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 is another study which reminds us how close humans (the ‘naked ape’ as per Desmond Morris) are to our primate cousins the apes. A research study has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which is the first to study the teasing behaviour of apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans (4 …
It might seem rather strange to state that this article is about the reason why domestic cats and kittens play because it looks obvious: to have fun, to enjoy themselves. There must be an element of fun in play but the primary reason why kittens play, it is believed, is to develop and reinforce …
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 …
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 …
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 …
I think that we can break this down into 3 headings (1) kitten play-fighting (2) dominant males or females in a group and submissive cats (2) grown-up siblings who have become independent and no longer regard each other as siblings. Kitten play-fighting The question in the title probably refers most to sibling kittens play-fighting. …
This article, social play in the domestic cat is based upon a research paper of the same title dated 1974 and prepared at the Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14850. The author is Meredith West. It was published on the Internet by Oxford Journals under the heading, Integrative and Comparative Biology. …
