How does your cat play?

[losna]

We bought some new toys for Sinbad and Tempest yesterday, and I was just reflecting on how vastly different they are.

Tempest prefers to catch her prey from above. She super jumps to land on top of it and bring it down. Then she tries to break its neck. It's *really* hard to get a toy back once she's caught it, she's definitely got the hunter instinct. Mice on the wand toys especially, she'll catch them, claw them, and go to town biting and tearing at them.

But man, is she aerial! This is Tempest at play, coming down after a straight leap up from the floor. I've seen her do a 4 foot high jump from a crouch on the floor. Super kitty! It's an aerobic workout to play with her because she is constantly jumping around.

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• losna
• Aug 31, 2014

Sinbad conversely comes from below. He wants to catch his prey from a hidden ground ambush, and when he catches it .... he hugs it and licks it into submission. He's much more perceptive than she is, but he doesn't have the killing instinct she does. I suspect if we ever get a mouse in the house, he'll notice it, lead her to it and she'll kill it (once they get along, we're still working on introducing them). Though he does like to kill flies and bring them to me as trophies.

Here he is, you can see his favorite play position is to lie on the floor and bat upwards. His favorite toy is a peacock feather, and since all he does is hold it and lick it, he's not destructive enough to break it! We've been playing with one with him several times a day now for two weeks and it's still going strong! Tempest broke hers immediately. lol

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• losna
• Aug 31, 2014

How do your kitties play? Now I'm curious about various personalities.

 

[littlelion]

I have been wondering about this too! Now that I know what The Cat's Meow is about (lol).

If the toy is a ball, Happy will not stop until he is so tired he can't move.

However, with rods and strings, Happy prefers to attack, hide, pounce, hide, attack, and so on!

Happy will go all out to defeat his 'prey' whether is it is jumping from the top or the bottom

 

[cicoccabim]

Hi!

my kitty starts beeing airborne, attacking from below. She attacks everything that she thinks is in her reach. After a while she gets tired and starts running, chasing her prey, sneaking on it, attacking and kill it. She likes to chew on her prey, and da-bird has no chance of her teeth..... they break very fast. When she is really tired but still wants to play she wants me to hold the toy (dangling from a wand) above her while she lays flat on her back attacking with her paws.

When she is a play-mode and I ´m too tired to play, I load up all the balls I can find, she sneaks on me and I throw the ball, she chases after it, plays with it, kil it, and then find it boring. So she starts sneaking on me again...... it takes 15-20 balls before she gets tired.

She is a bug-kitty. I have no more flies or spiders at home since I brought her home. 

She is part siamese, and has a very long lean body. So she´s like your Tempest.

 

[neely]

Our cat, Neely, is very fast and mischievous.  She enjoyed playing with our dog more than with us, they had a wonderful bond.  She will not tolerate another cat and thinks she is a dog too.

   However, our dog recently passed away, (16 y.o.).

   We have tried to fill the void but I'm not sure it's the same.  She's very affectionate toward us and always has been so we're hoping we can engage her in some new adventures.

 

[meuzettesmom]

I took an old kids fishing pole and tied a chirping mouse on the line( it lights up too) Cast it down the dark hallway and reel back cats. Cat fishing.

 

[blackcat416]

I have 6 cats who love to play. They have a toy box filled with hundreds of toys from mice to fur balls to tennis balls to cat nip toys. If they sell it, I buy it. Some items are just for me to play with them such as Da bird. Matthew likes eating string so it's only used with adult supervision. Plus I have extra birds for when they catch and destroy Da bird. I also have Da mouse which comes on a wire line that Matthew can't bite in two or swallow. This toy I have added noise making mice to the end of it. Most of the mice are bitten in two or 3 parts. So I'm constantly replenishing their inventory. They have a tree house in my dining room that has 3 high post, 2 hammocks, scratching post all over the place and their favorite toy of all is my nephews old junior hockey net. Without a doubt their favorite toy for running, jumping, smashing and body slamming themselves on. It lays flat, like a trampoline not upright like a real hockey net. I keep an extra large cat bed under the net to soften the body blows they inflict upon themselves when bouncing and belly flopping onto the net. It only gets scary when there's a cat under the net and another decides to dive bomb in the middle. That usually causes a game of catch me if you can.

 

[littlewolf]

Eli has never really been interested in real toys until recently ( he's 11/12) i caught him batting the mice on his scratching post lately. He loves chasing things. So he likes fetch and these ornamental sticks in my living room that make an enticing swishy noise he will chase them lightning fast if you drag them across the floor. It's funny to watch him spin around on the spot. He's not so much of a jumper but likes to charge around on the ground.