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Playtime Techniques Used for Behavior Modification

I know, I know, you’re scratching your head while looking at this chapter title and thinking, Why would cats need instructions on how to play? Well, actually they don’t—you need them. Do you make any of the following common mistakes in playing with your cat?

• Do you play with her using your hands as toys or use your hands to “wrestle” with her?

• Do you assume that if you just supply the toys, the cat will play by herself, whenever she wants to?

• Do you play with your cat now and then or whenever you have time? Once a week? Once a month?

By thinking like a cat, you’ll view playtime as more than just fun and games—it’s a powerful behavior modification tool, and it can help raise a confident, sociable, well-behaved kitten. If your cat is an adult, playing with her can help correct behavior problems, ease stress or depression, help her lose weight, and improve her overall health. In general, cats sleep about sixteen hours a day. If your cat has extended that to twenty-four hours, a regular play schedule will help her reestablish a more normal sleep pattern. Play can also accelerate acceptance of a new cat into a multicat household. If you want to strengthen the bond you share with your cat, playtime can be almost magical.

Defining Play

Cats engage in two forms of play: social play and object (or solo) play. Social play involves another cat, pet, or human. With a young kitten, social play begins with her littermates. This type of play behavior helps the kitten develop motor coordination and gives her the opportunity to bond with her companions. Kittens take turns playing the aggressor as they learn about their own and each other’s abilities. Their playful interactions are a controlled and inhibited version of their natural predatory behavior. The kittens’ inhibited bites, nonaggressive body posture and facial expressions demonstrate that this is for fun and learning rather than for real.

Object play also builds and strengthens a kitten’s motor coordination as well as teaches her about her environment. What might appear to you to be just an amusing game of a kitten chasing a toy around the house is actually a vital educational process. She’s learning about different surfaces and textures, how each feels and how they affect her movements. She’s also learning about her emerging ability to climb, and what objects are safe to land on. Much to everyone’s dismay, she’ll also discover what objects aren’t for kitten landings.

Littermates will play socially mostly before twelve weeks of age. After that, social play sessions become shorter and sometimes end with a little genuine aggression. Object play becomes the main focus as kittens mature. This is an important time for you to teach your kitten how to play appropriately with objects and to accept being handled and petted, so they don’t direct their playfulness toward your fingers.

Successful, frequent playtime helps build confidence. I know you may be thinking that this sounds silly—confidence for a cat? But it makes a lot of sense when you really think about a cat’s nature. Cats being predators are attracted by movement, especially if that movement resembles the behavior of prey. If an outdoor cat had to depend on hunting for food but was afraid of and distracted by every leaf that fell from a tree, or every sound of a distant car horn, she’d soon starve. The cat who spies her prey makes a quick assessment to make sure she’s not in danger, focuses in on her hunt, and then eats. She begins to strengthen both her air hunting skills for flying prey and ground hunting skills for rodents, insects, and other creepy crawlies. Each success also builds her confidence and she learns how to modify her technique, depending on whether she’s hunting a bird, mouse, snake, or butterfly. The more she hunts, the more athletic she becomes.

When I go on consultations, one of the first things I ask about is the cat’s playtime routine. Many owners will show me the cat’s basket of toys but often can’t recall actually seeing the cat play with any of them recently. When owners say they do play with their cats, I always ask for a demonstration. After years of doing consultations and working with cats and owners, I realized that many people don’t know how to play with their cats. The worst is, too many cats—troubled by anxiety, boredom, obesity, or other problems—eventually give up on playing.

Interactive Play

While your new kitten may seem to have the whole play routine down to a fine art: zooming ninety miles an hour around the house in pursuit of a dust ball, your participation is still greatly needed. That’s where interactive play comes in.

Catwise Clue

Many people assume the outdoor cat who “plays” with his prey after injuring or killing it, is being cruel. In reality, though, the behavior is most likely a displacement due to the excitement and anxiety of the hunt. During the hunt the cat must deal with the fear of getting injured himself in the process.

Interactive play is so powerful throughout a cat’s entire life—from the day you bring her home as a kitten to her golden years as the geriatric queen of the house. If you’re just starting out with a kitten, establishing an interactive playtime schedule may help develop the bond you share, will teach her what is and isn’t acceptable to bite, and will help avoid many potential behavior problems. If you have an adult cat, especially a troubled one, interactive playtime can redirect her negative behavior toward something positive and help correct many problems.

