The basement was all done up like the inside of a space station with catwalks along the ceiling for the cats. It was pretty cool. I think the guy was a video game developer. All I remember was his last name was death or dies, not a common last name.
Quoted from ToucanF16:Just open the coin door on a couple pinball machines. She’ll begin exploring immediately!
This drives me nuts.
All I can think is loose wires and shorts when they’re in there.
Quoted from nighttaco:Any advice for the cat shelves? I want to have some carpeted shelves spaced apart for them to play on, I'm not handy at all
Very easy. You only need a screwdriver and some sandpaper. I got about 11" x 40" pine boards and shelf angle brackets from a local hardware store. The boards are already planed, but I lightly sanded the edges to make them smooth. Mount the brackets to boards, and then fasten them to wall.
Round pieces of carpeting, about 16" in diameter, were on discount. I guess they are meant to be used on chairs. I stapled two of those into each shelf to make it nice and soft for cats. Small nails can also be used. And of course you can trim the carpeting to match size of board, for more cleaner look.
Lots of good ideas, thanks. I found this on the web and was thinking it wouldn't be that hard to build the wheel portion and incorporate into our existing cat tree. Not sure I like the holes in the wheel though - seems like an accident waiting to happen! Anyone here try building something along these lines?
Our existing tree has the vertical climb already, but I like the addition of a few shelves idea, especially with integrated toys and other temptations to keep them moving.
cat-tree-plans-catwheel_124 (resized).jpgNeed help from my pinball playing cat families... Sirius loves playing the steel ball and it does add a new level of challenge when friends play. He loves the looping coaster ramp in DE Hook the most. Sirius has been in the America's Favorite Pet contest for weeks now and has made it into the Quarter Finals. He is currently 3rd in his Quarter Final group and we could use some help to get him into the Semi-Finals in 4 days. Please click on the link below to vote when you can. You can vote every 24 hours, so please vote every day if you can.
https://americasfavpet.com/2021/sirius-f475
IMG_20200402_201225 (resized).jpgWanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cat-gymnasium?hl=mr9865 and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
Winnipeg, MB
Bloomingdale, IL
Lempäälä
Just kidding!