Arrangement of the playing space
The animal should have its own corners in the house where it will feel confident and safe. It is better to arrange several such places in the apartment. Install special loungers in rooms, hammocks, and multi-story play centers. Place your cat's favorite toys in them. He will run from one “point” to another, occupying his attention with different toys.
Be sure to install a scratching post in the apartment so that the pet does not damage the furniture with its claws or tear up the wallpaper on the walls.
Are laser toys suitable?
You can play with a laser pointer with your cat, taking a few precautions. Avoid getting the beam into the animal's eyes; even a reflected beam can damage them. The higher its power, the greater the danger, so it should not exceed 30 MW.
You can, of course, play with a laser pointer - if you're careful
If we talk about the color of the beam, it is better to take green. Cats see it better even in the daytime. You should also take care of the windows; they should be closed or covered with mesh. Otherwise, when a cat plays with a laser, it may get carried away, fall out and get damaged.
Another disadvantage of a laser pointer is the inability to catch and hold it. The lack of tangible prey leaves the pet feeling dissatisfied. Therefore, after finishing the game, stop the beam on something tasty or on another toy that you can grab and hold in your teeth.
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Treasure Hunt
There are special puzzles for cats; they are sold in pet stores. You need to put a treat inside such a toy, which the cat will certainly try to get. Many animals happily play with these things for hours. You can make this puzzle yourself. To do this, you need to take an old glove and hide the treat in one of its fingers. The cat will have to find the hidden treat.
Why are cats playful?
The game for cats is a kind of training for the whole body. It starts from a very early age and helps kittens become familiar with the world around them. In this way, they prepare for adult life, imitating the behavior of their parents, learn to hunt each other, their owners and various objects, and improve their skills.
cats play - for entertainment and to maintain their tone
In adult cats, play can help relieve depression or stress. It builds trust with your pet and gives him the opportunity to relax. With its help, you can reduce the animal’s aggressive behavior by switching its attention and energy to games. Games are especially useful for establishing relationships between an old and new pet.
Opportunity to hunt
By nature, a cat is a predator. If your pet is in an apartment and does not go outside, you can give it objects that imitate prey. Buy a small squeaker in the shape of a bird or a mouse, which the animal can carry in its teeth. Any toys on a rope are suitable for hunting. It is worth moving them near the cat’s nose in different directions so that he tries to catch them. Periodically, you need to give the animal the opportunity to catch prey.
Many people use the light spot from a laser pointer to entertain a cat. But according to psychologists, the pursuit of such prey causes great stress in animals, since the caught prey is never in the paws.
How to end a “game session”?
Allow your cat to capture prey at the end of play to satisfy the natural hunting instinct. This will relieve your pet from frustration. Please note that although many cats like lasers, it is impossible to physically catch the red dot, so the animal will be upset. If you do use a laser pointer, offer your pet a treat at the end of the game as “compensation.” The cat will feel rewarded for its efforts.
A good “play session” lasts between 5 and 30 minutes. End the games after the cat has once again caught the prey and no longer has an increased interest in it.
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Mouse Hunt
Hunting mice is one of the most favorite pastimes of cats. For this game you will need to purchase a toy mouse from a pet store. There are edible and groovy mice. Choose any of them and show it to your pet. If he likes the new toy, he will not let it out of his clutches for a long time.
Hide and seek
Few people have thought about how to play hide and seek with a cat at home. But this is the fun that animals like the most, because they can show the skills of their inner predator.
To engage your kitten in this game, you need to make eye contact. Wait until the animal is in a part of the room where you can see it. Hide behind a door or other object, and then stick your head out so your kitten can see it. If your pet is passionate about something, then call him with some sound. As soon as he looks at you, you need to hide. Repeat the action several times, but with the condition that you always look your pet straight in the eyes.
This way you can interest him. The kitten will see you playing with it and will begin to move in your direction to discover the place where you are hiding. As soon as the pet runs up to you, it can meow characteristically, as if urging you to continue the game.
Don't stop there. Quickly change the place where you will hide. And from there again establish eye contact, periodically looking out from the ambush.
Games with boxes and bags
Cats will enjoy playing with cardboard boxes of different sizes. They can be both a shelter and a toy that can be chewed and ruffled. It is enough to place one or several boxes on the floor or fasten them together, cut holes in them to create a labyrinth.