Interactive play involves you participating in the game with your kitten or cat, using a fishing-pole type toy. Now, you may already feel that you engage in lots of playtime with your kitty, but what toys do you use? Your hands? Little furry mice? Unfortunately, many owners use the most readily available toys—their fingers—to play with their kitten. While it may not be bad now, as your kitten grows, a bite from her adult teeth will hurt. You’re also sending a very bad message to the kitten when you use your fingers as toys—you’re telling her it’s okay to bite skin. Never encourage biting, not even in play. If you start a kitten off correctly, you’ll avoid having to retrain her once she has grown.

Okay, so maybe you’ve never allowed your cat to bite your fingers but you use those furry little mice or a light spongy ball for playtime. What’s wrong with that? First, it puts your fingers and the toy in close proximity so you stand a greater chance of being accidentally scratched or bitten by an excited kitty. Also, you can’t control the movements of the toy very well. Fishing-pole type toys give you greater control and you can create a more preylike movement.

The concept of an interactive toy is simple: pole, string, and a toy target dangling on the end. What I love about these toys is that you can make the toy move as prey naturally would. If you’re going to think like a cat, you have to understand how they react to prey. The problem with all of the cute little toys that are strewn about the house is that they’re essentially dead prey. In order to play with them, the cat must work as both prey and predator. She has to bat at the toy to make it move. Once it slides a little on the floor it dies again and remains lifeless unless the cat pushes it back into motion. An interactive toy lets you create the movement so the cat can just enjoy being a predator.

There are many interactive toys on the market. Some are pretty basic and others are very elaborate. When shopping for one, again, use your think like a cat approach. Look at the toy and imagine what kind of prey it resembles and how your cat, based on her personality, would react to it. Because cats are opportunistic hunters, which means they hunt whatever is available, look for several different types of interactive toys. Try to cover the various types of prey such as: birds, mice, insects, and snakes. Your cat will be more interested if you vary the toys, because she’ll never know just which prey to expect.

Several interactive toys have feathers on the end to make them resemble birds. My all-time favorite is called Da Bird by Go Cat, available in most pet supply stores and online. This fishing-pole type toy has a swivel device at the end of the string where the feathers are connected. As you wave the toy through the air, the feathers spin around, so it looks and sounds like a bird in flight. Cats go crazy for it. This toy will make even the most sedentary cat dust off her hunting skills.

For simulating the movements of a cricket or a fly, nothing beats the Cat Dancer by Cat Dancer Products. It has been around a long time and for good reason. The toy consists of a wire with a small, tightly rolled-up cardboard target on the end. If you just move it subtly, the Cat Dancer darts and moves as unpredictably as a fly does. This toy makes your cat use her concentration skills and best reflexes.

WHY YOUR KITTEN NEEDS INTERACTIVE PLAY

• helps her bond with her new family

• helps coordination and muscle tone

• helps her become comfortable with her environment

• reduces fear

• helps teach her what is and isn’t acceptable to bite or scratch

• prevents damage to items in your home

• reduces tension in multicat households due to addition of the new kitten

• eases discomfort after a traumatic episode

• it’s a natural part of a kitten’s daily life

There are many interactive toys out there on the market. You may find one that fits your cat’s personality or play skill even better. Before buying it, though, make sure it is a good match for your cat. Sometimes it takes a couple of toy purchases to find the one your cat prefers. A shy, timid cat might be overwhelmed by a large toy that makes lots of noise, and a cat who lives to air hunt may not find the slithery movements of a snakelike toy very appealing.

Catwise Clue

If you bought an interactive toy and your cat isn’t interested, don’t give up. It may take a few attempts to get her interested or it may not be the right toy for her. Luckily, there are many terrific options to choose from.

Bubbles and Lasers

Laser toys for cats are extremely popular. I think their success is based on the fact that they require minimal movement from the owners. You can sit in your chair, watch TV, and point the laser all over the room. For some owners the pleasure comes from the comical scene of watching their cats almost body-slam the wall in an attempt to reach the little red light pointed half way up the ceiling. As with the bubbles, the cat never actually “gets” anything. A major component of interactive playtime is capturing the prey under her paw and letting her carpal whiskers detect movement.

Using laser lights regularly may also lead to potential compulsive behaviors in some animals. Some become reactive to other forms of flashing light. There are also differing opinions on whether the lasers are actually even safe or not. To be sure, NEVER point the laser in your cat’s face and don’t allow children to play with laser toys. If you really want to use the laser light with your cat, start with it, then continue the game with an actual interactive toy. Point the laser at the target on the end of the interactive toy and then let the tactile part of the game begin. Since the purpose of interactive playtime is to create stimulation and leave the cat happy and confident, it’s important to provide your cat with opportunities to succeed.

