How Not to Play With Kitty

Playing with your cat seems like a pretty basic concept so what could possibly go wrong? Actually, there are a few major mistakes you can make that can create frustration for your cat or have the potential to contribute to behavior problems.

1. Using your hands as toys. Wiggling fingers are convenient when kitty is near and in the mood to play but what happens is that you send the message that biting flesh is acceptable. If the cat learns that biting in play is allowed, she’ll develop that as a form of communication and may bite when she doesn’t want to be touched or wants attention.

Don’t use your hands to pin the cat down or wrestle with her. In addition to the danger of you ending up injured, it changes the tone from play to battle where the cat views you as an opponent.

2. Never letting the cat have a successful capture. If you wave the toy all over and keep it out of the cat’s reach, it will get frustrating. Playtime needs to be physically AND mentally rewarding. Never capturing the toy leaves the cat physically exhausted but mentally unsatisfied. This leads me to the topic of laser light toys. Although they’re popular because you can sit in one location and send the laser light all over the room, the cat doesn’t get the mental satisfaction of having captured prey. Even if she manages to get her paw on the light she’ll feel nothing. Cats are tactile and have carpal whiskers on their forepaws to tell them whether the captured prey is still moving.

During interactive play sessions, make sure kitty gets opportunities to capture the toy. Think of the toy as prey that gets caught but manages to wiggle away a few times. Toward the game’s end, move the toy slower and eventually allow the cat to have one final grand capture.

3. Dangling the toy in the cat’s face. Chasing the cat with the toy also falls into this category. No prey in its right mind would go up to the cat and willingly offer itself up as lunch. A cat’s prey-drive is triggered by movements that move across or away from her visual field. Movement coming at her is confusing and can put the cat on the defensive.

Source: yahoo