Cats And Play
It is difficult to think about cats, so graceful and
lithe, without also thinking about their playfulness.
The sight of a small kitten leaping and pouncing side-
ways onto a ball, her eyes round and surprised, makes
us laugh. A quiet reverie of book reading is disturbed
by a feline pet batting a paper clip across the room.
Feline play behavior is adorable and endearing - and
of course, as cat owners can attest, quite frustrating
at times.
As common as it is, the reasons for play behavior are
not entirely understood. As with most mammalian species,
play is seen most frequently in the young. Among other
things, it is believed to serve as "practice" for social
and predatory behaviors that will be critical later in
life. Researchers have found that kittens begin to play
at approximately four weeks, spending most of their time
playing with each other at this young age. Wrestling
with other kittens helps shape the skills needed to
establish social systems with other mature cats later.
By the age of seven to eight weeks, kittens transfer
their attention from such social play to predatory play
with inanimate objects.
With all the importance that play holds in the life of
a young cat, it is perhaps no surprise that inapprop-
riate or excessive play is a common behavior problem.
Seen most frequently in young kittens and juvenile cats,
play-related aggression can be a troubling problem.
Their human "prey" complain of cats pouncing on feet as
they walk by, or otherwise biting, clawing and kicking
while they are being handled or petted. Although there
is no "vicious" intent in such kittens or cats, all of
this carousing can be painful. Another risk of play-
related aggression in cats is cat scratch disease, a
bacterial infection resulting from cat scratches which
can affect anyone with compromised immunity.
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Play-Related Aggression
What can be done about play-related aggression? This
common problem is actually quite easy to treat and
resolve. First, remember that kittens and cats need to
play. By writing down the general times and patterns
of your own cat's play, you should be able to predict
the times or situations in which she is likely to
"attack." Provide toys (homemade toys are fine!) such
as feathers or cloth strips dangling from sticks,
catnip-filled mice, or bells and wind-up toys. A bucket
filled with crumpled paper or Ping-Pong balls is a very
useful distracter, placed in areas where the kitten has
previously stalked and pounced on assorted feet: as she
starts to stalk, throw a ball down the stairs for her.
Punishment, in the form of a water gun, may be useful
if necessary, but redirection of her play-aggression
will be more convincing to your cat. Because some
kittens start to bite and kick playfully while they
are being petted, it may help to limit the duration of
petting until your kitten matures a little more.
Finally, feeding the main part of your cat's daily
diet at a time he otherwise might be attacking your
ankles can greatly reduce the aggression.
Would another kitten in the home solve the problem?
Well, it might - but it might not. If you have already
decided to add another cat to your home, now is the
time to do it; two kittens will often keep each other
physically occupied. But if the decision is based
entirely on reducing your current cat's play-aggression,
it may not be a good enough reason to obtain a second
cat. Remember - the problem may not improve, and you
might end up with two predators instead of one!
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-- FROM THE "CAT SCRAPS" FILE:
It is a common belief that cats are color blind.
However, recent studies have shown that cats can
see blue, green and red.
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