How to Use Interactive Toys

First, imagine your living room or den is about to be transformed into a hunting ground. The sofa, chairs, and tables will now become trees, bushes, rocks, and other things that the cat can hide behind. If you have a big, open space, scatter some pillows, cushions, or even an open paper bag to provide additional cover for your little predator.

A common mistake made by well-meaning owners is to play with their cat by dangling the toy in front of her. The cat bats at the toy repeatedly. She sits up and appears to almost box the toy. Although this play method may look amusing and seem as if she’s having fun, it isn’t a natural form of cat playing/hunting. Remember that playtime is supposed to be a make-believe hunt. What selfrespecting prey would hover in front of the cat and hang around to be repeatedly batted? The cat ends up just using reflexes instead of using her best tool—her brain. This method of playing will only serve one purpose—it’ll annoy your cat.

Another playtime mistake I often see is that the owner keeps the toy out of the cat’s reach during the entire game. It becomes a marathon race throughout the house with the cat never able to grasp even one paw on the prey. Cats don’t chase to exhaustion, they silently stalk and ambush when they’ve gotten close enough. In the wild, a cat uses every rock, tree, and bush for cover as she inches closer to her prey (that’s where your sofa, chairs, table, and cushions come in). Therefore, much of her efficient hunting technique involves her patience, planning, and precision. Your cat has incredible stealth and she wants to make good use of that during playtime. Play with your cat in a way that’s natural and satisfying to her. Use your toy to simulate the way prey would truly move in a real hunt: it would get the heck out of there and run for cover. Move away from the cat, not toward her. Movements going across your cat’s visual field are easier for her to see and movements going away from her strongly trigger her prey-drive. Movements coming toward her are confusing, more difficult to see, and potentially viewed as threatening. Guide the toy over to a hiding place and then entice your cat by letting it just peek out. Think prey!

Because the purpose of the game is for the cat to have fun, not become frustrated, don’t frantically wave the toy around at the speed of light, out of reach. Let her have many successes. If she grasps it in her paws, let her savor the victory and then gently try to get it away.

Catwise Caution

Always put all interactive toys away in a closet, out of kitty’s reach, when the game is over so she won’t chew on the stringed parts.

Try to emmulate the natural intensity curve of a real hunt. For example, when you work out you have a warm-up, the actual exercise, and the cool-down. Your playtime should provide this as well. Don’t play like crazy with your cat, ripping around having a grand time, and then, discovering it’s time to leave for work, suddenly ending the game. If she hasn’t had enough opportunities to capture and kill her prey, she’ll be left frustrated. A cool-down will leave her satisfied and content. To cool kitty down, begin to move the prey as if it’s becoming injured and allow the cat to capture it. I know that in the real world the bird very often gets away, but with you as the producer/director of this hunt, you can let your cat win every time. That’s how you inspire confidence in your cat, by allowing her to be the Mighty Hunter. So, when you feel it’s time to end the game, begin to let your prey slow down.

When your cat has achieved her great capture, reward her by either serving her dinner or giving her a treat—the hunt and then the feast. You’re going to have one happy kitty.

When to Play

For play sessions to be most effective and have long-term positive effects, they should be a part of your daily schedule. Ideally it would be great if you could fit in two sessions a day (ten to fifteen minutes each, or whatever your schedule will allow). I can hear you now: “Where am I going to find this extra time each day?” If you can’t fit in a half hour a day for your cat, maybe you shouldn’t be a cat owner. This little creature’s whole world revolves around you. Surely you can squeeze in fifteen to thirty minutes a day to bond with her. It’s amazing how, if you really try, you can become very adept at doing two things at once. Combine watching television in the evening with a playtime. Talk on the phone and play with your cat. Read three or four fewer e-mails at night and spend that time playing with your cat. The key is to play every day with your cat. Whether it’s five minutes, ten minutes, or forty-five minutes, your cat needs that stimulation and activity every day.

INTERACTIVE PLAY TIME TIPS

• If you’re using a birdlike interactive toy, remember to incorporate frequent landings into the game. Birds don’t fly all the time, they also walk. This gives your cat time to plan.

• Frequent freezes in action, with the prey staying absolutely still, can be very exciting. This is the time the cat thinks and plans her next move.

• Don’t forget sound effects. I’m not talking about bird chirps or rodent squeaks, but the little sounds of the toy slightly tapping on the floor or the subtle sound of it inside a paper bag.

• Vary the speed of your movements—not everything should be fast. Just barely quivering the toy will drive your kitty wild!

