The toy disappears in the middle of the hunt. But if your cat only likes fuzzy things that dangle from a string, then stick with that-just offer different string fuzzies every week or two. Put a few in a drawer for a month or two while others come out after a long absence and are suddenly new again. You don’t need to buy a basketful of toys simply rotate the toys you have. Some cats need different toys during a single play session and will play a lot longer if you just switch to a different toy. Cats need new toys from time to time-how often depends on how quickly your cat stops playing with the toys he has. For some cats, when you’ve killed the same toy twice, it’s dead. When you’ve killed the same little mousie 100 times, it’s truly dead. The cat has killed that toy too many times. They often stay still or move only slightly.īirds fly around and land on chairs and tables, then stand still for long periods before taking flight to land someplace else. Going beneath a door or behind a couch leg is what a mouse would do. Mice like to hide behind and under things. A mouselike toy moves fast, stops for a bit, then inches along, then runs again. Bugs (and bug toys) fly in circles close to the ground or in erratic patterns and land on low surfaces. Often, knowing which toy is a favorite will tell you how the cat likes to play. Cats need interactive play with toys that move in unpredictable ways. Sometimes inattentive humans do the same thing when they wave a toy around. Most follow a simple pattern when they move that cats can quickly figure out. Automatic, wind-up, hang-on-the-door, and motion-detector toys don’t act like prey. They play dead and then suddenly jump up and make a break for it. They scurry under the couch or behind the curtains. Real prey is unpredictable enough to make the hunt interesting. What your cat likes to play with is what you should give him. Other cats may prefer a toy that flies through the air, wiggles on the ground, hides and disappears, or moves in plain sight a toy that is light, feathery, small and furry, long and snaky, easy to carry in the mouth, easy to bat with paws, fun to chew, or several of the above. Cats who hunt critters active in the daytime are more stimulated by movement. Scratching, rustling sounds excite these cats. Some cats hunt at night because their preferred prey is nocturnal. Individual cats have individual prey preferences, often learned from their mothers. The toy is not what the cat likes to hunt. Here are some common play mistakes cat caretakers make. So what’s going on if your cat isn’t playing? It’s possible the play you’re offering is not enough like real hunting. Cats who do not use their minds and bodies in natural ways become fat, bored, stressed, and may eventually show behavior problems. It’s an expression of a host of hardwired feline behaviors. Play is the indoor cat’s version of hunting. Nature designed cats to be efficient little predators and to hunt even when they’re not hungry (because who knows when the next meal will scamper by?).
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