This is Kato, post play. A satisfied, love-oozing, rolly floppy thing, ripe for a chin scratch. As I write, he is snoozing in his furry bed. Actually, he's dead asleep and snoring!
We've always played with Kato. Partly because the Man in the house is just a big boy, partly because it makes us laugh, and partly because Kato will let you know if you haven't.
And there's the important thing. With high energy cats, the way they let you know that you haven't expended that energy, can be undesirable. If your cat is waking you at night, destroying your stuff, hurting you, hunting you, roaming unceasingly...try some active play sessions.
The rules are:
1. no hands (or any human part)
2. don't stop until they flop
In fact, as you get to know your cat, it may take more than just one flop - they literally flop on their side on the floor (sometimes panting with their tongue hanging out). Kato will get up after flops 1 and 2 and look at you for more play. So he's a 3-flop cat (except on exceptional days...5 flops???!). Generally when he's done, he'll jump up onto his stool and loll around, squeaking at you to come and admire his upside-downness. Or he'll go investigate his food bowl.
Which fits very nicely with what Jackson Galaxy terms the 'hunt(play)-eat-groom-sleep' cycle. (And if you haven't seen his show 'My Cat From Hell' - which 99% of the time is about training humans -you are in for a big treat!). Cats are routine oriented, so tapping into this little natural routine makes them very satisfied creatures.
Here's some more on why cats 'need to explode': http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/what-makes-our-cats-explode/13731
Oh, and the flopping thing...it's not just ONCE a day. Cats need multiple play sessions. If you fit it around food, then 3 sessions a day. And yes, with the active cat, at least one of these sessions will be a loooong one (an hour or so). The good thing about having a dedicated super-session every day, is that it lets you more quickly satisfy them when time is in shorter supply.
We've always played with Kato. Partly because the Man in the house is just a big boy, partly because it makes us laugh, and partly because Kato will let you know if you haven't.
And there's the important thing. With high energy cats, the way they let you know that you haven't expended that energy, can be undesirable. If your cat is waking you at night, destroying your stuff, hurting you, hunting you, roaming unceasingly...try some active play sessions.
The rules are:
1. no hands (or any human part)
2. don't stop until they flop
In fact, as you get to know your cat, it may take more than just one flop - they literally flop on their side on the floor (sometimes panting with their tongue hanging out). Kato will get up after flops 1 and 2 and look at you for more play. So he's a 3-flop cat (except on exceptional days...5 flops???!). Generally when he's done, he'll jump up onto his stool and loll around, squeaking at you to come and admire his upside-downness. Or he'll go investigate his food bowl.
Which fits very nicely with what Jackson Galaxy terms the 'hunt(play)-eat-groom-sleep' cycle. (And if you haven't seen his show 'My Cat From Hell' - which 99% of the time is about training humans -you are in for a big treat!). Cats are routine oriented, so tapping into this little natural routine makes them very satisfied creatures.
Here's some more on why cats 'need to explode': http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/what-makes-our-cats-explode/13731
Oh, and the flopping thing...it's not just ONCE a day. Cats need multiple play sessions. If you fit it around food, then 3 sessions a day. And yes, with the active cat, at least one of these sessions will be a loooong one (an hour or so). The good thing about having a dedicated super-session every day, is that it lets you more quickly satisfy them when time is in shorter supply.