• You’re not conducting a kitty marathon here, so don’t exhaust your cat. Her sides shouldn’t be heaving and she shouldn’t be gasping for breath. If you get her too worked up, she won’t have the opportunity to plan and stalk. Remember, this exercise should be mentally, as well as physically , rewarding.

• Whenever she gets the toy in her mouth or paws, allow her to savor each victory for a few seconds.

• Reward her with a treat or serve dinner after the game. She caught her prey: well done!

Unless you’re using specific play sessions to work out behavior problems (see section later in this chapter), I’d recommend that the first session be in the morning before you leave for work, because after you go, your kitty will be sleeping on and off for the entire day. The second session should then be in the evening. A third session right before bedtime will help a cat who tends to keep you up at night with her after-dark activities.

A kitten may require more play sessions during the day but of shorter duration. She may play like a little maniac for five minutes and then go off to sleep. A kitten needs playtime, but she also needs frequent little naps. Don’t exhaust her.

Schedule your play sessions to coincide with your particular kitten or cat’s active times. Don’t wake her up to play (especially a kitten), unless you’re dealing with a depressed or sedentary cat who sleeps twenty-four hours a day.

Catwise Clue

Remember to include environmental enrichment for your cat’s enjoyment while you’re gone during the day by setting out puzzle feeders and other adventure toys.

Interactive Playtime in Multicat Households

A cat has to focus completely on her prey and plan her attack. Two or more cats stalking the same toy will be distracted by each other. Also, the more assertive cat will take charge, leaving the other cat to sit on the sidelines. That certainly isn’t much fun for her.

Interactive playtime should provide pleasure and confidence, so make sure each cat has her own toy. Your goal isn’t achieved if they simultaneously pounce on a toy and one cat crashes into the other. That will result in hisses, swats, and somebody running away in fear. But you can avoid that problem. Either take one cat at a time into another area of the house and conduct an individual play session, or hold a fishing pole toy in each hand. It’s tricky at first but you’ll get used to it. The secret to working two toys at once is to keep the cats far enough apart so they avoid crashing into each other. With two toys you’re obviously not going to be as adept at imitating precise preylike movements, but it’s better than nothing. You could also enlist another family member to help. Unlike when it’s time to medicate the cat, you can usually find a willing assistant for play sessions.

If you have more than two cats, you’ll have to arrange individual play sessions to be sure that everyone gets his or her turn. You can still do group sessions using two toys (obviously the cats will have to take turns) but you have to be very aware of who might be backing away from the game. Make sure everyone gets a shot and don’t allow two cats who maybe aren’t on the best of terms to find themselves eye to eye. If you are going to do individual sessions, leave the radio or TV on to create background noise for your other cats. The sound will hopefully cover the familiar sound of the interactive toy off in the distance.

After a group play session, provide everyone with a treat for a job well done. Then go lie down and put a cold cloth over your eyes.

Interactive Play for Behavior Modification

Because a cat is first and foremost a hunter, you can use an interactive toy to switch her focus from something negative to positive. Here’s a common example: your cat hides whenever she hears a strange noise. You look under the bed and find two eyes staring at you in terror. Get out one of your interactive toys and casually move it around the room. There’s a good chance you’ll get your cat to focus on it. She may not come out from under the bed right away, but she’ll at least give the toy some attention. Your casual attitude sends a signal to her that all is okay in the house. The wrong thing to do after she dives under the bed in terror is to reach down and pull her out so you can hold her. The last thing she wants is to be clutched in your arms. First of all, she’d feel confined (cats don’t tend to like that) and second, she’d pick up the message from you that whatever the noise was, it must’ve been something as bad as she thought. Clutching her would be reinforcing her view that the event was the end of the world. Casual playtime, on the other hand, allows her to keep the comforting option of remaining under the bed, but helps her to realize she doesn’t need to.

Cats, like children, require two very specific emotional things from us to feel secure. Affection is one. Humans and animals both benefit from being touched and provided with a reassuring physical connection. What parent doesn’t enjoy holding her child, and what cat owner doesn’t cherish any opportunity to hold or pet her cat? The other thing you must provide is reassurance. For example, parents (much like cat owners) must allow their children to gain confidence by letting them accomplish things on their own. If you are a parent, I’m sure you’ve watched your child try to do something new or maybe even a little scary, such as going down a slide for the first time. Instead of confirming her fears by clutching her in your arms and agreeing that the slide is a big, scary thing, you explain to her how much fun it is. You reassure her that you’ll be at the bottom to catch her but that she’s going to love it. Your reassurance, calm voice, and light manner (maybe you even go down the slide yourself), calm her fears. When she does finally go down the slide, you’re waiting at the bottom, and she immediately forgets the fears she had and wants to do it again! Casual interactive playtime with your troubled cat works the same way. Your impulse may be to hold your cat when she reacts to something scary, but in many cases that may only convince her that her fear is valid. Refocus her attention on something positive by triggering her prey-drive. This doesn’t mean you have to engage her in a riproaring, high-intensity play session, but rather, just shift her focus. Maybe she’ll play—maybe she won’t. What matters is that your casual and calm body language reassures her that she is safe and secure and offers her a little anxiety-relieving distraction.

