Transwiki:Cat play and toys

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Healthy relationships include fun. Cats of nearly all ages love playing, and games make great fun for both human and cat. Fun is an important part of good bonding and enjoying life.

Contents

[edit] Nature of play

[edit] Predation

Cats and dogs are meat eating predators, and nearly all cat games are predatory games.

Prey is fearful of predators. Predators often encounter prey that attempt to escape predation. Prey that moves towards the cat with confidence may be exhibiting an aggressive defensive posture. Cats may play more with toys that behave more like prey that acts in fear and tries to escape than toys that mimic a more confrontational prey.

Most cat games mimic a specific type of hunting.

One exception to the above is catnip. This is just recreational drug use; catnip is a mewed altering substance.

[edit] Success rate

Success rate is important in play. A cat that catches its prey every time soon gets bored, and a cat that never gets it just loses interest. The ideal hunting success rate is around 1 in 3 to 1 in 6. Capturing prey at this rate generally maximises a cat's interest in the game.

[edit] Precautions

Play is about predation, and a highly excited cat can cause minor injuries in the excitement of the moment. With most cats its wise to keep playthings at least 8" away from fingers.

[edit] Food

Catching and eating are closely related but separate activities. Domestic cats often store caught food for eating later. Eating happens when the game is over, so incorporating food into hunting games tends to end the interest in play.

[edit] Toys

This section is about cat toys that lots of cats love to play with. There are also some commonly seen toys that raise little interest from cats or have other problems, these are in the 'Unsuccessful toys' section below.


[edit] Ball

A ball of foil is much more fun than a plastic or rubber ball. It is a more suitable large bug size, and changes direction unpredictably as it bounces, imitating an insect's attempt at escape.

A ball attempting to race past the cat and dive under cover is a good play opportunity. Balls work best on smooth floors where the cat's attacks will send the ball running in various directions. Rubbing the ball on the floor first catches the cat's attention and builds excitement, then it is flicked at top speed past the cat lying in wait. Lobbing the ball over the cat's head sometimes works well.

An empty bath can work well as an arena, as the ball changes direction on its own, imitating a terrified lunch trying to escape. How cats feel about baths varies though, and some jump out when they realise they're surrounded. Constant action can therefore sustain play.


[edit] Finger

The end of a finger appearing round the edge of a door, table or chair can be very exciting. Unfortunately the result can be an especially determined attack. The bait and switch approach avoids injury, once the cat is within strike range an inanimate toy is used.

[edit] Stick

A small stick is ideal for poking round the edges of doors, tables, chairs, plantpots, etc. The end of the stick should be kept away from eye height. Cats also love to reach under a door's bottom gap to catch their prey.

Some cats, when sat on a chair or open stair, love to attack a stick that pokes its head up on each side alternately, and tries to touch their tail before diving for cover. Some cats find being attacked on both sides scary, some love it.

[edit] Feather

A feather can be substituted for a stick in the games above. Feathers are readily obtained from a feather duster.


[edit] Rope

Quarter inch bungee cord makes a good snake substitute. It can run past the cat, it can swing around overhead, or with a little practice it can be pushed along the floor, making attempts to dart past the cat. Waggling the end a bit tends to provoke attack too.

Stretchy bungee cord is used as it avoids the probability of injury if the cat should run when the other end of the rope is caught on something.

The rope should be put away out of reach after play, unsupervised rope play can be dangerous.


[edit] Cardboard box

Cats love exploring cardboard boxes, and climbing into them. A finger on the cardboard can make occasional mousey movement noises for extra fun.


[edit] Stick Bird

A piece of newspaper about a foot by 4", several sheets thick, is taped to one end of a 3 foot stick to create a giant dragonfly shaped bird. The bird]is flown about the room a few feet off the ground by holding the tail and waggling the stick quickly up and down a bit to flap the wings. This bird toy takes quite a lot of energy to operate. cats love to attack and shred the wings.


