Home Pets
Articles about the life of pets
№5
How to play with an adult cat?
A kitten brought home, meowing pitifully and looking around helplessly, evokes great sympathy and endless affection. Therefore, it is not surprising that the owners are ready to fulfill all his wishes all day long, play with him, bathe him in a basin of warm water, and then comb him, stroke him and put him to bed.
Happily accepting the constant care of his new friends, the young pet will quickly make it clear that of all the joys of life, he is especially attracted by the opportunity to chase a ball of paper tied with a thread jumping on the floor. This is exactly what the predatory nature quickly awakening in him will require, and therefore he will happily spend the whole day running, jumping, dexterous somersaults and insidious attacks from cover.
Undoubtedly, the owners and especially their children will enjoy playing with the kitten no less cheerful moments, delight and pleasure than he himself. Alas, in three years the grown-up pet will respond quite cold-bloodedly to calls to play, looking at the ball of paper jumping up and down with bewilderment rather than with a willingness to catch up with it and dig his claws into the "prey".
Understanding perfectly well that this irritant does not conceal any material benefit in itself, the cat will not react to attempts to interest him with a stupid trinket and, perhaps, only out of politeness will hit it with his paw once, without moving from the spot.
Nevertheless, the life experience and moderate nature acquired by the cat do not mean that it will not be possible to play with him as cheerfully, happily and excitingly as in his childhood. Considering the changes that have occurred in his psyche since then, you just need to replace the paper ball with a piece of fried meat.
Unlike raw meat, it has a certain rigidity, which will allow you to securely fix the edible bait on the end of the thread, wrapping it with a couple of turns and tying one simple knot. From the very first seconds of showing the cat the new prey, he will show genuine interest in it and, having made sure after trying to grab it that in front of him is really tasty food, and not a dummy, he will resolutely rush in pursuit of it.
It should be noted that it will be much more difficult to remove the bait from an adult and agile cat than from him several years ago, when he was just mastering the instinctive movements of a predator, such as "unnoticeably" crawling up to a mouse and throwing the "fish" back over his shoulder. And it is unlikely that this time he will show a desire to show the same performance, because the awareness of the opportunity to eat will prompt him to a completely different tactic of action.
It will consist of a continuous pursuit of prey and an attempt to capture it with claws extended far. Naturally, the cat will run after a piece of meat much faster than after a lump of cellulose, so the owner will definitely have to show speed and dexterity so that the fun does not stop after half a minute.
The cat, of course, will not perceive such a chase as a game and will rather regard it only as a consequence of the unwillingness to give him food for free. Therefore, he will not play along with the owner, as in childhood, but, on the contrary, will show serious excitement, seriously trying to grab the bait and bite into it with his teeth. However, even such a chase will give the cat a lot of pleasure and thrills, and the owner will be pleased with the pet's serious passion for satiety.
To support his desire to chase around the apartment for a deliciously smelling bait, you need to let him catch up with it, tear it out of the thread loop with his teeth and claws and eat the desired prey. This will allow you to extend the serious game for an hour or two, since a successful hunt will give the cat an incentive for new athletic achievements.
However, it cannot be said that the possibilities of involving a life-wise cat in a fun game are limited to such a simple replacement. In some cases, he himself will be happy to remember his childhood, but for this, the owners will have to show a certain patience. For example, it is known for sure that a ball of wool jumping on the floor gradually unbalances even an adult strong cat, who considers it unworthy for himself to chase pacifiers for fun.
Therefore, if the owner sits down to knit a sweater, you need to call the cat to her, and he will certainly amuse her with a furious hunt for a "round mouse". Short jerks of the wool thread that move the ball will certainly attract the attention of the mustachioed predator, and it will begin to carefully observe the “furry” irritant.
We can assume that from this moment the long-forgotten play performance will begin, but its first act in this case will last quite a long time. About five minutes after continuous observation of the ball, the cat will approach it and reluctantly hit it with its paw, without releasing its claws. If the owner does not drive him away, then he will retreat on his own, however, not far, and continue to observe.