You can use toys to counteract many negative situations. Play sessions can help two cats who don’t get along by distracting them from focusing so intensely on each other. As soon as you see the tension building, pull out a couple of toys. The cats become distracted by the toys. As they play (remember, use two toys so they don’t have to compete), they begin to associate fun playtime with being together. They get used to being in the same room without having tension.

Interactive toys can also be used to help combat emotional problems; they could possibly reignite a depressed cat’s spark for life. Interactive sessions can also help a cat become more comfortable in a new home. And cats who tend to be aggressive benefit from this sort of play because they can take their aggression out on the toy instead of their owners or other pets.

If your cat hates your new spouse or significant other, have that person engage in most of the interactive play sessions. This will help build trust at a safe distance from the cat’s point of view. Through play, the cat will begin to associate the spouse with positive experiences.

If your cat is spraying in a certain area, conduct an interactive play session in that spot to help change his association with that section of the room. By playing there, it becomes a positive, fun area. For more on spraying behavior, refer to Chapter 8.

If you’re expecting a new baby, interactive playtime will help the cat adjust to the frightening changes. Play a tape of baby sounds at a low volume while conducting interactive play sessions.

When you’re dealing with a timid cat, provide many opportunities for cover during playtime. For example, if you’re playing in a wide open room with all the furniture close to the walls, the timid cat might be too nervous to step out into the open and expose herself. Cats in an outdoor setting prefer not to hunt in wide open fields. They depend on tall grasses, trees, bushes, stumps, and other objects to allow them to make full use of their stealth. When you’re playing with your timid indoor cat, place boxes, bags, cushions, pillows, or whatever objects are handy in the middle of the room to create hiding places and thus more security for her. Once she ventures out and eventually starts playing, she’ll become more at ease. If you’d prefer, you can purchase several soft-side cat tunnels that can be connected to one another. Several of these placed around a room can be sufficient to help make a timid cat feel invisible enough to attempt to hunt. You can also make tunnels by cutting the bottoms out of several paper bags.

Interactive play sessions appeal to a cat’s natural instincts and that can help change her focus and behavior. As you go through this book, you’ll find I’ve indicated many situations in which play sessions would be beneficial. That’s how important playtime is to your cat.

WHY YOUR ADULT CAT NEEDS INTERACTIVE PLAY

• strengthens the bond you share

• provides exercise for overweight or sedentary cats

• eases tension in multicat households

• helps diffuse aggression

• provides beneficial stimulation for depressed cats

• builds confidence in shy or nervous cats

• encourages a normal, healthy appetite

• reduces fear

• corrects inappropriate biting and scratching

• accelerates acceptance of new family members

• eases reactions to traumatic events

• eases discomfort of a new environment

• builds trust

• builds confidence

• allows you to interact with an unpredictable cat without risk of injury

Catnip

Not enough owners understand the value of catnip or how to use it correctly. Catnip is a minty herb that contains a substance known as nepetalactone. It is a substance that causes a pleasure-release in the brain, and cats react to it with ecstasy. They rub, roll, play, lick, jump, munch, and basically act as if they’re going through second kittenhood. Very often cats will eat catnip (it’s safe), but the pleasureinducing effect is actually only achieved by smelling the herb. The effects, which last about fifteen minutes, are completely harmless and nonaddictive, and after those fifteen minutes of ecstasy and zany fun, cats are relaxed and ready for a nap.

Catnip can be used to help everyone get past a stressful situation, it can jumpstart a play session, or just light a fire (figuratively speaking) underneath a sedentary kitty. It’s one of the perks of being a cat—that is, being able to experience such a joy-inducing substance without any side effects, repercussions, or danger.

Here’s what many owners don’t know about catnip: if you leave catnip or catnip-filled toys out for your cat all of the time, she can become immune to its effects. I explain that to my clients whenever I enter their homes and see dozens of catnip-filled toys. How sad for the kitties that their owners may be ruining this feline pleasure without knowing it. Limit catnip to once or twice a week. You can always add an extra session now and then if needed, for instance, after a visit to the veterinarian or other stressful event.