[edit] Toilet roll

Yes, cats use toilet paper, but not the way we do. 2 - 3 feet of paper is unwound, and the roll flown fast horizontally at 2 - 3 feet off the ground. People not equipped with extensible arms need to keep changing direction of flight. This mimics a bird trapped in a room, and cats love to jump for the tail and tear it up.


[edit] Tape measure

A standard retractable metal tape measure can provide hours of fun. Cats like to attack the head of the tape measure animal, and love to see it move about under bedding, poke its head out and run for cover. Creeping about cautiously under the edge of bedding tends to provoke attack.

[edit] Lump on thread

A mouse sized object on a sewing thread can be dragged along under bedding to simulate a mouse. Slight cyclic movement can imitate breathing. Blankets provide multiple layers of bedding to rip off. The thread should be kept out of reach of the cat, so this is a time limited no-capture game. Interest depends on how realistic the mouse movement is.


[edit] Lens cleaner

A lens cleaner consisting of a rubber bulb with a fur brush makes a great toy of the mouse type. It is used under paper, bedding or a mat, occasional poking out of the fur tail causes great excitement, and if the breathing noises are right with the puffer, a cat can be worked into a frenzy.

The one drawback is that fingers are only 2" away from the furry tail, so a little care is needed to keep fingers under cover.

This toy works especially well with blind cats, who can hear it breathing all the time, and pinpoint its position with their sensitive ears. The main challenge is to get the breathing right.

[edit] Paintbrush

A small paint brush works the same way as a lens cleaner, but without the breathing mechanism. Very slight rhythmic movement can imitate breathing.

[edit] Feather duster

A feather duster can be flown like a bird. Once captured, fast but gentle wriggling can encourage further attack.

[edit] Water snake

Sometimes cats like to sit beside the sink and attack the water that occasionally comes out of the tap/faucet for a fraction of a second. This is a waiting game. A hand obscures the tap to maintain surprise, and the water is only let flow for a very small fraction of a second.

Most cats hate cold water, so hot is used. The water must not be hot enough to burn, some hot water systems are too hot to use. Cats are happy with skin temperatures slightly higher than humans, so if the water won't hurt a human hand its ok.


[edit] Laser pointer

A laser pointer's dot is bug sized. Cats enjoy a pointer that keeps changing direction to get away from them when attacked.

Toy power red pocket laser pointers aren't known to harm eyesight, but they can cause severe dazzle, which can panic a cat that temporarily can't see properly. Care should be taken to keep it away from cat eyes for this reason, and avoid pointing onto reflective objects, such as nail heads in wood floors.

A laser pointer may get a limited attention span, as although its intensity makes it look alive to cat vision, its impossible to catch. A solution to this is to keep swapping the pointer's dot with a catchable toy.


[edit] Catnip

A mouse sized cloth bag stuffed with catnip makes for 20 minutes of madness. Not all cats react to catnip.

[edit] Paper Bag

Cats love to sit in paper carrier bags, and attack them. Slight rustling noises under or behind the bag can have cats pouncing all over the place.

It is better not to use Plastic bags. They present at least 3 sources of danger.

[edit] Unsuccessful toys

[edit] Clockwork mouse

Clockwork mice behave in an un-mouse-like fashion, displaying no signs of thought or fear, making no attempt to escape or hide, and not reacting in any way to the cat. They're also generally too large to cause anything but concern.

Once they've been sniffed to establish what they are, they're usually ignored.


[edit] Rubber bands

These react to movement and interest cats quite a lot, but are a danger to play with. Swallowed bands can cause serious problems requiring surgery.

[edit] String

Cats enjoy string, but it is a risky toy. Swallowing can lead to serious problems, and cats can get injured if they get caught up in the string and panic to try to get free.

[edit] Food ball

A food ball is generally treated as a source of food, not a toy. These balls are used for weight loss, and work by slowing down the supply of food.

[edit] Fish bowl

A bowl containing fish can capture a cat's attention, but there is no play opportunity.

[edit] External articles

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