exhausting my indoor cats before work

I work from home as a graphic designer, so I'm staring at screens all day, but when I'm on calls, Biscuit and Whiskers get restless. They are both six-year-old tabbies, Biscuit is orange and Whiskers is gray. They start climbing the curtains and knocking things off shelves. I need to tire them out before I start my first call at 9 am. What works for you?

I have tried the standard wand toys with my dsh, Kiko, but he loses interest after five minutes. I am skeptical that physical exhaustion is the right approach for indoor cats. I think it is more about mental engagement. Have you tried the food puzzles I mentioned in getting a picky cat to play? That seemed to keep Kiko busy for a while, but I am not sure it translates to two cats.

Oh my gosh, I feel your pain! My Felix is four and very vocal, so if he is bored, the whole house knows about it. We invested in a tall cat tree with hanging toys, and it has been a lifesaver! You can check out the setup in my thread Felix's new cat tree setup. It gives them a place to climb and watch the birds through the window, which seems to burn off that energy without you having to actively play with them.

As a vet tech, I would caution against relying solely on physical play to prevent destructive behavior. Boredom is often mental. I recommend using slow feeders or puzzle toys for their morning meals. You can see more details on how I structure this for my ragdoll, Swee, in Using food puzzles to reduce boredom. This keeps them occupied for twenty minutes while they eat, which might bridge the gap before your calls start.

It is interesting that you frame this as tiring them out. My cat, River, is a five-year-old mix who is quite calm, but he does have bursts of energy in the early morning. I found that engaging him in play too early wakes him up and makes him more frantic, not less. I wait until he is fully awake and then do a short session. You might want to look at Timing play sessions for calm cats to see if the timing of your interaction is the issue rather than the duration.