A Michael Broad Blog
Watching a kitten play with a toy; throwing it into the air looks like they are practicing catching birds by animating a toy to pretend that it is a bird and then catching it. This apparently is a misinterpretation. The kitten is instinctively practicing something that people rarely if ever see but which is …
The infographic summarises the four different fundamental types of kitten play in instinctive preparation for adulthood in the wild. The catch here is that adult domestic cats behave like kittens as humans keep them mentally that way and therefore, they continue to play as kittens into adulthood. We expect that but it is arguably …
This looks a bit strange – very strange perhaps – but effective. The idea comes from Rebecca Watson in her book The Cat Expert. I like the idea if you have a problem with your kitten or cat attacking your lower leg and/or ankles a lot. Wearing wellies protects them until they get out …
A kitten’s cry to demand something or other, usually warmth, food and security is more attractive than the baby’s cry. Discuss! Both the kitten’s cry and the baby’s cry are sounds which get the maternal and paternal juices flowing normally. It doesn’t always apply. Not everybody has the usual maternal instincts. There is a …
There are four fundamental types of domestic cat play: Play-fighting – practice for defending against predators and subduing prey. The mouse-pounce – practice in stalking small prey animals. The bird-swat – practice in attacking escaping birds by taking flight. The fish-scoop – practice in catching fish. You’ll see them during play either between kittens …
My conclusion from my discussion below is that domestic cats can get confused when they are licking their owner’s passive hand at a time when there is no petting and relate to the hand as food, perhaps a prey animal and bite it. It is an instinctive mental aberration brought about because of conflict …
A cat owner on the social media website Reddit.com asked the question in the title and I have provided the answer in the title. Kittens and young cats play a lot as we know. I can think of three forms of kitten play all of which are based on varying degrees of violence! Kitten …
This is called “social play”. It is the way kittens interact with each other. It is different to how children play. Kitten playtime is based on fights and predation (hunting animals) whereas although children sometimes fight their play together is generally cooperative and not agonistic (genuinely combative). The fact that kittens fight-play and play-hunt …
