An orange cat who can compete with Garfield in laziness, a tabby cat who challenges Sherlock Holmes in investigating and reaching conclusions about the surroundings, a Turkish angora that can disappear among your white quilt cover set... Regardless of their breed, fur color, and age, your pet needs to play games. Your cat tries to meet this need by playing "hunter-prey" games with another cat in the house if there is one it can get along with. However, as a cat owner, it is important to encourage your cat to play for its physical and mental health. So, how can you motivate your cat to play and what can you use for activities?
Making Your Little Friend Ready for Cat Activities Is Easier
It is not always easy to get to move cats who are experts in eating, sleeping, and eating a little more after waking up and then sleeping again. Of course, there is an exception to this. If your cute friend at home is a furry little baby in the growth stage, their factory defaults are already adjusted for playing games. A paper crumpled up the size of a cat's paw and thrown in front of them, or a little fly that unfortunately enters your room can become the subject of an activity that will last for minutes and leave your little cat out of breath. If you have a young kitten who likes to play games with you in physical interaction, getting a cat fishing rod can make things more enjoyable for you. In the first few months, it is recommended that you play with your little furry friend with cat fishing rods to avoid possible skin scratches and minor injuries, as they may want to taste your hands during playtime. This way, you can keep your cat away from behaviors that they may repeat when they grow up, such as attacking hands and feet.
If your kitten has behaviors during playtime that you don't want, such as scratching the couch, climbing the curtains, or jumping on the counter, you can use positive reinforcement-based training methods. For example, if your kitten can't help but scratch your furniture while looking into your eyes during playtime and preparing its claws for the next play session, you can buy a scratching post for them. You can direct your kitten to use the scratching post with treats. You can show your little furry friend how to use the scratching post, who sees you as a "big cat" at home and can sometimes mimic your physical behaviors. It may seem silly to you, but if you rub your fingers as if you are filing your nails, your furry friend can happily repeat this behavior. To show your appreciation for this repetition, you can give your furry friend a treat.
Get an Irresistible Cat Toy for Your Adult Cat for Playtime
After quite a fun game that lasts around 30-40 minutes, your kitten will continue to follow this activity process in its first few months, sometimes dozing off in its favorite sleeping spot and sometimes in the middle of where it plays. However, as your cat grows up, it will get bored with routine games and naturally look for new ones. To break the routine and channel them into new fun activities, you can check out cat toy models that offer different kinds of fun, each one promising its own entertainment. Toys such as jingling balls, plush mice, tumbler toys, cat lasers indispensable for jumping games, and many more, will create completely different play areas for your cat. Toys that can satisfy cats' hunting instincts can help them enjoy playtime not only with you or other cats in the house but also on their own. If you are considering different activities to keep your adult cat busy, you can purchase an activity tower, an activity tunnel, or specially designed intelligence toys that will pique your cats' curiosity.
Veterinarians recommend that cats whose activity level gradually decreases and may begin to gain weight after being neutered should be included in physical activities so that they can maintain a quality life by staying away from excess weight. That's why you might want to consider getting a cat tunnel for your cat, especially if it tends to be a bit whiny about its playtime. Cat tunnels offer entertainment that no cat can resist, and if you have more than one cat at home, they allow them to play hide-and-seek games. If your curious furry friend is not initially interested in the tunnel you brought home, you can put treats in certain areas of the tunnel or give their favorite wet food from the end of it. Your cat will memorize every millimetre of the tunnel in just a few minutes and will start to do the exercises and physical activities it needs. If you also support the cat tunnel with a cat tree, the fluffy ball of fur will be on cloud nine. Depending on the model you purchase, the structural complexity of the cat tree and cat houses may vary, and they offer entertainment at the level of how many scratchable and climbable parts they have. Cat trees, especially those containing parts that cats can enter horizontally and vertically, provide an environment for multiple cats to play hide-and-seek.
We wish you and your furry friend a fun playtime! You can enjoy playtime and feel lucky that you share your home with a child who will never grow up. Also playing games that will positively affect their health.