<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n There are several types of play. Play is always relevant to future activities essential to species survival so it comes down to food and <\/p>\n It requires a certain amount of brain development, particularly in the Essentially, play gives the participants permission to make errors No Hand-Hunt. Do not wave your hand and wriggle your fingers Do play \u2018distraction\u2019. Toys on wire or knotted ropes dragged across [\/fusion_text][\/fusion_builder_column][\/fusion_builder_row][\/fusion_builder_container]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"dsm_author":{"name":"Dr. Kim Kendall","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","archive_link":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/author\/dr-kim-kendall\/","biodata":""},"dsm_categories":[{"term_name":"Blog","term_id":10,"term_link":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/blog\/"}],"dsm_attachment_categories":[],"dsm_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"\/\/thecatpalace.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Play-play-.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nView Full Post<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nPlaying is a very important part of physical and mental development of all
\nanimals and whole books and serious study are devoted to the topic. So what
\nis play? There is nothing cuter than watching kittens play, but why do they do
\nit? It looks like a waste of energy! Is it only kittens that play and is there an
\nage when play stops and all activity has a serious intent?<\/h2>\nTYPES OF PLAY<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nwater acquisition, escape and social interaction including sexual, affiliative (friendly) and agonistic (aggressive) behaviours. There are
\nalso basic instinctive behaviours especially related to early survival \u2013 thus straight after birth kittens and mum both know to get the
\nbabies clean and attached to a nipple for milk to arrive. There is no time to learn this behaviour because too many babies would
\nstarve, so it pretty much goes like clockwork from the outset.
\nOf course, foals and calves can also get up and run at this same stage \u2013 but then they have been inside mum for a lot longer as well!<\/p>\nWhat is Special about Playing?<\/h2>\n
\nco-ordination section of the brain (the Purkinje cells of the Cerebellum)
\nfor there to be any directed movement (as opposed to reflex
\nmovement such the \u2018knee jerk\u2019). Early play activities in kittens basically
\ninvolves figuring out how to bat objects around and pounce
\non them \u2013 the skill being acquired is learning to hunt small rodents.
\nThis is called \u2018Object Play\u2019 and is essentially an individual activity.
\nCats eventually develop an individual hunting style, but the killing
\n\u2018neck bite\u2019 is instinctive and anybody watching even a four week old
\nkitten pouncing on a toy mouse will see that they are focused and
\nalready know where to grab it – just like their mum!
\nAs the brain continues developing, more complex skills are developed.
\nAt about 12 \u2013 14 weeks old, inert objects become much less interesting
\nas the kitten starts to learn about \u2018Social Play\u2019. This is the time
\nwhen kittens are learning to interact with others of their own species
\nin both friendly and unfriendly encounters. It\u2019s even better when the
\nhunting pounce skills are practiced on a moving object \u2013 the other
\nplay participant! A kitten is genetically programmed to pounce 30
\ntimes a day as this is the average number of pounces it requires to
\ncatch a full day of rodent meals!<\/p>\nSo what are the rules?<\/h2>\n
\nwithout penalty. The best illustration is the lion cub who chews
\nthe male lion\u2019s tail and gets away with a soft bat around the head
\ninstead of a lethal \u2018don\u2019t bother me\u2019 blow! Play is all about voluntarily
\ninhibiting the strength of muscular activity so no one gets hurt. The
\nrules are intricate and involve signals from both parties about the
\nwillingness to play at that time and the roughness of the play. It is
\na skill best acquired by playing with a peer with similar abilities but
\nanyone can play! In fact, researchers have found that even when
\nfood resources are unreliable or restricted, as they are for farm cats
\nfor example, adults will still spend some of their time playing both
\nwith kittens and other adults. Maybe it is for the exercise, but maybe
\nit is just for fun! Play is not energy \u2018expensive\u2019 \u2013 even kittens only use
\n9 percent of their daily calorie tally playing.
\nWhat does this mean for your \u2018tiger beside the hearth\u2019 \u2013 your own
\npuurrfect pet cat? Actually, it is very significant for both of you.
\nKittens have to learn the rules of play and if you are the only moving
\nobject in the house, then \u2018Tag, you\u2019re it\u2019! As the playmate you
\nhad better teach and learn the rules fast or get another kitten to
\nplay tag at the top of the pelmets at midnight! Learning play-rules
\nis particularly important as we humans have been selecting for cats
\nwho remain kitten-like for a lot more of their life and since there is no
\nneed to hunt anything harder than the fridge to get the food, all that
\nhunting instinct is transformed into play.<\/p>\nThe Human – Kitten play rules are:<\/h2>\n
\n(or even objects resembling them) in front of your kitten to entice
\nthem to play. Remember, what kittens learn to play with now they
\nwill hunt in the future and a cat bite can easily put you in hospital.
\nEven kittens can bite down to bone and when they grow to be a
\nstirred up adult who views a hand as a legitimate target, an angry
\nor frightened chomp could be the outcome. And the chomp may
\nnot be on your hand! As Dr Karen Overall, a world authority on
\ndog and cat behaviour says, why would you wave flesh in front of
\na carnivore? And no \u2018Clawful Bear Hug and Kick\u2019. This \u2018game\u2019 of
\nattaching ones feline self to the arm or leg of a human and biting,
\nclawing and kicking is a social aggression activity and part of
\nlearning to fight an adversary. Common sense says the adversary
\nshould never be something in your household that bleeds.
\nSubstitute a long sock filled with foam.<\/p>\n
\nthe floor are great games and your cat can happily be allowed to
\nkick and maul them as they are replaceable! Bouncy toys on wire,
\nbungee cords or fishing lines are great. Not every cat wants to play
\nwith a big toy the size of a rat though so keep the toys mousesized,
\nespecially for young cats. The Cat Clinic stocks a broad
\nrange of \u2018cat tested\u2019 toys to make your selection easy!. Hunting
\nsimulation with treat balls with food inside are fun too. Boxes with
\nholes and objects inside rate highly. Be inventive! Hide food in
\ndifferent places \u2013 even under a plastic cup is more interesting than
\nfood in a bowl.
\nAnd best of all \u2013 teach your cat tricks. Not just boring old \u2018sit stay\u2019
\nbut \u2018jump up here or over this\u2019 and \u2018run along a narrow board\u2019.
\nStimulate your cat and yourself. You\u2019ll be amazed!
\nRemember also that not all cats are lapcats. Sometimes, like a
\nteenager, just having the cat in the room with you means they love
\nyou! In fact, the official distance is 0.5 metres \u2013 closer than that and
\nyour cat is truly loving you in true feline fashion!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n