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| Play
safe |
The good
thing about cats is that they can play ball inside the house
and the owners will never know it. Still, there may be things inside
the house that cats could find attractive yet might actually endanger
their health and safety. Houses must be cat-friendly. As much as
possible, take away any string, yarn, needles, rubber bands or other
objects that could easily be swallowed by cats. These things could be
lethal to cats. Do not let them play with these articles no matter how
cute they may appear to be.
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| Play
soft |
| Choose
soft toys that can easily be machine-washed. It is best that the
toys chosen to be played with by cats are also the toys marked as safe
to be played with by children below three years old. Toys such as these
usually contain fillings that are not hazardous. Also, avoid giving
cats toys that are hard and rigid, these types do not appeal to them
that much. |
| Know
your cat, know their toy |
| It is best
that one also familiarize themselves with your cat. Doing so
helps in ones selection of the kind of plaything that best serves the
size of ones cat - the kind of activity the cat likes and its unique
preferences. Know the environment in which the cat likes to spend its
time the most. |
| Choose
active toys |
| Toys that
are great to play with for cats are usually the round plastic
ones (such as rings from shower curtains, plastic balls, golf balls,
balls used in ping-pong) as these give cats the opportunity to chase
and paw around. They could also carry these in their mouths, make sure
though that these are big enough they cannot be swallowed but not so
large that they cannot carry them in their mouths. |
| Choose
active play |
| Balls can
be placed inside bath tubs filled with water. Watch as cats
frolic and play on and around the toy. It is just as enjoyable to the
cat as it is fun for the cat owner. Another added feature that could be
placed on balls are bells. One not only sees how cats play, one could
also listen and take pleasure in the playful sound. Another simple yet
effective plaything for cats is a paper bag. Use
paper bags that do not have handles. These bags are good for pouncing
around. Cats hide in them too. As much as possible, avoid the plastic
ones as cats have the tendency to chew these and they may eat the
plastic. This is not good. |
| Toys
with tails |
| Cats like
playing with soft toy animals - specially the ones that have
tails. They either bite them, paw them or chase these little stuffed
toys around. It is best if these toys are as big or as small as the
cats playing them. |
| Toys
with catnip |
Catnip is
sometimes used as stuffing for toys that are soft. Putting
catnip in such playthings make the toys more enjoyable to carry, kick
and throw around. More importantly, it is safe for cats to chew on,
roll around in, or eat.
It is okay
for owners to place catnip on carpeted floors, or (to make
clean-up easy) on towels. There are now catnip oils that can be placed
on carpets, and they usually stay there. Cats detect these too.
Although small cats, specifically kittens who are younger than six
months have shown a certain kind of immunity to catnip.
All in
all, it is best that cat owners define what kind of toy should
be played by their cats. It is advisable that different kinds of toys
be given on certain days, and that displaying all toys simultaneously
may not be a good idea. Cats can easily tire of seeing the same fluffy
toy animal again and again. Variety always works best. However if cats
show a certain liking to a specific toy, let them play with it, or
sleep with it - whichever they like. |
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| Picture of the Week |
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| Super Fast
Fact |
The
Persian cat
is one of the most beautiful cats with a long, luxurious
coat. Owning a Persian gives one the same gratification as owning a
beautiful work of art.
Wild Cat
Here
are 36 species of wild
cats. |
| Useful Information |
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Domestic
Cat