Instead of boxes, you can put a paper bag. First cut off the handles from it. Place crumpled paper in a bag or roll a ball into it. This will create an additional rustle.
It is not recommended to use plastic bags for playing. The animal may start eating them, which is dangerous to health.
Why do cats play with each other?
By playing with each other, kittens or adults learn their social role. They gain an understanding of boundaries and family hierarchy. If you deprive a kitten of the company of its mother and brothers and sisters, then just as cats play with each other, so it will test the tricks on its owners. Here it is important to be firm and clearly indicate the boundaries of what is permitted.
An animal deprived of such practice may become fearful and unsure of itself. His behavior will be driven by fear. This can become a serious problem for adaptation into society. In a healthy kitten, with age, games become more and more noisy and energetic, which indicates his health and proper development.
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Types of toys for cats.
Teasing toys.
Teasers
(fishing rods) can be very simple - a regular stick with a small piece of fabric or soft ribbon tied to it. You can wave, twitch, drag and circle the wand around the cat in a random manner so that the lure resembles the movements of an insect, bird or other prey to the cat. The key benefit of these teasers is that they allow you to maintain distance between your fingers and your cat's claws.
There are many varieties of teasing toys, and they are usually very inexpensive. The stick itself can be made of wire, wood or plastic, but, in any case, it must be flexible and durable. You can attach a lot of objects to such a fishing rod, as long as they attract the cat’s attention: feathers, strings or small soft toys. All this can be supplemented with bells or electronic chips that make sounds, and/or scents with the smell of catnip or any other scent that cats love. Feathers from large birds can be used as wand toys in their own right.
After playing, it is best to put the stick away for the following reasons:
- The toy should only be available to the cat when you are playing with it - this will help strengthen the relationship
. - By putting the toy away after play, you ensure that it does not pose a danger
. Make sure that no pieces of string or other components have fallen off the toy, as these could be swallowed by the cat. If some parts of the toy begin to fall off, it may be time to replace it with a new one. - By hiding the toy after the game, you leave it attractive and interesting for the cat in the following games
. - Paper balls (experiment with different textures and sizes);
- Foil balls (wrinkled and shiny);
- Ping-pong balls (you need to monitor the condition);
- Sponge balls (silent);
Ball toys.
Small balls and balls
also very interesting for cats. The movement of the toy on the floor imitates the movement of a running mouse or other small animals that cats hunt in nature. To make the game more interesting, you can insert some kind of treat or catnip into the ball. To attract the cat's attention, bells or some small objects that make noise are sometimes inserted into the balls. The only downside to these toys is that they often end up under the sofa or other furniture!
The most common types of toys include:
Dispenser toys.
Many owners provide their cats with free access to food around the clock. This is very convenient, but often leads to cats eating more than they should. To avoid this, you can use food dispensers
, which force the cat to “get” food. To eat, a cat must expend some effort (and show some intelligence), which will satisfy its natural hunting instincts.
. In addition, dispensers allow cats that tend to eat very quickly to slow down their rate of food intake, as well as encourage them to be more active during the day.
It is best to start using food toys with your cat's favorite treats when she is hungry.
The dispenser should be set up so that the cat can get to the food very easily. The toy should not scare the cat. Gradually, cats will learn to associate the dispenser with food. When this happens, make the task a little more difficult. Close or reduce the opening through which your cat gets food. After some time, start adding pieces of regular food to the treats, gradually replacing them completely. Finally, set up a few toys in different places around the house and feed your cat only from them – boring bowls are a thing of the past!
Toys with flavors.
Most cats find the smell of catnip attractive. Adding this herb to a toy can greatly increase your cat's enjoyment of play! The catnip can be inserted inside the toy or simply rolled into a ball. You can rub the mint on a toy or put it in a paper grocery bag or cardboard box to attract your cat to play. Catnip is safe for your cat's digestion, especially if you choose plants grown without any inorganic fertilizers.
Keep in mind that some cats get very excited when they smell or eat catnip, so be careful with petting until you know exactly how your pet reacts. Even the most affectionate cat, when overexcited, can scratch or even bite its owner.
Toys with attractive features.
