FroliCat BOLT Interactive Laser Cat Toy Review

I'm not sure if this toy drives my cat nuts or if he is enjoying pretending like he's on the hunt. I like to believe that it is the latter.

As soon as you turn this thing on, it makes a whirring noise and shoots a laser around in a slow rhythmic motion that intrigues my cat to no end.

He'll chase after it, jump up on it, pounce on it, try to scale the wall and jump at the ceiling for that little red dot.

I'm a little concerned that this type of game frustrates him because there isn't a way for him to feel rewarded. That is, he endlessly pounces at the red dot but never gains the satisfaction of catching his prey.

However, it's great for exercising him and making sure he stays physically active as an indoor cat.

Also be sure not to point the laser into the cat's eyes!

Pros:

• Great exercise
• Cat feels like he's hunting
• Fun to watch cat jump up at the ceiling

Cons:

• No reward mechanism for cat (chases red dot forever, pounces and "catches" but no real satisfaction)

Bergan Starchaser Turbo Cat Scratcher Cat Toy Review

We bought Peter a Bergan Starchaser Turbo Cat Scratcher a few months ago and it's one of the few toys he likes.

We spend quite a bit of money on toys for our cat and quite a few of them have been hit or miss so far.

The Bergan Starchaser Turbo Cat Scratcher has been a hit. Peter loves it...

This toy costs about $14 and also includes a little scratch pad.  The little ball that spins lights up and blinks when hit, and Peter loves it. He'll sit around it and swipe at it and it keeps him relatively entertained.

Peter uses the scratch pad every time he wakes up and stretches so we are on our second replacement scratch pad (they are pretty cheap and last a couple of months) and need to replace the light up ball. He has pretty much stopped playing with it since the ball stopped blinking (so between choosing the one that blinks/lights up or doesn't, I would choose the one that blinks/lights up).

The downside to this toy is that you have to replace the scratch pad and/or ball every so often (when the ball runs out of batteries or when your cat scratches the pad to bits)--they are about ~$4-5 each.

Pros:

• Keeps my cat entertained
• He enjoys the ball that lights up and blinks
• Plays with it often
• Uses the scratch pad whenever he stretches/wakes up

Cons:

• $4-5 for replacement scratch pad when the scratch pad is ruined (you actually don't need the scratch pad especially if you have a scratch post or something else so you can totally skip this if you so desire)
• $4-5 for replacement ball when the ball runs out of batteries/stops flashing (they last several months of play)

My cat is annoying!

Does your cat meow non-stop? Incessantly at times? Peter does. And we think it's because he's bored. He's healthy otherwise--he gets enough water and food and snuggle time but he is an indoor cat and probably wishes he could safely roam the concrete jungle.

We're looking to get Peter a friend.  His mom just had another litter, so hopefully we will bring her home as soon as we can (when her shots are done and it's safe for her to be brought home).

Anyone else have experience with a cat that meows non-stop at times?

Can my indoor cat live a happy life?

There's really no question about whether or not an indoor cat can live a long healthy life; I think from what I've read, and I probably should provide a source but maybe you could just ask your vet--indoor cats do live longer lives and I base this on the hypothesis that if they're indoors, there is less chance for them to escape or be hurt or killed by other animals.

But is living a long life the same as living a happy life? My guess is that it's not and in my opinion, is probably a little unethical/unfair to keep the cat cooped up inside the home his entire life.

Peter is an indoor cat but I make it a point to take him outside for walks or let him hang out on our balcony for some period of time each day. It's one thing to let him bask in a ray of sunshine and watching the outside world through a glass window or a screen door, but it's another thing to be able to actually enjoy the sun.

Peter's a good cat, he doesn't run free and comes back into the house if he gets scared by anything (loud noises from motorcycles or strangers he does not recognize). Because of this, he gets his outdoor privileges and can be on the balcony watching birds and passerbys without me worrying too much.

Should you buy an automated litter box? LitterMaid Elite Mega vs. Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes

When I brought home Peter, we went all out on him as first time cat owners... before bringing him home, and knowing his personality, and likes and dislikes, we probably spent gobs of money on food, toys, beds, litter and litter box. We learned some lessons here, especially about the litter box, that we wish we knew prior (and before spending a ton of money).

It's my responsibility to make sure Peter's litter box stays clean, for his health and sanity, and also because I don't want him pooping anywhere else.

But I personally want to spend as little time as possible cleaning his litter box because quite frankly, scooping poop and clumped urine is gross, not fun and smelly.

So my first great idea was to buy a LitterMaid Elite Mega automated litter box. This is the type of box that has a motion sensor and will detect if something has been in the box, waits 10 minutes and the clumps into a poop bin.

That was great and all for the first two months, but living inside an apartment, it turned out to not be the best solution because it was difficult for us to take this gargantuan litter box outside to empty out the old litter. And yes, that was a problem, because if you don't do that, the old litter just starts sticking to the bottom of the pan making it difficult for the claw/rake that scoops the poop to get through (you should be using a spray that you can get that you put onto the pan and let it sit for 15 minutes before laying the litter down).

It got to the point where the rake was no longer really scooping poop into the bin anymore and was just allowing the poop to accumulate at the entry way to the box.

Not only that, for this particular litter box, the manufacturer wants you to purchase plastic bins that are replaced on regular intervals. Very expensive. I would avoid any litter box that requires you to purchase pads or bins on a regular interval.

Sucks for my kitten and sucks for me. $300+ down the drain (this included accessories like the canopy, spray, etc).

What I ended up replace it with was a $35 litter box called Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litter box

This thing has been absolutely great and it comes highly recommended from me. All you do is you roll the bin onto its head and then roll it back.  All the poop will be collected into a little bin with a handle that you can conveniently dump into a trash bag. Total time to do this is literally about 30 seconds and very sanitary.

So if you're looking for a new litter box, consider one of these Omega Paw litter boxes vs. an expensive one.

Kitty Alarm Clock

Peter has a habit of waking up every morning at 5:20AM and meowing like crazy. I'm not sure if he's hungry because there is dry food out for him to eat when he wants, and we keep his litter box clean.

Turns out, he just wants to snuggle. Once we pick him up, he'll curl up on our pillows and sleep with us purring like a little happy purr baby.

So for those of you with alarm clock kitties, try this method!

My ragdoll cat is a picky eater

Anyone else out there have a cat who is a picky eater?

Peter is the pickiest of them all and refuses to eat anything other than Fancy Feast.

I brought Peter home when he was 8 weeks old and at that time I was feeding him Hill's Pet Science Diet dry food and a routine of Fancy Feast kitten or Wellness kitten wet food.

Several months in, I decided I would treat him to that more expensive Fancy Feast Elegant Medley stuff (about 99 cents a can before the supermarket club membership discounts).

He has become addicted! He still eats his Science Diet dry food occasionally but won't eat wet food unless it's the Elegant Medley Wild Salmon Florentine.

Any tips for getting him to eat cheaper food?