Cats are definitely not like dogs. In my opinion, they are more complex and egalitarian-which means you don't get slavish love no matter what you do, as with dogs. With cats, what you put in, you will get out. Put in neglect and apathy, you'll get an aloof cat. Put in love and attention, you get a cat who gives love and wants to be with you. Especially if your love and attention are given in good cat language. And sometimes we have to learn their language, both to give good cat affection, and see the affection they bestow on us.
But what does this have to do with toys??! Well it came to me the other day, that 'what you put in, you get out' also applies to toy interest. So often I hear people moan that their cat just doesn't play - they have all these toys and they just don't play. Or they think they don't have that magic toy (yet), which will MAKE their cat play. What they mean, is that they want their cat to play and be happy and active all by themselves.
Well, our cats can't do that, and I'm not surprised that many/most cats don't. What I have noticed however, is that both Kato and Ava carry the pleasant associations of a toy into their alone time. And of course we can't be there all the time, so we do want them to be happy and occupy themselves when we are absent. And this is the key..make the toy come alive with a fabulous interactive play session, and our cats carry the 'good fun' association into their alone play.
Just last week I had this epiphany, as a toy that had previously been given barely a sniff, became THE toy. And was carried around by racing cats, batted under chairs, and somersaulted over...it even got bitten in half!
What had changed? I had tied that boring immobile mouse to the end of a wand toy. And had a crazy play session. I was rewarded with a happy exhausted cat...plus the bonus of a cat that kept playing with that toy by themselves, for several days after.
Thinking further on this, I have a hunch that any cat can play more by themselves, if we first play with them. (And keep playing regularly with them). And it boils down to 'what we put in, we get out'. It even works if we just make a fuss and act excited about a toy!
But what does this have to do with toys??! Well it came to me the other day, that 'what you put in, you get out' also applies to toy interest. So often I hear people moan that their cat just doesn't play - they have all these toys and they just don't play. Or they think they don't have that magic toy (yet), which will MAKE their cat play. What they mean, is that they want their cat to play and be happy and active all by themselves.
Well, our cats can't do that, and I'm not surprised that many/most cats don't. What I have noticed however, is that both Kato and Ava carry the pleasant associations of a toy into their alone time. And of course we can't be there all the time, so we do want them to be happy and occupy themselves when we are absent. And this is the key..make the toy come alive with a fabulous interactive play session, and our cats carry the 'good fun' association into their alone play.
Just last week I had this epiphany, as a toy that had previously been given barely a sniff, became THE toy. And was carried around by racing cats, batted under chairs, and somersaulted over...it even got bitten in half!
What had changed? I had tied that boring immobile mouse to the end of a wand toy. And had a crazy play session. I was rewarded with a happy exhausted cat...plus the bonus of a cat that kept playing with that toy by themselves, for several days after.
Thinking further on this, I have a hunch that any cat can play more by themselves, if we first play with them. (And keep playing regularly with them). And it boils down to 'what we put in, we get out'. It even works if we just make a fuss and act excited about a toy!