In addition to catnip, to attract attention when making toys, materials and technical advances are used that affect cats, causing their interest:
- Touch: wool, fur, cotton wool;
- Sounds: crunchy materials, bells, electronic sounds;
- Vision: vibration, feathers, luminous elements, moving parts;
- Smell and taste: fur, flavorings (smell of fish, poultry, beef, catnip, honeysuckle, etc.);
Export!
You won’t believe it, but cats also love to run after a ball and bring it in their teeth to their owner. It will not be possible to accustom them to this the first time, because you need to interest the pet. Let's find out how to play “Fetch!” with a kitten.
- First, prepare a comfortable ball for the animal. Since they always bring it in their teeth, it should be made of comfortable material. Some people prefer crumpled paper, while other pets love a fabric ball. Making your first toy is not that difficult, the main thing is to take a landscape sheet, as it is denser and safer. Do not use a newspaper or magazine, because the kitten will take the ball in its teeth and slobber on it, which means that toxic substances from the printing ink will enter its body, albeit in small quantities. Making a fabric ball is much more difficult. It is best to take an old cotton T-shirt or T-shirt, then cut a long strip 1-2 centimeters wide from it, and then roll it into a tight ball.
- Secondly, don't make the toy too big. It will be extremely difficult for a small kitten to hold a large ball in its teeth.
- Thirdly, when you have prepared the attribute for the game, it’s time to start having fun. Draw the kitten's attention to the ball by moving it across the surface of the sofa. When the animal becomes interested in the toy, throw it at a distance of 3-5 meters. If your living space allows, you can throw the ball much further - it will even be more interesting for the kitten.
When the pet catches up with the ball, in most cases it will begin to kick it on the floor, as if playing football. Give him the opportunity to frolic, and when you notice that he is tired or bored with this game, then take the ball, return to the starting position, and then throw it again in the same place. By repeating this procedure, you will see how the kitten gradually gets acquainted with new possibilities. One day he will realize that you always throw him a ball, so he will take it in his teeth and put it at your feet.
Cat fishing
There are fishing rods for cats, they are sold in pet stores. But if you don’t have such a toy at home, you can make it yourself. To do this, simply take a stick and tie a treat, a candy wrapper, or any other thing your pet likes to play with. You can sit in your favorite chair and start controlling the bait the way you want, forcing your pet to chase it.
Try to play with your cat regularly. Because she needs to move a lot in order to always feel good. We must also remember that games allow you to establish warmer and more trusting relationships with your pet.
Cleaning is fun for your cat
If you don’t have any time to play with your pet, then try to combine business with pleasure. To do this, take a string with rustling paper and tie it to your ankle, and then start doing your usual household chores. If you don't have rope, you can use a bright ribbon instead. The cat will certainly begin to follow you on your heels in order to catch the moving rope. The main thing is to be extremely careful. Be careful not to trip or step on your pet during this game.
How to care for two month old kittens
Nutrition. Starting from the second month, the grown-up pet is transferred to a more expanded menu. It includes lean meat (beef, turkey, chicken), sea fish, dairy products, vegetables, and cereals. The kitten should not be offered river fish, bones, fatty whole milk, potatoes, or pasta. Any salty, smoked or spicy dishes are also subject to exclusion.
If you choose ready-made food, then it should be marked “for kittens.” The feeding frequency during this period is 5-6 times a day. A two-month-old kitten significantly gains weight and the mark on the scale reaches 680-900 grams.
Toilet. The tray is placed in a permanent place. At this age, the cat is still poorly oriented and has not developed the habit of going to the toilet in a certain place. Therefore, the task of the owner who cares for the kitten is to help him get used to this. To do this, the pet is manually placed in the tray. To attract attention, you can use special sprays that are sprayed directly onto the filler.
Hygiene. The procedures for caring for a 2-month-old kitten remain the same. This includes cleaning the ears with cotton pads, washing the eyes with boiled water, and combing the fur with special brushes. From two months old, kittens can already be bathed. Water procedures are used no more than once every 4-5 weeks.
Vaccination. Immunization begins when the cat is 2 months old. Vaccination helps protect a still weak body from plague, viral, rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and rabies. Some multivalent vaccines contain a component against chlamydia. Before this, the pet must be treated for ectoparasites and worms.
Chipping. At 2 months, a young cat can already be microchipped, although veterinarians believe that this can be done earlier, since introducing a microchip under the skin does not affect the well-being and health of the pet. The tiny chip contains complete information about the cat: name, date of birth, address and other important data.
