lpycharles wrote:In the notecards I downladed from the sticky notes, I saw this -

Peter, distracted by his cat and wanting to do his work ..

Shouldn't "wanting" be "wanted"?

In general, is it true that using an adjective to describe a person/animal's feelings, we should use past participle, for example, "I am bored", and to describe how a thing makes someone feels, for example, we use a present participle, for example, "The is a boring movie"?

wrong criterion.

a better criterion would be this:
if the corresponding verb would appear in the active voice, then you should use an "-ing" participle.
if the corresponding verb would appear in the passive voice, then you should use an "-ed" participle.

note that the proper form of "distract" would be in the passive voice:
peter was distracted by the cat.
therefore, distracted

on the other hand, "want" would be in the active voice:
peter wants / wanted to do his work.
therefore, wanting

this criterion should apply whenever you're choosing between these two forms of participles.