Buy good quality catnip. I prefer to buy loose, dried catnip instead of all the catnip-filled toys because unless I’m familiar with the toy manufacturer, I don’t know whether the catnip is of good quality. Some manufacturers don’t even use real catnip. Check the label on loose catnip to make sure only leaves and blossoms are used. Lower quality catnip contains stems, which do nothing but fill up the package. Dried stems are also very hard and sharp. If your cat enjoys eating catnip (which most do), stems are uncomfortable. Stay away from supermarket brands. Better quality catnip can be found in pet supply stores, cat specialty shops, and online, or you can grow your own!

You can fill toys with catnip as well. Check your local pet supply store and you’ll find many soft cat toys that have open pouches in them for packing with catnip. You can also put some catnip in a small sock, knot the top, and you’ve created your own inexpensive catnip toy. Cats will also enjoy loose catnip. To release the aromatic oil, rub the catnip between your hands before you sprinkle loose catnip on the floor or carpet. If filling a sock with it, rub the sock between your hands to release the full potency.

Catwise Clue

If you have a large quantity of catnip, store it in the freezer in several small airtight containers to prolong its freshness. All you have to do is take out one little packet and allow it to come to room temperature before giving it to your cat.

Keep unused catnip tightly sealed in an airtight container, out of kitty’s reach. I’d also recommend that instead of buying all those catnip-filled toys, buy a few furry mice toys and drop them in the catnip container. When you pull one out after it has been “marinating,” it will have acquired the real scent of top quality, potent catnip.

Growing Your Own

You can grow your own catnip plant. If you plant it outdoors, though, I warn you, word will spread within the feline community and you’ll soon have every cat in the neighborhood visiting your garden. Catnip spreads so you’ll have to keep it pruned to prevent it from taking over your garden. Find a safe place to grow it outdoors (good luck), or grow the plant indoors in a sunny window. Packets of catnip seeds are available at garden centers and online. Planting and growing instructions will be on the packet. To ensure peak potency, don’t allow the plant to flower or you’ll end up with skinny branches. Keep nipping those flower buds. To harvest and dry catnip, cut the branches, tie them in bunches, and hang them upside down in a dry, dark place. Once the herb has dried (the leaves will look shriveled), carefully sort the leaves into an airtight container and discard all stems. You don’t want to release the potent oil until it’s time to use the herb so don’t crumble or crush the catnip.

Catwise Clue

Some cats enjoy nibbling on the fresh leaves of the catnip plant. This is totally safe.

Unexpected Reactions

Not every cat reacts to catnip. There is actually an inherited catnip-response gene that some cats don’t possess. It has been estimated that approximately one-third of the cat population lacks this special gene. So if your kitty seems unimpressed, don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with her. Kittens don’t respond to catnip either, so don’t attempt to entice yours until she’s at least a year old. Kittens have enough natural energy anyway!

If you have a male cat in a multicat household, the first time you give him catnip, do so away from the other cats. There are some males who actually display aggressive behavior while under the influence of catnip. You also never want to give it to any cat (male or female) who is showing aggression because catnip can cause them to lose inhibition, which may escalate the undesirable behavior.

Environmental Enrichment Through Solo Activity Toys

One of the reasons cats become overweight is because they have no activity but eating. They sleep, waddle a few steps to their food bowl, eat, and then waddle back to the sofa to sleep until it’s time to eat again. They don’t have to hunt for their food—heck, they don’t have to do anything for their food except show up.

Lack of activity because of insufficient stimulation also contributes to boredom and depression. A cat whose owner works long hours or has little time for interaction can lose her spark. An interactive toy is the best way to guarantee that your cat gets enough stimulation, but what if you’re never home to do it? Or, what if you’d like a way to supplement your interactive sessions? Puzzle feeders and activity toys may work for you.

Puzzle Feeders

If you’re away from home a lot or are looking for a way to supplement current playtime, activity toys and puzzle feeders can help. The concept behind a puzzle feeder is that it encourages the cat to work for food—the way nature intended. Whether she works for her actual meals or just extra treats will be up to you depending upon her weight, health, and what behavior issues there are. For the most part, activity toys and puzzle feeders will greatly enrich your cat’s life and can be a valuable tool in preventing or resolving behavior problems. Activity toys and puzzle feeders are very popular behavior modification tools in the field of dog behavior due to their success in reducing the high degree of separation anxiety felt by many dogs. Owners place several toys around the house, each with a biscuit or some food in them, and the dog discovers and works on them over the course of the day. These types of toys work beautifully with cats as well. The way a puzzle feeder works is that you place several treats or pieces of her regular dry food inside the toy, and the cat works on removing the food reward. Puzzle feeders come in various configurations. The most basic is the food-dispensing ball. It’s a hollow plastic ball with a hole on one side. Snap the ball open, fill halfway with dry food, close the ball and leave it in your cat’s play area. As she rolls the ball around, pieces of kibble randomly fall out.

