The Right And Wrong Way To Play With Your Cat

Cats have a natural instinct to want to hunt and stalk prey. Because our cats are indoor cats or indoor cats with an enclosure we need to provide that sort of stimulation through our playtime with them. It’s also an excellent way to bond with your cat. No matter how old your cat it is always important to have some playtime each day.

Here are some tips for cat-friendly play!

No Hands!

I cannot emphasise this first point enough, never ever under any circumstances use your feet or hands when playing with your kitten. Not even wiggling your fingers to get their attention. It may be cute to see your kitten stalk and pounce to try and catch your fingers it’s a whole other story when you have a 5 kg cat latch onto your arm or leg.

The right and wrong way to play with your cat

Toys, Lots of Toys

Be sure to have a wide variety of toys. Toys that have erratic movements or mimic the natural prey of cats are always a favourite.

Cats often become bored with the same toys. To help with this it’s important to rotate toys on a regular basis. We have a box of toys in the room and just cycle through them every few days. Some days we find our cats in the box looking for their favourite!

The Right Toys

Choose toys that allow your hands and feet to be well away from the cat while playing. Wand and Teaser toys are a great choice! Also, toys that you can throw such as balls or scrunched up pieces of paper are always a hit. A small piece of aluminum foil rolled up is a favourite with our cats.

Let Me Have It!

Allow the cat to hunt and capture the ‘prey’ at the end of the play session. This avoids leaving the cat feeling frustrated. Once your cat has ‘caught’ his ‘prey’ give him a treat to complete the stalk, chase, ambush, kill, eat cycle that would naturally occur in the wild. For this reason we do not like the use of laser toys as the cat is never able to actually capture his prey. We have found this always leaves a cat feeling very frustrated.

I’m Done

Do not force your cat to interact and keep playing with you, when he walks away from you he’s telling you he has had enough.

What Do I Do Now?

When you’re not at home, it’s important to leave some toys around for your cat so he still has some sort of stimulation. A perch by the window so he can look outside is also a great source of enrichment for your kitty. Puzzle feeders and snuffle mats are a good option. A word of caution: Toys that have loose bits like googly eyes, bells, string, or have the potential for your cat to get stuck can be a hazard to your cat. Only use these toys under supervision. Do not leave them out when you’re not home.