There is no such thing as too much play for a young cat, esp. one who is left alone all day. She needs all the interactive attention she can get. As she continues to mature, her play drive will diminish. Enjoy this exuberant time in her life.

BTW, string can be a dangerous toy for cats. If ingested (and yes, that DOES happen), it can wrap around the intestinal tract and require emergency surgical removal. Avoid string toys, and stick with the balls, boxes, paper bags (no plastic bags), and catnip filled toys with which she can play safely. Also, make sure she had several scratching posts and pads around the apartment to satisfy that need.

Congratulations on your new additions. She sounds like a LOT of fun!

Laurie

Sounds normal to me. In our case, we brought in our first cat and it was obvious he was bored like crazy when we were at work all day. He was grumpy and also wanted to play like crazy. We got another cat for him to play with about 6 months later. Made a huge difference. Although my husband was dissapointed that he didn't want to play as much with him.

LaurieF has excellent advice about the string, and about other dangerous toys. Although I am a little confused about avoiding boxes, paper bags and catnip filled toys. Maybe she can explain how they are dangerous? I always thought boxes and paper bags were OK.

Get a cat tree. They love to climb them and play on them.

I'm interested in the box and paper bag thing, too. For an instant bed, I can just toss down an empty box and know one of them will be in within a matter of minutes. Paper bags are one of my fav toys... and ummmm, the cats, too. :)

I must be reading it differently. The way I read it, laurief is saying to avoid string, but stick with the other toys...i.e. the other toys are OK

My fault. Lack of attention. :)

Mine love the turbo charger..we have two, and they also have a similar one with a mechanical mouse that runs on batteries. LNT has a remote control mouse I'm tempted to buy. My cats also like laser light but watch it doesn't get in their eyes.

I had an experience with my cat and a piece or 1/4 inch wide pink satin ribbon about 12 inches long! DGD had fixed her hair in several little pony tails for a crazy dress day at school and tied the ribbons in her hair.She happened to leave a piece on the bathroom counter.My cat started vomiting and I though she was getting rid of a hairball,but it was the ribbon! When I first saw it I had a fit because I thought it was a worm!LOL Luckily she got rid of it with no problems.We are very careful now about leaving such things around for her to eat.
I have always been curious as to how something can wrap around the intestine when it is inside the intestine?? Laurie???
Sounds like your cat is perfectly normal for it's age.My cat was very energetic when it was a kitten and even now at age 3 is still pretty lively.............Lillie

I let my cat play with a string when I'm with him.He mostly just likes to chase it.I put it away when I'm not around so he cant eat it.

Dont worry,your cat will indeed calm down. It was stuffed in a cage before you adopted it and probably was a little stir crazy.It's making up for lost time :)
As it gets older,it will play less.Although my 6 year old cat still plays like a kitten at times when he's in the mood.

Be glad she's moving around!!! We adopted "Allie" a starving stray kitten several years ago. She made up for lost time by eating her head off. Now she's a "Blob", I call her "puddin cat" because when she lays down, her stomach kinda sprawls out around her. She's become very sedentary, she's not interested in toys, prefers sitting and "talking" to you for hours (we shake our heads at each other and mutter cripes, doesn't that cat ever shut up"? So I try and keep her moving, walking around. We can sit and talke back and forth for a long time. Darned if I know what she's saying!! LOL - Ellen

Lillie, that's a good question. A string or ribbon wouldn't actually wrap around the outside of the intestines, but the intestines themselves wrap around and around in the gut. As a string passes through the cat's system, it may wrap through the different parts of the digestive tract as it travels. Depending on the length of the string, there could be parts of it in several different structures at once, perhaps some moving while some is stuck, or perhaps some wrapped around other digesta. Or it may wad up and cause an obstruction somewhere.

In any event, it's never a good idea to leave undigestible objects around that are small enough for a cat to consume.

Laurie

You can also give her something to look at while you are gone during the day - as in, set up a bird feeder outside a window where she can hang out and watch the squirrel/bird antics.

My cats love the plastic pull-tops from milk cartons - they will skitter them across the kitchen floor for 20 minutes at a time, playing by all by themselves. Ditto for a foot-square piece of aluminum foil crumpled into a 2-3 inch ball.

Susan

My first thought when I started reading this post, get another kitten/cat...It would be perfect....I help with a cat rescue organization and we encourage our "new parents" to really consider that 2nd cat...It makes a world of difference and you get twice as much pleasure and love in return....

When I first got my now 3 year old calico, she was nuts, and very protective of me and the house. She growled anytime anyone came to the door (guard kitty!) and absolutely hated some people. But she played like there was no end to her energy. But eventually she got used to being alone, and being the only cat and she settled right down. Then I got a roommate who had a cat, and at first my cat absolutely loathed my roommates siamese. Then they became partners in crime, but they were calm and didnt play all that much. My roommate moved out, and my cat went nutso again. Howling, and meowing and becomming protective of me and hating other people again. Day in and day out. So I adopted her a kitten (I would have gotten a cat, but with 2 dogs, I was worried an adult cat wouldn't adjust well) and I've been in for quite the ride the last few months. They don't quit those two. They pester the dogs, they pester me..they climb the christmas tree..they roll around in a big ball of fuzz when they fight for hours. It definately gets trying at times, particularly in the middle of the night when they play right outside the bedroom door. But I love that they're so playful and always have to be together.