Catwise Clue

If you have a dog who shares space with your cat, don’t use small puzzle feeders where the dog has access.

Puzzle feeders can keep an overweight cat busy and allow her to eat slowly as she paws at the ball. Puzzle feeders can create activity for a bored or depressed cat and can help ease anxiety for the nervous kitty. I love toys that require a cat to think. Keep your cat occupied with a “thinking” activity and you can probably avoid many potential behavior problems in addition to providing valuable enrichment.

Puzzle feeders are an outstanding way for your cat to engage in normal hunting behavior and be rewarded for her efforts. If your cat doesn’t seem to be grasping the concept of the food-dispensing ball you can use the following method to train her. Start by first placing the empty ball in her bowl of dry food. In order to get at the food she’ll have to roll the ball around. This gets her familiar with the basic concept. Next, snap the ball apart and place dry food in the bottom half of the ball. Set the bottom ball-half in the food dish so kitty will now start eating the food out of the ball. The next step is to place dry food in the ball, snap it closed, and place it in an empty food bowl. You may have to use a large dish instead of kitty’s usual food bowl in order for there to be adequate space for the ball to roll around. Finally, the last step is to place the food-filled ball on the floor.

There are several food-dispensing toys on the market. Play-N-Treat Ball by OurPets is a very popular one. There’s also the Egg-Cersizer by Premier, which is my cats’ favorite. You can adjust the openings on the Egg-Cersizer to set the degree of difficulty. Premier, the company that manufacturers the Egg-Cersizer also makes a food-dispensing toy that can be hung from the doorway. The Aïkiou Stimulo, an interactive cat feeder, is another terrific food puzzle that has little plastic cups imbedded in a base. Your cat has to use his paw to reach the kibble. Some cups are deeper than others and you can change the level of difficulty.

Another option for a puzzle feeder is to use the Kong. This is a toy meant for dogs but the petite puppy-sized ones will work great for cats. Put a drop of cream cheese or some canned food just inside the edge.

You don’t even have to spend money to create puzzle feeders. Homemade ones work well too. Cut a few holes in the center of a cardboard toilet-paper roll. Cut the holes larger than the size of the dry food. Close up the ends and you now have a fun puzzle feeder. For a longer version use a paper towel roll.

A small cardboard box makes a great puzzle toy as well. Cut a few paw-sized holes in the box, close the flaps securely, and put kibble in there.

More complex puzzle feeders include the plastic version of the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Game. This is actually a dog toy but the plastic version is very adaptable for cats. It’s a plastic box with multiple compartments with sliding covers. The cat must slide one of the little covers (shaped like a bone) over to reveal the food inside.

Even if you just take some small dishes and hide tiny amounts of food around your cat’s play area, you’ll be creating environmental enrichment.

Nonfood Activity Toys

Boxes and paper bags can be used in so many ways to hide toys, create tunnels, and up the enjoyment factor in your cat’s daily life. An empty tissue box with a ping pong ball inside can be a fun challenge for a kitty. You can also put a toy inside an open paper bag.

Peek-a-Prize by SmartCat is a wooden activity toy that has many holes in it for your cat to paw at the balls inside. It is available at pet supply stores and online. You can also make your own inexpensive version of this with a small, flat box. Cut paw-sized holes in it, tape the flaps closed, and drop several Mylar balls, spongy balls, or ping pong balls inside.

Dangerous Toys

Ribbons, strings, yarn, rubber bands, and dental floss may seem like fun things for cats to play with, but they’re extremely dangerous if swallowed. With all of the safe toys available, don’t take a chance with any of these.

Any stringed toy, even an interactive one, should be used only when you are present. Put it away, out of the cat’s reach, when the game is over.

Plastic bags should be kept away from your kitty because of the risk of suffocation. Plastic bags with handles pose an added risk of strangulation.

Aluminum foil is dangerous if swallowed. Don’t start the practice of wadding up aluminum foil into a ball for your cat to play with. Some owners create aluminum foil balls from foil that had been wrapped around food, so there is an irresistible smell on the ball. That’s just asking for trouble because it’ll be hard for the cat to resist chewing off pieces of the foil.

How to Tell If Your Cats Are Playing or Fighting

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference, but here are a few general guidelines:

• When cats are playing, one or both may hiss once or twice, but if they hiss several times, they’re more likely engaged in a fight.

