I need your best kitten-exhausting strategies

[MutteringDarkly]

Scared no longer, one month in, the kitten is fully in charge. Slightly subdued after neutering last week, in the last few days she has made it clear she is Fully Better And Ready To Play.

At midnight. For hours. Agh. I was scared to look at what she was killing under my bed last night - from the noise I was fully expecting perhaps a buffalo or a wolverine. It turned out one of my slippers was evil and must be punished

So, for the sake of my sanity and my sleep, what are your best games and toys for attempting to exhaust a seven month old fluff ball? We play regularly through the day, I'm home with her all the time. I've just done an extra half hour of chucking her favourite toy around the place for her to retrieve. What else can I use / delude myself that might work?!

(Obligatory picture attached)

Mine love hair elastics

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ripple-Activity-Play-Thermally-Insulated/dp/B08DKTCC94/ mine also got a play mat which she LOVES and buries herself in it and finds her hidden mousies.... you do have to prepare yourself for feeling ludicrous when you say 'I'll get her play mat out' though

An episode of The Yorkshire Vet saw a dcat have 18 hair bobbles removed from it's stomach...

fetch.co.uk/catit-senses-play-circuit-cat-toy-209221011?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2af-BRDzARIsAIVQUOeNBsPGRn8PhgH8KLbFW16-jx-oHvdDmrfkfWkqlWGj1LQayGfydBkaAs_3EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
My young cat loves this
My older cat loves chasing a laser pen

On the advice of the litter tray - I got a flipping fish off Amazon - Amazing!

Laser toy
Spider on a string
Cat tunnel full of toys
Maze to chase treats
Reub is now too grown up and more interested in squirrels, rabbits, rodents, birds and frogs
As it’s quite cold and some are hibernating I’ve bought him a motorised robin to chase for Xmas

One of these. My girl is 14 and she sits on the middle, whacks the ball and can't find it under her tail 😂
Should amuse a kitten though.

Popular with my 8 month old is a mouse on a string that makes a realistic squeaking noise.

A regular piece of string that thankfully my 7 year old loves running around the house with while the kitten chases, so that wears them both out!

And the teeny little fluffy mice. Easy to pick up and run around with.

The plastic rings off milk bottles. Scrunched up mint Viscount wrappers.

I shut mine out of my bedroom at night - she's free to rampage and wear herself out all night without waking me laser pointer is good

Laser up and down the stairs. Absolutely knackers Leroy.

A length of ribbon is also good as it gets them jumping.

Ping pong balls being smacked against skirting boards at 3am will wake you up.

A Christmas tree.
DCat was about that age last year, and spent the whole time climbing it and playing with the baubles. Tree went up this year, and she's desperate to climb it again, but she's grown, and hasnt got more than 2 paws in so far. The decorations are still taking a beating tho! We are less than 24 hrs in.....

Yes to the stairs - either through the banisters and flick something up and down, or throwing a ball up, which they can then bat back down.

Sit at the bottom of the stairs and throw a ping pong ball or use a laser pen to get her up to the top. Repeat whenever she gets back down to you at the bottom stairs are the absolute best!

We don't let our kittens sleep in our bedroom for this very reason. They have the run of the rest of the house and we will relent and let them in the bedroom when they are old enough to realise night time is snuggle time not play time.

But as you can't get another kitten, I would suggest 1) throwing favourite toys up the stairs so they have to run upstairs to fetch them and 2) Da Purr bird feather toy which for some reason (other than price!) is far superior to any other cat teaser toy and can be played with for hours and hours before bed to wear them out somersaulting.

This one

www.dabird.com/dapurrpeller

Or this one

www.dabird.com/da-bird

We just found in Pets at Home. It looks like a regular feather chaser but must be feathers from a particularly irresistible bird!?

Does anyone else have the flipping fish. Was wondering about that for Christmas