However, that said. If you would like to calm your cat down by getting a friend for it, you probably wont want a kitten. Try an older, friendly cat who has been with other cats. It'll take on the traits of the older cat, and mellow out a bit, and probably be content to just hang out. Its only been the last month or two for me where I can even pick up the new kitty without her trying to scramble off to play. She loves cuddles now, but before you were lucky if you could even catch the little black blur.

I have heard the string thing on other threads on this forum. It seemed odd to me. So I mentioned it to my vet. He just laughed and laughed and laughed -then he said "they obviously never took an anatomy class".

Turtle haven farm~you may want to have your kitten tested for worms. A big belly and eating alot and sleeping alot are all symptoms of worms in kittens/cats. It's nothing to really worry about ,but you should get it tested,and if it has worms they will give it some medicine to kill the worms.

This 3 week old kitten my brother-in-law found near a dumpster was like that.Big old round belly and kinda lethargic. Also,ate like there was no tomorrow! The poor thing had worms and was given a shot and a additional dose to use at home two weeks later just be sure they were gone.

What was your vet laughing about? The misconception of string getting wrapped around the outside of the intestines, or the truth of string causing obstructions and other problems inside the GI tract? I certainly hope he wasn't laughing about the latter.

Or, I've heard that once it has been swallowed, if it is sticking out of the mouth - DO NOT pull. Or you may do serious harm.

OOps,my bad turtle haven farm~ missed the words about this being a couple years ago...I think I need glasses!!!!

Cool Mama: That's ok. We've had Allie now almost 3 years. She's been spayed, wormed, has shots. She just never ever showed any interest in toys. Prefers to "converse" with humans, which just involves the jaw moving up and down LOL. It's really a bad idea to go up to her and ask her what's up, because boy, is she ever a motor mouth.
Actually, she tends to slim down in summer because she moves around more, wandering from window to window looking out. Winter's are bad for her, she just stuffs her face, sleeps and talks!!!! - Ellen

Thanks Laurie!

I wish my cat talked more...he hardly ever meows or purrs.It's weird,cuz I know he can,he just hardly ever does.Unless her wants my husband's attention,then he lets out this baby sounding meow (and he is so not a baby~he is HUGE)

Is he the only cat, coolmama? My cats have all been big talkers -- but they've been the only pet, and usually the only other creature in the apartment. (I guess I talk an awful lot to them in those situations!)

Now that I have two cats, I noticed they don't "talk" to each other much. (They just swear at each other occassionally!)

I have a 21 yr old cat that use to cry constantly -screaming is more like it, but we recently adopted a male classic tabby kitten over a month ago and for the most part they have adjusted well, my senior cat has stopped crying, moving around more, showing more interest in things, but the kitten's energy level is too much for him.

After we got our new kitten we found out that "Snickers", our senior cat, was having kidney problems and had to start giving him and IV for fluids.

Even though we play with the kitten when we get home & on the weekends, as soon as we turn out the lights to go to sleep he starts aggravating our senior cat. I'll get up and play with him some more, or sometimes put him under the covers in the bed to get him to calm down but it doesn't work. I understand he wants to play with "Snickers" because he is the only other cat in the apartment, but we can not handle having the stress of another kitten for a playmate.

Can anyone offer some suggestions on separation time & play? We just got some calming spray, lots of toys, and hope we see some improvement. I don't want to give the kitten away. He is very loving when we are around & delightfully entertaining. He is also a necessity for me, as my older cat's health is declining (I've had him since I was five), and feel it is a buffer when the time comes.

Maybe you would consider isolating the senior or the kitten during the night either in a separate room or those doggie kennels, some are large enough to hold a litter box. The senior might appreciate being able to get a good night'ssleep. I think my cat would continue playing at night especially when she gets her fur mouse and runs around the house with it, howling and congratulating herself or the game of tagging me and bouncing off the furniture, hiding and charging, her skinny tail puffed up like a feather duster. She would continue if we didn't turn off the lights and ignore her, she'll finally give up and settle down somewhere, ultimately settling on the bed or a warm cozy place.

ujpovstasi, I agree with Terrapots that your senior might need a good night's sleep.

As a side comment, last year we went through kidney failure with our dear 17-year-old kitty. I got a lot of help and moral support at the website below. You can join free and ask questions, read the various posts. There is a ton of info there about kidney failure.

Here is a link that might be useful: CRF Forum

Here's a link to a vet's opinion about cats swallowing linear objects. Scroll about halfway down the article.

Here is a link that might be useful: linear objects