Toys & Games
It
is essential to provide your cats with toys and games, not only
for play but for strengthening its natural skills. While
chasing a string is great fun for both of you, your cat is sharpening
his stalking skills when hunting the string that you drag across
the floor. Because a lot of indoor cats will never experience
actual hunting outdoors (unless of course an unfortunate mouse
finds his way into your house), it is important to help them
develop these skills in other ways.
A
walk around any cat section of your local pet store will provide
you with many toys to choose from. Below I've listed a
few that my cats really enjoy and prefer over other toys (some
store bought, others are homemade). Any
toy filled with catnip will be greatly
appreciated by your cat. Use these toys to play with your
cats and leave them out so that your cat can enjoy them on his
own. Teaching a cat to play on his own will avoid having
a bored kitty while you are away or asleep at night (cats are
nocturnal animals and love to play on their own or with each
other at night). We have a "kitty corner" set
up in our living room that has their ComfyCat
Pillow©, a scratching post, and their toys. The
cats know to go there if they want to get something to play with.
Mice
These
are great little toys for your cats to practice their hunting
skills with. If you've ever seen a cat catch a mouse, you'll
know that he'll play with it before and after...it's a big game
to them. Throw one around for your cat or tie a string
to its tail and pull it along the ground...your cat will get
the idea. You can get these filled with catnip, too, which
will make your cat love them even more.
Balls
You
can buy regular cat balls, balls with bells in them, or even
just ping-pong balls will work. Roll them across the floor
and watch your cat run after it. If you don't live in an
apartment with neighbors, take a handful of balls and toss the
lightly off the wall so that they bounce all over the floor -
my cats go crazy for this (of course, remove all breakable items
from the room before this). You can even get your cat to
play "catch" with you by rolling it to him and encouraging
him to roll it back. Only smarter cats will catch on -
one of our cats (who is one of the smartest cats in the world,
she never ceases to amaze me) loves this game, the other two
can't figure it out.
Puff
Balls
You
can buy a bag of these from any craft store, most for under
a dollar, in an assortment of sizes. I recommend buying
larger ones - you don't want your cat to accidentally eat one
of the smaller ones. My cats started to steal these from
my sister's craft corner when we were visiting my family...up
until then I never knew that these simple things would amaze
them so much. Like mice, they will throw them around,
run and pounce them, and literally tear them to shreds. When
they get too torn up, take them away and replace them with
a new one.
Feather
Wands & Fishing Rod Toys
These
are sold at all pet stores - feather wands are made of a plastic
wand (size varies) with feathers and possibly strings hanging
off the end. These toys, along with smaller toys made
of feathers, are great for nurturing your cat's hunting instinct
because they simulate the appearance and movement of small
prey. Fishing rod toys are very similar, except they
have a string hanging off the end with some type of toy at
the end for you to swing for your cat. This is a great
way to play with your cat, as it will provide him with lots
of exercise, plenty of opportunities to jump and run around,
and it will tire him out before bedtime (recommended if you
have a cat that just won't sleep at night). It's also
good to leave this toy laying out - I've seen my cats start
playing with the feather or the toy at the end of the string
if I leave it out on the ground.
Small
Catnip Pillows
These
are simple little bags that have some type of closure at the
end that you can fill with catnip. Your cat will grab
this and rub his head against it, roll around with it, chew
on it, and it might even throw it around like toy mice.
Kat
Twisties
These
great little toys are made by Petmate and
my cats go crazy for them. Grab one and put it on a hardwood
floor - then slide it past your cat and see what he does.
String
& Yarn
Remember
that even though string and yarn are great toys for cats, they
should never be left laying around for a cat to play with on
his own. If a cat eats it, it could cause serious damage. If
you happen to see your cat with a string hanging out of his butt
after using the litter box, don't pull on it. You
can hurt him badly. Take him to the vet right away to get
it properly removed. |