Is my cat bored?

[fluffydressinggown]

I am a worrier, she is four and is mostly indoors as we don't have a cat flap and when you let her outside she meows to be let in after 10/15 minutes! She potters round the garden and occasionally goes next door but generally is happier inside. She has never hunted in the 18 months we have had her, aside from patting at butterflies or insects.

She seems happy enough, sleeps a lot, comes to me for cuddles and likes to sit on/next to me, she purrs a lot. She doesn't really play much though? She has toys and bits of scrunched up paper but she doesn't seem that bothered about them. She will bat at a bit of string but loses interest quickly.

We tend to keep her downstairs because of the layout of the house and I worry that she is bored if she doesn't want to play. Everyone says how friendly and happy she is and she will come to greet you when you come in and have her belly tickled and she is desperate to be - comes to sleep on our bed with us when she can, and always always sits with us. I would hate her to be bored :(

She doesn't sound bored, that usually presents itself in destructive behaviour, like over-grooming, excessive furniture scratching etc.

Have you tried one of those balls that you can hide treats/dry food in? they bat them around to get the food out. There's a brilliant interactive cat toy, developed by animal behaviourists, called the Flying Frenzy, both my adult cat and kitten love it. Also laser pointers are good for interactive cat entertainment.

Both my cats like to play fetch with their squeaky mice, you know, the really cheap ones for about a quid from the pet shop.

She is not destructive at all, she scratches the carpets a bit but also uses her scratching post and the door mat. She has never scratched the wallpaper or furniture. And she grooms herself normally I think?

I will get her a flying frenzy. I have tried throwing things for her and she just looks at me like this - She does like the laser pointer, forgot to mention that!

She is currently sat on the coffee table doing nothing but I think that might just be what cats do?

Thanks for your comments :)