• Cats who play together usually take turns in the offensive and defensive postures. When they’re fighting, there’s usually no role reversal—one cat remains offensively aggressive and the other becomes defensive.

• There should be no yowling or screaming in play.

• No cat gets hurt during play (unless it’s accidental). Fighting cats may give or receive a scratch or bite wound.

• When play is over, the cats should act normal and not avoid each other. After a fight, one or both of the cats often stay out of the other’s way or appear afraid of each other.

• If two cats who aren’t normally friendly to each other appear to be engaged in play, be careful. There’s a good chance that it’s actually a fight. If you’re in doubt, distract them with a noise such as the opening of a can of cat food, the shaking of a box of treats, etc. Keep it positive, though. If they were really playing, you don’t want to discourage their blossoming friendship.

Misunderstood Intentions

In multicat households, one cat may misread another’s playful intentions. Cats don’t have a typical play request such as the play bow displayed by dogs. A kitten who was taken away from her littermates too early and didn’t engage in social play behavior may be more comfortable with object play. When your other cat, who may be very social and playful, comes over to her and communicates an invitation to play, the kitten may interpret it as a threatening gesture.

If you’re raising a litter of kittens, be aware if any of the males play too aggressively. That could cause the females to react by not responding favorably to any play invitations.

Keep Your Camera Ready

I always keep a camera within easy reach because even my geriatric cats will strike poses I want captured forever.

You don’t have to have expensive equipment or be a professional photographer to take great pictures of your cat. Almost everything a cat does is photogenic. A few basics and patience will allow you to capture both posed and action shots. Digital cameras and phones have really made life easier for those of us who want to get creative with our pictures or include them in e-mails. They also allow us the freedom to take many pictures at a time and easily discard unwanted ones. If you don’t have a digital or cell phone camera, you can still take wonderful pictures with an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera. Cats are great subjects!

Action Shots

Your kitten will be more than happy to provide you with many of these. What you have to be careful about, though, is a poorly timed shot, which can result in a blurry photo of a ball of fur. This usually occurs when you grab the camera and try to center it on your moving cat too quickly. To avoid this, watch your kitten playing through the camera’s viewfinder until you have a steady hand.

Try to be aware of the background so the picture doesn’t look too busy or the kitten doesn’t blend in so much she disappears—for instance, if you’re photographing your calico kitten playing with a toy on a patterned, multicolored rug. The pattern of the carpet will compete with the cat’s coat and the toy will also disappear against the busy background.

Posed Shots

It’s best to start with a relaxed kitten, so don’t decide that you want a still shot when your kitty’s revved up to play.

If you want to try for a more formal shot with a solid background, you can use a sheet or buy rolled paper at an art supply store. Choose a color that will highlight your cat’s coat color. If you want to highlight the cat’s eyes, choose that same color for your background.

Your cat probably won’t want to just sit in front of the background. Place a basket, a pillow, or some other object for her to sit near if she needs a little security initially. If you’re photographing a kitten, set your props up in front of the background. If you’re using a basket with a toy in it, when she starts playing in the basket, make an enticing sound. That millisecond when she pops her head out of the basket and looks in your direction is the moment to snap the picture. Don’t overdo the sound—you’re not trying for a look of terror.

To photograph an adult cat more formally, avoid a straight-on pose. Stand a little to the side so your cat’s body will show, that way she won’t look like just a head with legs. Entice her with a toy or a sound and you’ll get her ears to prick forward and eyes to look alert. If you want her focus off to the side, dangle a peacock feather to your right or left. Don’t make the feather movements too exciting or your cat will run right toward you in anticipation of playtime. You might want to use a tripod to keep the camera steady, so you’ll have one hand free. If you use an assistant, make sure it’s someone your cat is comfortable with.

To avoid red-eye in pictures, don’t shoot directly at the cat’s eye level—shoot from a little above. If all else fails, there’s always Photoshop.

Don’t try too hard for avant-garde camera angles or you may wind up with a photo of a cat who looks very out of proportion.

Be Patient

Don’t ever force your cat to sit still while you try to pose her. Your best photos will most likely be the candid shots anyway. If you want to attempt a posed shot, do it when your cat isn’t in play mode. After she has eaten and is relaxed is the best time. If things aren’t working, let her go. Leave the background set up, your camera nearby, and before you know it, you’ll find your kitty stretched out right where you want her.

My digital camera is handy and I frequently snap pictures of my cats to keep them used to the experience. This way, they remain less concerned about the flash and what I’m doing so I stand a better chance of getting the shot I want.