The Way of Cats

This was RJ between five and six months old. On the right, we see RJ’s Big Pink Dog, which is just begging to be wrestled with. On the left, his Wicker Fortress, where he retreats when something is getting the best of him. In the center, his Track Ball toy, with scratching cardboard in the middle.

Essentials, all.

My first real clue as to how much deprivation RJ had suffered was when we dangled a fake fur mouse in front of him. He just sat there.

That’s not the right kitten response.

Kittens are play machines, typical baby predator behavior. Baby rabbits don’t pretend to eat plants, they just do. Only predators (and thus, this shows we are such) have a play period in their youth. These are skills that must be practiced before they pay off.

I had to make the mouse act like a mouse; darting it across the floor, letting it peek a boo with him from behind a chair leg, make its tail wiggle across the carpet. Usually, this is not something recommended; Hands are Not Toys. But to get him started, I made the mouse alive.

Soon, he got it. Once the switch had been tripped, he was all over it. By the next day, he would take one toy, put another on top of it, and attack them both, Jet Li style.

Kittens need a variety of toys because their attention shifts once the prey has been conquered. They also develop preferences as they get older. Puffy likes crinkly little toys, while Mr. Bond is a fake mousie man, the furrier, the better. RJ has already shown a delight in big stuffed toys, so we’ve been getting him dog toys. The squeaker gets his attention, and the bigger bodies let him wrestle with them. We don’t give him regular stuffed animals, because we figured the dog toys would be sturdier and designed to be chewed.

RJ loves his Big Pink Dog, Rabbit, Hedgehog, and now, Moose and Squirrel. But he plays with them all, depending on his mood. Everyone loves the Cat Dancer, a toy attached to a thick wire that makes the “prey” flutter like an insect or skulk behind a chair. When we are part of the play, it’s important to let him bring the prey to earth and do some Death Blows on it. That’s where the satisfaction comes in.

So if kittens mess with the venetian blind cords, get them a dangly toy, and put those cords up top where they won’t be tempting. If the kitten attacks the kid’s stuffed animals, get the kitten their own stuffed animals. If the kitten is hiding in the wrong places, get them a play tunnel or even a cardboard box they can make their own.

Kittens must play. It’s the call of the wild. Which must always be answered.

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