How much playtime should I give my cats?

by Anonymous
(Finland)

I'm a student who lives alone in a pretty small apartment. I have two cats which are brothers. They're about one year old, but they're huuuge. They're bigger than any cat I've owned.

The question is, because I'm a student, I'm in school for like eight hours per day, not counting the weekends. I have other things to do like homework and taking care of the house. Also I like to play video games a lot, so the cats spend a lot of time alone.

Of course my cats' health is a priority and I feed them and everything daily, but things like playing with them aren't a number one priority.

I play with them daily like when I get home, between gaming sessions or homework, and before I go to bed like for 5 or 10 minutes (so usually at least three times).

But, is that enough?

One of the cats wants to play ALL the time and sprints fast and jumps high and does all kinds of crazy moves, and usually pants really hard after a few minutes play session.

Sometimes the cats meow loudly and won't stop if I don't give them attention and they follow me everywhere. Also, I sometimes teach them tricks and give them cat candy almost daily if I practice the tricks with them.

When I think about it, a majority of the time they're still just doing nothing and don't have any entertainment. I do have a 1.5 meter long cat tree and small toys, like balls or little mice which they can play with alone, but they don't usually use those.

They don't go outside except if I take them. I know this is kind of a pointless question, but I've been thinking that they just spend so much time alone and I feel bad for them.

I still give them affection and love but in my opinion, I have less and less time for that. So the question is, do I give them enough time or do they need more playtime to keep them satisfied and not bored?