How about getting into a cat's skin to understand what motivates him in games and toys, and what interests him less? Let's go!
You are peacefully installed in your favorite cat tree, the Katt3, to prepare for your next nap that you will do after your demanding day of work, washing your belly! Your favorite adopter ... (yes, that's the name we need to call them now!) arrives at home sooner than usual. She seems all excited and you perceive it in her eyes.
"Hello my beautiful coconut! Guess what mom did when she knew she could leave work earlier? "
She shows you a plastic bag filled with objects of all colors. It seems that your adopter is excited by the contents of the bag, but for now you are more attracted at the bag itself. Yes, like many other cats, plastic bags literally drive you crazy. Besides, you don’t even know why, even human scientists have no idea. There is nothing in the plastic that can explain this attraction. The only logical explanation would be the texture and noise that these bags make.
"Yes, I went at the pet shop and bought all that for you! "
She takes out a small cylindrical object that she takes in her hands and points at you. Here is a red dot appears on the ground near you and moves very quickly. Your cat instincts take over and you jump on the red dot ... it disappears. After three tries, you can see that no matter how hard you try, you can’t catch that little red dot. Maybe other cats are stupid enough to run after a little red dot, if you caught it, would feed you less than a mosquito, but not you! It's not worth spending energy on that. You go to bed watching your adopter so she understands that the toy you can’t catch is uninteresting.
"Okay, I knew that it wasn’t your kind of toy. Let's look at what else I have. "
Now, she throws an object on the floor near you. At first glance, it's gray and not very exciting. In addition, there is nothing more.
"What!? You do not like the beautiful red color of this toy? "
Ahah! For you, red appears more like gray. The hues of blue, yellow, green and even orange are better perceived by cats, but it is not really the color that bothers you the most. It is rather that this toy has absolutely nothing attractive.
" Okay! You do not have any interest in that one too. Guess what?! There was a new collection of toys that just arrived in store and developed by the CatEducator. I bought some! "
You can’t stop smiling at the mention of this name. This guy and his team are so cool and understand so much of cat needs (I'm the author, I can make you say what I want!). These toys should be pretty good and more attractive. Your adopter takes out a kind of blue winged unicorn and throws it near you. While the plush toy is still in flight, you can see a tail and wings that fly in all directions! That's what we call a cat toy! Without hesitating, you throw yourself on the toy.
After a few minutes of trying to rip all the pieces that exceed the toy without success, you understand that these toys are not like those your adoptive mother bought at the discount store. These toys ripped easily, and you almost swallowed a bell. Since then, your adopter is more careful and buys top quality toys at the pet store.
"I have more ... look! "
This time, she throws a small and light ball that slides on the ground in all directions. Without hesitation, you jump on the object, but before you had time to plant a claw, the object hits your paw and bounces in another direction. You try to control the ball, but it is too light to be easy to catch. Wow! This toy is fun! You soon find yourself near the couch in the living room and see the ball disappear under it. You put your head down to see where it is, and you see the other 34 toys that you hunted this week and found themselves under the couch. The time will come when your adopter will clean up, see all the toys and go for her usual comment "Ha! That's where they were all hidden! "
In the meantime, you go back toward your adopter, who holds a wand with something very interesting at the end. The wand flies in all directions and makes the sound of a bird or an insect. You froze on the spot. Your eyes dilate with excitement, finally a little interaction! You lay down on the ground and try to be as motionless as possible by following the stimulating with your eyes. Then, you realize that your back wiggles in small movements from left to right without you being aware of it. All this to help to ground your legs and prepare your muscles for the effort that will be soon ask your body to jump on the interactive toy.
WHAM! Let's go! It's really funny! You spend yourself without counting for 10 minutes and you find yourself quickly out of breath! Many believe that you need more play time than that. You are a sprinter, not a marathoner. Twice a day for 10 to 15 minutes is enough to keep you entertained and maintain a fit shape. You know that your adopter will not let you play with this toy alone. Unlike other toys, it will be store because it must be used under supervision. In addition, as it is not always available when you want it, it makes it even more attractive when it appears. You see that your adoptive mother is well aware of cat play time techniques. She has certainly taken courses, because not everyone can play with cats, but this is a story for another chronicle. In the meantime, have fun with your clever toys for cats!
