If you do not know how to play with your cat, well know that you can play with him cat and mouse ! And yes: It's a game that allows you to learn to play with your cat, to satisfy your hunting instinct, to share a moment of complicity and fun with him while educating him playfully!
Playing with your cat to satisfy your hunting instinct
Domesticated cats have retained their predatory instincts from when they were wild animals and hunted. We all know that cats loved to chase mice.
Indeed, cats have always had a natural need to watch for prey and hunt it. But to satisfy this need, nothing better than play with your cat cat and mouse !
Play with your cat so that he doesn't get bored
We all too often forget: Despite their need for independence and solitude, a cat still needs to play and interact with you. They need it for distraction as cats can suffer from boredom. See my article: Bored cat - How to occupy your cat?
Play with your cat to educate it
Educate a kitten requires time and patience (see How to raise a 3 month old kitten ?). The best and most fun way to educate a cat is through play!
Indeed, by playing with your cat, it will learn solid bases of socialization, to control its claws and especially to respect the limits which you will impose on it. Indeed, it is you who will decide where you will play with him, the time you will devote to him and the rules of the game!
Offering him a reward will be the counterpart of respectful behavior during the game (without aggression, without pawing, without biting…).
Play cat and mouse
Cats love to hunt rodents, especially mice. They like to track them, to catch them but especially to play with them before the killing.
Play cat and mouse has become a game and an expression that can have several meanings. Usually it is used when one person is playing with another person and one takes turns dominating the other or chasing after him. The person who is chased can make believe that he is going to be caught but on the contrary will start to chase the other and so on ...
Playing cat and mouse - Game principle
Who hasn't played cat and mouse in the schoolyard? In a small group, one child is referred to as the cat. He must then run after the mice (all the other children in the group) and touch them when they are standing.
If they are squatting, the cat can no longer touch them. The cat counts to 3 and the mice must move again.
When the cat touches a mouse, it in turn becomes a cat and must race to touch a mouse and so on!
Playing cat and mouse - Which mouse?
Whether traction, spring, plush or electronic, the mouse that you will use to play with your cat should be first and foremost realistic because it should stimulate your cat's hunting instinct.
The mouse must also have the right size so that your cat can easily hold it between its paws and be able to put it in its mouth.
Buy a mouse to play with your cat
Here is a model that makes my little Mistee completely gaga: This is a mouse that moves on its own. Very realistic by its design and its movements, the mouse which looks like a real one stops suddenly as if to hide and then leaves with random movements which deceive the cat.
Make a mouse to play with your cat
You can make a toy yourself that will look more or less like a mouse simply with crumpled paper, a sock or a string.
Take a small sock, fill it with compressed paper in a ball and tie the sock with string or a cord that you will let protrude in the shape of a tail.
You can use this mouse to play cat and mouse (see below) but also to stimulate your cat to other games. Indeed, by hanging the mouse on a spring, on the wire of a fishing rod or on the end of a stick, you will have other ways of playing with your cat with the mouse that you made.
How to play cat and mouse with your cat?
- Choose the play space: It should be large enough and include some furniture or accessories.
- Prepare treats that will inspire your cat to learn to fetch mice by your rules.
- Stand 1 meter away from your cat and show him the mouse by making it move in front of him.
- Throw the mouse right in front of him so he can easily catch it.
- Ask him to bring it back to you and reward him as soon as he lets go of his prey.
- You must then throw the mouse again each time a little further and wait for it to bring the toy back to you. Reward him with a treat.
- When your cat has understood the game well, you can start hiding the animated mouse so that it is really on the “hunt” and proudly brings its prey back to you.
- If you use a "homemade" mouse, hang it on the line of a fishing rod to make it move on the ground and thus encourage your cat to run after to catch it.
How long to play with your cat?
A cat gets bored very quickly and will not stand to play cat and mouse with you for too long. The best will be to play for ten minutes and to do two to three sessions of the game every day.
What if your cat doesn't want to play with you?
Playing with your cat should be fun. You shouldn't force your cat to play if she doesn't want to.
When it is the right time, then offer to play and be patient because it will take a while for your cat to understand that he has to bring the mouse back to you.
On the other hand, when he understands the game, he will love it and can even sometimes bring the mouse to you and put it in front of you to make you understand that he wants to play with you!
If you find that your cat doesn't like playing cat and mouse, don't push it and choose another game to play with:
- By using a laser that you will project on a wall in front of him to try to catch the beam of light. Laser to play with your cat
- By throwing a ping-pong ball at your cat. By rolling it gently then bouncing in front of it, you will encourage it to play with you ...
- While playing hide and seek: Hide toys or treats in empty boxes, tunnels, cupboards and make him search.
- With an interactive toy that cats love: the fish that moves on its own!
