Playing with cats and dogs?

[Mia]

After he rolled in catnip and played in a cardboard box, he joined in for the first time ever with toys and a feather on a long pole. He didn't know how for two years, he seemed afraid and hid. Now, after watching me play with my two other cats he's learned how and seems to like to.

Do you play with your cats or dogs? And if so how and at what do they like to play?

 

[Thinx]

My little cat enjoys hunting hair bobbles, hairbands and bits of plastic that skim along. She loves chasing grasses in the garden if I twirl a long strand around, she's rather fast at it. She has a felt mouse with catnip in that gets rather mauled, and also has what we call a Thunder stick, it's a cloth covered cardboard roll with seeds that rattle inside it, and feathers on the ends. She properly tussles with it.

 

[LucyPurrs]

My 13 yo cat Lucy is a nerd! She loves computer videos made for cats like videos with mice scurrying around the screen, birds and squirrels (with sound of course) and something called the string game:

She has also done the cat paint program in the past and liked it.(‎Paint for Cats) Now whenever my room mate gets out her tablet, Lucy comes running and paws at the screen hoping my room mate will play a cat game on the tablet.

She is also wild about her roundabout toy which is a round track with a ball and in the center is a scratch pad for her. She'll bat that ball round and round and make it switch directions too: (Whisker City® Turbo Scratcher | cat Electronic & Interactive | PetSmart) She's so addicted to this thing she could make commercials for it!!!

Addendum: She's strictly an indoor cat but has a cat window out to our back porch which is roofed and screened and overlooks our backyard so she can watch real birdies out there.

 

[LucyPurrs]

Tried to attach a video of Lucy playing with the turbo scratcher but file was too large. So here are some pictures of her painting and my favorite artwork of hers (notice she signed it with a paw print).

 

[Aspychata]

I remember that both the tiny dog and the tux loved the same things , catnip, string cheese, butter, little dish of milk every once in awhile. I forgot, they both loved cat grass.

One fat cat loved lobster, the other cat loved tuna, neither one would eat the other choice .

 

[Aspychata]

Just finished playing with this guy, View attachment 59346
After he rolled in catnip and played in a cardboard box, he joined in for the first time ever with toys and a feather on a long pole. He didn't know how for two years, he seemed afraid and hid. Now, after watching me play with my two other cats he's learned how and seems to like to.

Do you play with your cats or dogs? And if so how and at what do they like to play?

What are all the cat's names? My daughter named the tux when it was kitten, she decided on *Cutie*. The bigger cat (both humane society) was named Prince! We named the Chihuahua *Obie* Star Wars reference. He was mostly white.

 

[Kirsty]

This is Charlie, one of my auntie’s cats. He liked to look out of the window most of the time until it got dark. I’m not sure how to interact with him except give him turkey from the dining table. (A bid bad, I know) but he LOVED it. He did snuggle into me on Christmas Eve when I gave him catnip.

 

[Mia]

What are all the cat's names?

All were strays, one feral. They likely had other names before.


I've tried various names with Iggy, he doesn't really respond to any of them. Recently a friend who came to visit, said the word cat in his Cree/Atikamekw native language and he went up to him right away. So maybe Iggy understands Cree better than English. I'll have to learn a few words.

 

[Creep]

Do you play with your cats or dogs? And if so how and at what do they like to play?

Yes. Games the cats play include:

1) Fitting in cardboard boxes.
2) Chasing crumpled receipts.
3) Chasing ping pong balls down the stairs.
4) Chasing string.
5) Chasing toy mice.
6) Chasing the laser point.
7) Chasing hair scrunchies.
8) Chasing the cat wand.

One of our cats will even chase a frisbee when she is feeling particularly playful.

I chase the dog when he barks at the neighbor dogs because he can’t bark & run at the same time & he seems to like it, at least he doesn’t seem troubled by it that I can tell. I don’t come at him to threaten him for barking (he’s a dog), but to redirect his attention to the running. We’re both burning off our excess energy.

 

[TheSaltyStray]

Our 20lb, ex tomcat rescue, Brutus loves playing with holiday garland. I was taking down decorations and could help but let him bat, play and bite at the crunchy garland. He is usually a very lazy couch potato, or a lap loaf, and it is nice to see his playful side come out. My kids and I both laughed at how spritely and goofy he was being with the garland.

 

[Gracey]

my cats chase my dog then in turn gallop playfully into the garden in expectation of the dog lolloping after them all goofy and silly where they may hide and then ambush him.


It only happens if the cats are in the right mood.
- otherwise the dog has to formally request permission to breathe the same air as them.

I have found; with my cats, if it triggers their prey drive, it's 'game on'

I've just been taking down some Christmas tinsel and piling it into a heap ready to place it all into a bag.

One of mine couldn't resist the moving, twinkling heap of sparkly and dove straight in,
to quickly dive straight back out when it made that hissy-swishing noise on contact

 

[Gracey]

The dog I 'play' with in an attempt to be the one thing he treasures above all else.

He's a sighthound with a very keen prey drive.

I'd rather he didn't hunt and chase the neighbour's companion animals and so I'm engineering it to make 'playing' and interaction with me far more exciting than anything else out there.

apart from squirrels. I am no competition if a squirrel is involved.