Playtime is important to your cat. In a single cat household, that should include solo and interactive playtime. In multicat homes, ideally you want to see cats engage in solo play, social play with each other, and interactive play with you.

Why is play important?

• For kittens, playtime provides the opportunity to learn about emerging skills and coordination. Playtime between littermates is crucial to social development. It’s during this time that kittens learn bite inhibition, cooperation, fairness, and communication. Kittens taken away from their mother and littermates too early are denied those cat-to-cat social lessons.

• For all cats, playtime is important for physical well-being. Cats were born to be hunters. They need to be able to use their prey-drive on pretend prey (toys) and receive adequate daily stimulation. Playtime is beneficial exercise at any age.

• Playtime helps confidence. Allow kitty to be the mighty hunter to help him feel more comfortable in his environment, less timid around people, and develop trust. Interactive playtime is one of the best ways to build trust between cat and owner.

• Playtime is for behavior modification when it comes to helping feuding felines. There’s a method I describe in my books about how to do parallel play so cats don’t feel intimidated by each other. Playtime also helps aggressive cats correctly redirect their energy. Playtime helps combat boredom and depression.

• Activity toys, such as puzzle feeders or even a box with a toy in it, can ease boredom for home-alone cats. Interactive play, using a fishing pole-type toy, helps you teach kitty what is acceptable to bite and chase and allows you to move the toy like prey which will stimulate the cat.

Age-appropriate daily playtime is one of the greatest gifts you can give your cat. Life should be fun!

For more information refer to the book Think Like a Cat.

© 2009 Cat Behavior Associates, LLC