After 7 months with Oberon, he seems to feel secure that he will not be abandoned and will have always enough food to eat. In the beginning, he was timid, hid a lot and demanded to be fed. He would meow for food all hours.

Now I am getting a different meow, and he is clearly demanding play time. I think I now have a "self-actualized" cat in the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs sense. His basic needs have been met, and now he wants PLAY, And lots of it.

He is so enthusiastic, we end up with many broken toys. He tugs and runs away with his prey. He eviscerates the prey once he has snagged it out of my hands. I have sewn and repaired many squeaky mice and toys that been detached from their fishing poles.

The other cats are content to swat at toys and chase them with gentle enthusiasm. Oberon plays with so much gusto, nothing seems to last very long.

Are there any toys that can better withstand the intensity and enthusiasm of a Bengal? Anyone have suggestions for preventative maintenance or home made toys?

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After paying for a gazillion da bird refills... I have started making my own - feathers and old fabric come cheap. But they get bored quickly so we resort to flicking hairbands - yes, bad cat parents - but making sure these are never left hanging around, always supervise!! Cats run after these like mad and jump around them while trying to destroy them, they also fetch them and bring them back for more.
Another worthy investment was the Ripple Rug. Combined with hairbands is a hoot! Or they just kill each other in and out of it.

I think the Kickeroo is indestructible.

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~ Kyenta

I think that the fact that he has the reaction he does to the toys you are using, means you’ve may have actually hit the bullseye, although I think some attachments are more dutiable than others. I think some of the Neko fly one and some of the flying frenzy ones are among the most durable.

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The little monsters 3

I made a couple of kickeroos out of some left over fabric I had lying around, stuffed it with some old pillow fill and a couple of ribbons hanging out the end of it.
Maybe you could do the same but use denim or some other hardy fabric - might last a bit longer with Oberon's exuberance.

Kickaroos are made to be indestructable for cats. And mine can really go to town on them. I have a Neko fly and one of my cats wants to catch it and take it away, so I have to get it out of his mouth. I think one time I googled "indestructable cat toys" and came up with some results. It's great Oberon wants a lot of play time. It will wear him out, that's for sure. They have just come out with a mouse that runs around the house via a remote control that you hold -- and you can sit while your cat chases it all over. Not sure it works on carpet and would probably need a lot of room to make it work or it will be under the furniture. That would be my problem. As it is, when the cats start chasing each other, they run into the furniture.

A great toy in my house is a nerf gun:



you can fire the gun or throw the foam darts - either way, mine start shouting as soon as they see me pick up either dart or gun.

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The little monsters 3

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

I've never had a problem getting a cat or my bengal to use a kickaroo. My DSH just goes over to them and starts bunny kicking them all on his own. With Raiden, I need to actually put the thing in front of him and he will go to town on them. Most are infused with catnip to entice the cat.

The dart gun thing is interesting. I don't have a cat that is interested in chasing anything. I've tried with balls and mice, aluminum foil balls, ping pong balls -- nothing seems to entice them. I think my hubby would get a bigger kick out of it than the cats! LOL

Awesome suggestions. I think I will be getting a Ripple Rug. Oberon enjoys wrestling and chasing Luna, one of the other cats, and I can picture them playing peek-a-boo and self-entertaining in this.

The Nerf Gun idea is fabulous too. I will be shopping for one.

Oberon has not shown much interest in Catnip nor in the Kickeroo I have. I am curious about trying the Valerian/Catnip combination. It sounds like Valerian often affects cats that are not affected much by catnip. The Etsy links are very helpful!

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My daughters have Beanie Boo stuffed toys (small ones) and our boy Thor loves these and wrestles with them.

We have also found that soft bouncy balls are a HUGE hit.
He loves to chase, catch and bring them back to us for more play.
Catch is currently his favourite game and he is good to play for about 15 mins before he gets bored. lol.

My bad bengal just peed in the bed that had all the toys in it. They have been tossed in the garbage and reordered through Chewy, to arrive on Thursday! I hope Raiden and my other kitty enjoy them.

One thing I should have mentioned before... combining a toy like a dabird with a cat tree or some stairs, or hicat, is one way to get your cat keeled over on the floor, purring, clutching his prey, and completely spent really quickly.

The game goes like... bird flies over head getting her attention, then lands on the top of the cat tree or hicat. This drives my turbo kitty Serafina absolutely crazy. She'll sprint up the tree with a ton of gusto. Oh, lookie there, the bird decided to fly off the top perch just in time, and land on the couch instead where it's in a completely helpless position. Serafina sprints down the tree, pounces on the sofa. Ok, now that was a close escape by the bird, who is now looking for the safety of hights. Back up the tree...LOL, you get the idea. After 5 min you have purring kittey clutching her bird which she worked *so* hard for, crashed out on the floor, completely spent.

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The little monsters 3