Cats and play
You know how captivating a toy is to a cat – but is there more
to it than just the thrill of the chase? We examine the benefits of
playing with your cat both for fitness and behavioural
reasons...
The playful cat
If we were to try and sum up a cat in a few words surely
one of them would be playful? Graceful, elegant, supple,
clever of course, but in our mind’s eye we see cats chasing a
blowing leaf or skidding around the house after each other. Of
course lots of animals play – think of otters sliding down a bank,
lambs gambolling around a field or dogs playing chase. It is well
recognised that play is important for children’s development, and
for cats too it seems to be a vital part of development.
What is play for?
There are probably lots of great reasons – exercise,
exuberance, social interaction and development. For cats
too, as with other hunters, playing at adult things such as staking
and catching prey, balancing and jumping, allows them to begin to
get to grips with the fantastic senses and talents they have. They
have extraordinary body suppleness and sensitivity, vision (both
for noticing movement and for seeing in low light), hearing, an
amazing sense of balance, strength and accuracy. To be able to
locate, creep up on, catch and then dispatch a rapidly moving small
rodent without actually getting bitten and being able to do this
successfully many times a day requires excellent hunting
skills.
Cats can be encouraged to play well into their
teens. From the very start play is a great way to interact
with our cats, from cute kittenhood when everything is a game, to
enjoying seeing an older cat have a moment of skittishness.
Play can also be an excellent way to keep older animals
active, or to encourage cats which are a bit too tubby to exercise
more. It is even more important for owners of
indoor cats, as they can become couch potatoes and sleep too much
if they’re not stimulated.
A good and bad way to play?
When cats play between themselves they can convey to
each other when things have gone too far and teach a
youngster to tone down – just as when we teach our children to play
within certain bounds. When we play with cats or kittens we
can occasionally teach them the wrong thing. If, for
example, we use our hands to ‘wind them up’ when they are young and
excitable and allow them to grasp hands with claws and teeth, they
may continue to do this as they grow, without learning self
control. It can become a painful and even dangerous game,
especially when there are small children or older people in the
house who do not want to interact in this way. So it is best to
encourage cats to play with inanimate things rather than our bodies
– fishing rod toys, toys rolled or pulled along the
ground.
Play can also be a great distraction to help cats to
relax and to interact in a new home or if they are
stressed. It can also be a great way to encourage a
nervous cat to come out and interact and forget itself for a moment
or two. Because cats react automatically to small objects moving
away from them – as they have to be prepared to hunt at all times –
they can almost get involved before they know it! Catnip toys can
help – about 80 per cent of cats will react to catnip and enjoy the
effects of this plant which seems to make them relaxed and playful;
catnip toys came top in a recent Feline Advisory Bureau survey of
cat toys. Toys don’t have to be expensive – simple things are still
the best. Screwed up paper came high on the list, along with
fishing rod toys, ping pong balls and string. Cats can swallow
things they play with or small parts (plastic eyes or ears etc), so
check that toys are safe and make sure that they do not play with
things which may have been accidently left lying around – thread
which still has a needle attached, for example.
Like children, cats will enjoy your interaction and time
spent with them. For cats to play, movement is vitally
important, for all the reasons mentioned above, so a toy left lying
on its own will not do the trick – owner interaction is
required!