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Play With Your Cat
A lot of cat mental and health problems may stem from lack of
activity. To help prevent your cat from becoming overweight,
lethargic, and sickly, plan to spend at least 15 to 30 minutes a day
playing with her.
Cats need playtime to stay happy. Otherwise they'll grow bored, life
loses it's spark, and the cat may seek out other forms of
stimulation. Some of these may be less desirable activities, such as
attacking your feet, or shredding your curtains.
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Spend quality play time with your cat!
Most house cats are unfortunately a bit neglected.
They stay indoors all day long and do nothing but eat, sleep and
maybe get an occasional stroke down the back. That really isn't
enough mental or physical stimulation for a cat, and may actually
affect it's health or state of mind.
Kittens and younger cats that have a stronger play drive and, sadly,
are still "new" enough in the family to inspire more attention, may
be alright for awhile. When they're not getting sought after
attention from their human they will let you know by any means they
have, including racing full tilt up your pant leg, or attacking your
toes as you try to sleep. But as a cat gets older, we seem to think
that they no longer require this interactive play, that they are
independent and will entertain themselves. This is completely false!
Even a cat kept indoors all it's life will have a highly developed
prey and play drive, that needs to be exercised in order for the cat
to be healthy physically as well as mentally. If you can't devote
time to encouraging playtime with your cat, at the very least you
should provide her with a wide variety of toys and play things. One
or two toys will just NOT be enough. They will lose interest in them
very quickly, especially if the toys are just left on the floor for
them to play with alone. A cat left with nothing and nobody to play
with will not only be an unhappy cat, but he will often end up
overweight or even obese, leading to more serious health problems
later in life.
I understand that we're all busy, we have our own lives to live and
demands upon our time. But by keeping a pet, you are agreeing to
care for that pet, and 15-30 minutes a day of playtime is not too
much time to ask for. You can even make your own free cat toys, so
you don't have to worry about placing a strain on your wallet. The
best cat toy of all, is actually YOU. Your interaction with your
kitty.
Cats play is a mimic of the techniques they'd use in the wild to
hunt prey. They like to crouch, pounce, chase, swat and ambush their
toys (or you). Try to encourage this behavior by using a toy to
mimic the motions a prey animal might make. Darting motions, and
quick, fleeing actions with a toy will draw your cats immediate
attention, and it will be unable to resist the urge to chase.
Homemade Toys
Here are some great homemade
cat toy ideas, that will keep your
cat happy and your wallet from feeling pinched. But you'll have to
supervise the play with homemade toys, if you don't you might come
back to find your cat hacking on a bit of swallowed feather or
string! Remember to put away any homemade toys that might prove
dangerous without your supervision. Anything small enough that your
cat might try to swallow it, for example.
Feather on a stick. Find yourself a slim but sturdy stick, attach a
string to one end and a feather to the end of the string. Just like
a fishing pole, with the feather as your bait. And you can use it
just like a fishing pole too! Jiggling your feather bait just over
the cat's head and watch as she leaps for it. Occasionally raise the
height and drop it, or dance the feather as a moth might dance
before a light. In and out, up and down, around and around. Let your
cat actually catch and play with the feather from time to time or
she'll get frustrated and walk away. This game is good for about
five minutes, then you should try something else while you're cat is
still having fun.
An alternative form to this game is removing the stick and just
dangling or dragging the feather or other bait object before your
kitty. If you drag it in jerky, flickering motions it will grab her
attention faster. When she starts to give chase, race the bait like
a mouse away from her, let her give chase as she would a real prey.
But remember to let her catch it every once in awhile or she'll get
bored.
Crumpled pieces of paper. This one will require you to get down on
the floor at your cat's level. Lay down and use your arm or your
back as a wall to prevent kitty from seeing the little balls of
paper. You might also try crouching behind the couch or a chair.
Something that makes it more a game of hide and seek for your cat.
Now let a crumpled ball peek out so kitty can see, and hide it, then
peek out, and hide it. When you have her attention, flick the ball
up in an arch over your arm or back and over kitty's head. She
should try to jump, chase and catch the ball. Pouncing on it as it
lands.
Another great game that will cost you nothing is a brown paper
grocery bag. Very few cats seem to be able to resist such a play
item. There's something about being able to hide inside it, and swat
at imaginary mice outside that appeals to them I think. To join the
game, place the bag on it's side with the opening accessible for
your kitty. When your cat starts to explore the bag, very softly
make little scritching noises on an outside corner of the paper.
Your cat's eyes should widen with predatory interest and she'll
start looking around for the cause of the sound. Scritch on
different parts of the bag, and she'll start crouching down and
trying to swat at each area.
You can also try cutting a few small holes in the top and the sides
(while kitty is not in the bag of course), and jiggling a piece of
cloth or a feather through the holes for her to attack. She'll love
this game!
Store bought Toys
There are hundreds of different
cat toys you can purchase from a
good pet store or even online, including some pretty spending items
like floor to ceiling cat jungle gyms. Just remember that your cat's
best and most necessary toy is YOU. A healthy and happy cat is one
who's owner encourages physical and mental play.
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