Kittens start initiating play with their litter mates as soon as their sensory and motor systems allow it. This means that from about 3-4 weeks on, play is a normal part of a cat’s life.

Largely speaking, there are 3 types of play behaviour in cats: locomotor (for example, when your kitten is chasing its tail, it’s engaging in locomotor play), object (scooping, tossing, biting, poking, chasing different objects, e.g.), and social play (usually starting with their litter mates or mother).

Play is also crucial in our relationship with our cats:

• first, it helps us to get our cats to trust us;

• then it helps us form stronger bonds with our pet cats;

• it helps our feline friends to maintain a healthy body weight, which may affect their life expectancy;

• it helps to keep our cats mentally and emotionally stimulated, which makes for happy purr machines;)

Of course, it also matters how we play with our feline family members. So, let’s look at some dos and don’ts:

DO:

• Play for a few short sessions a day with your cat (especially when they’re young)

• Use toys that can move in fast and unpredictable ways, such as bouncy things on a string (but never leave your cat alone with toys on long strings – they can be serious health hazards)

• Give them a kicker toy to attack and kick, if your cat is into wrestling or attacking (this is also a great distraction from their attacking your limbs or body). It can be easily made from an old stocking or sock, for example, or why not just use a dog’s play rope😊

• Have a variety of toys available, because cats can become bored very easily

• Allow them to occasionally ‘catch and kill’ the toy prey, to keep them interested and satisfied. It’s good to finish playing on a high note for the cat – with a successful catch, for example😊

• Play ‘catch and kill’ with your cat just before feeding them – it mimics what would happen in the wild and therefore feels natural to your cat

• Provide your cat with a tall something to climb – it could be a shelf, a cat tree, a wardrobe etc

• Give them a scratching post, or better yet, a few, and the taller the better

• Give them balls to run after – they can be fancy with shining surfaces and bells inside, or they can be scrunched up from a supermarket receipt or baking parchment😊

DON'T:

• Use your fingers as wriggly ‘prey’ (remember, human hands and feet are not toys!). It is especially important to keep that in mind when playing with kittens, as you are teaching them about behaviour that is or isn’t acceptable in a socialised setting. And those cute little kittens with their cute little teeth and nails will become nature’s perfect predators with teeth and nails that are very far from cute or little. So, it’s best to make sure that they know early on that it’s not cute to be sinking them into us😊

• Play rough and tumble with your cat (they have sharp claws and teeth and will use them in the heat of play)

• Ever put your face right up to a playing cat’s face – you might get scratched or bitten

• Attempt to give your cat a belly rub while they’re in play mode; wait till they’re finished and relaxed

• Play with your cat when they are showing signs of aggression – when their ears are standing back, their tail is thrashing or skin twitching. This means that they are overstimulated and liable to attack you for real. Just stop and leave them alone to calm down. A cuddle is completely out of the question in that instance, it’ll only aggravate the situation.

So, have as much fun as possible with your feline fluffballs, just don’t forget those don’ts!

And then, of course, the great thing is that cats are actually pretty easy to entertain and sometimes they like nothing more than a rustle inside a cardboard box or a paper bag, or sometimes both😊