The next blow will have to wait a little less, and the cat will not move away from the ball, which strongly resembles a mouse. Moreover, he will even prefer to remain in the zone of direct reach of the "prey" with his paw, and the owner will understand that she is now not the only one involved in the knitting process.
Then the events will develop faster and more interestingly, as the cat, having already fallen on its side, will try to hit the ball with its hind legs and, if it can throw it away a little, it will jump up, catch up and push it with its front paw. After waiting a little longer and watching the ball jump and roll, it will grab it with its front paws, releasing its claws, and will begin to furiously tear it with its teeth, shaking its head and striking with its hind legs.
Even though the little predator understands perfectly well that the ball is not a mouse at all, it will nevertheless get so excited that admonitions like: "Vasya, you are an adult cat, aren't you ashamed?" will not work on it. For this reason, the toy will have to be taken away from the pet, so that his hunting passion does not result in a shortage of wool for a sweater due to the ball being torn into pieces.
Thus, even an adult and seasoned cat can be drawn into an exciting game, but for this you will have to show some ingenuity. It is quite possible that after several successful catches of meat baits, the pet will understand that the owner is inviting him to have fun again as cheerfully as in his early youth, and will agree to play along, chasing after paper "catch".
However, it must be admitted that an adult cat likes not only chasing, but also overcoming obstacles, including high ones, so for mutual pleasure you will need to build a cat town for him in the apartment with "grottoes", "vines", "trees", shelving and a trampoline. The cat will definitely appreciate such care for him and will probably show in response a willingness to run and jump where the owner decides to play with him chasing a paper mouse.
It is difficult to find a more exciting activity than playing with a kitten, which, gaining strength and life experience, constantly tries to imitate the movements made by its relatives during hunting, fighting for territory and sorting out various kinds of relationships.
It seems that the young pet is ready to tirelessly chase a mechanical mouse for days on end, hide in ambush behind the corner of the cabinet in the kitchen, and throw a "fish" - a ball of yarn, deftly caught right on the carpet in the middle of the room, behind his back with characteristic movements.
At the same time, regardless of whether the kitten is playing with the owner or with his fellow, he understands perfectly well that he is participating in some kind of pretend action, and therefore will not show any real aggression, malicious stubbornness, or resentment in the event of an unsuccessful maneuver. During these fun games, the kitten does not release its claws if it comes into contact with a person, and will not scratch out the eyes of a relative if it is practicing the defense of its territory on him.
Nevertheless, becoming older and acquiring more and more vulnerable pride, increasing self-esteem and self-respect, the cat, although agreeing to frolic in a fun "performance", will sometimes, at first glance, unexpectedly show the boundary of game actions, upon crossing which it may well scratch and bite. That is why you should not introduce a cat into the excitement of the game, having overcome the two-year age barrier.
At some point, he may be very offended by a person trying to jokingly anger the pet by slapping him on the cheeks and dragging him along the floor by the tail. Moreover, as experience shows, if these actions become especially unpleasant for the animal for various reasons - especially because of pain - it will, without unnecessary hesitation, injure even a child who has gone too far in his liberties.
This does not mean that it is better not to play with a growing cat at all, just in case. Yes, depending on the breed, the threshold of tolerance beyond which the mechanism of defending one's status and the banal instinct of self-defense are activated may be closer or further. However, if you observe the simplest rules of respect for this albeit small but predatory animal, which in nature gets its food by catching and eating rodents, birds and fish, you can have a good time with it, chasing a ball across the floor or swinging a piece of foam rubber on a string.
At the same time, you just need to refrain from techniques that are offensive to the animal's pride, such as rolling it on the floor from side to side, dragging it by the tail, grabbing it by the muzzle and throwing it high up to the ceiling. An adult furry pet will gladly respond to the call to have fun if it knows from accumulated experience that sports and theatrical fun will never turn into offensive actions or painful sensations for it.
Cats can count... 
Which pet... 
Why You Shouldn't Keep... 
How to stop a cat... 
Benefits and harms of having... 
Some underrated qualities... 
How to Earn Trust... 
How many cats should you have... 
How does a cat's psychology change... 
A domestic cat is not only fun... 
Thanks for the background picture to JacLou DL from Pixabay
