How do your kittens play?

laceface

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So, after watching the definitely odd way my kitties play, I am curious as to how other kitties choose to play.

My kitties have a scratching post with a dangling feather on it. It seems that most cats I have seen bat at such things. Not my boys. They climb up the scratching post, sit on top, and bite and shake the feather. I think they are part dog.
I also caught Lennon in the litter box today, batting at that, pouncing at it, and trying to stalk it. The odd little boy!
AND, Lucy is a mystery to me. She is just now starting to play (at almost ten weeks, mind you) and Lennon and Ringo LOVE to pounce on her, and bite her till she cries. I normally try to separate them at this point, but every time I do, she jumps at which ever boy was getting her, and they turn right back around to get her again!
The longer I watch and love these kittens, the more I don't know HOW I am going to let them go!!
So, do your kitties play in odd ways?
 

alicatjoy

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Oh, it would be a long, long post for me to write about all the different ways my kitties play
. So, I will just talk about some of their signature moves -- ha ha!

Finnegan is a maniac. He plays with everything and everyone. But, his highlights would have to be how he plays with Emory and what he does with his more standard cat toys. When playing with Emory, he does absolutely everything he can think of to get her riled up. It's as if he wants her to get upset and start nipping and hissing at him. But, Em is too sweet and so she never does get frustrated with his play. But, he never stops and is always chasing her, swatting at her, stalking and "attacking" her, and nipping at her. He doesn't stop until he gets tired and then, as soon as he has rested, he's back at it. It's odd since it doesn't do it as much with the other cats. He and Emory just have a special bond. And, I do suppose he's lucky for that as I know she can be a spitfire! Finn's other thing is stalking his toys. He loves the thrill of the hunt, but, even more than that, he loves claiming his prize and sauntering around the other cats as if he were gloating. But, that's not all! Once he's finished his "victory lap," complete with purring and trilling, he takes his toy and hides with it...all the while growling. It's hilarious to watch as he is just such a character. Speaking of which, he has a toy under the sofa as I sit here typing. The other cats are not even in the same room, but he's growling like a madman under the couch. He's such a silly boy!

Delaney's idea of playing is bossing, or, rather, trying to boss, the other kitties around. She'll definitely get excited about a rousing game of Da Bird and she loves to play with the laser and other toys (particularly catnip toys!) but her real fun is trying to torment the other cats. She can be a bit, well, how do I put this, hmm, you get the point, right? But, she's never really ill-mannered. She just likes to get them all up in arms. It's odd since she's not the alpha...at all...but, it doesn't stop her. Laney's other favorite way to play is to knock things down. Anything that is not cat related, in her minds, belongs on the floor. And, she makes fun work of getting it there -- all the while watching me to see when I'll scold her. Pens, on the floor. Papers, on the floor (and chewed up). Hair ties, once again, on the floor. Books, magazines, trinkets, my glasses...nothing is exempt. For the most part, I don't leave anything out that I'd be upset over winding up on the floor, but that's just because I know that's how she is. Delaney is my little troublemaker through and through.

Cassidy's my lazy girl. Why play when you can eat? Why exert energy when you can sleep? And, because of her lackadaisical attitude, she will forever be on a "diet." It's hard work getting that cat out of her spot in the sun and into action, but it must be done. And, so, we play with Da Bird, we play with the laser, we play with lots and lots of feathers, furry mice, and catnip. But, even at her most active, she's a pokey little kitty. Why run when you can walk? Why jump when swatting a paw will do? Occasionally, she does get the kitty crazies, but, more often than not, she'd prefer to just watch the others from afar. Two years old and already a lazy bum
. But, nevertheless, she's my lazy bum and I adore her!

Emory is playful. As mentioned earlier, her primary playmate is Finnegan as he is always working out how to harrass her. But, aside from dealing with Finn, Em is a very playful cat. She loves to play with Da Bird and to chase wand toys all about the house. She will lunge, jump, and run around maniacally to get at the prize at the end of the wand. And, she's quite the athlete -- she can do all sorts of moves that even Finn (as my youngest) doesn't even attempt! She also loves catnip and will writhe around and play with any toy with catnip in it for hours. Aww, she's my little stoner kitty
. But, aside from that, she'll play with anything. She likes interactive toys and toys that she can play with on her own. It's funny as she is my oldest (at 2.5 years old), but she outplays them all, I think.

All of my cats play in different ways, but the best is when they come together to play. It's so sweet and endearing (and, at times, annoying and frustrating). But, they are so similar and yet so different in even the most ingrained behaviors. There is so much more that I could've added here, but I didn't want to bore y'all. I am interested to see how similar or dissimilar my kitties are from everyone elses -- this is an interesting thread and I hope more people will come around and post to it.
 

jazzythecat

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Playing with Jazzy & Ginga.
If this is thread means cats as well, I'll just post about my kitten and my cat ;]

Ginga is a maniac, she uses her claws and her teeth. Her favorite toys are feathers and well... basically anything. We have a ball on a string connected to our scratching post. Jazzy just bats at it, Ginga bites at it and claws it. She also bats it like Jazzy.

Jazzy prefers to only use her teeth. Only if she has to, she uses her paws. She loves playing with feathers. She bites them and chews them. She breaks them sometimes


That's about it for now,
Jackz, Jazzy & Ginga.
 

pami

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They are teaching each other many valuable things right now.... when they jump on Lucy ..... she is teaching them what to do and what not to do. How much to use their claws, how hard not to bite. Their little squeals teach each other these important things.
I miss mine being little babies like that. They played, wrestled, climbed .... whew little wild ones at times. But they know all of the important social skills that they taught each other through those little rough games.
 

rosiemac

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Rosie is 8 but she loves a good wrestle with Jack who's still full of mischief!. But all 3 of them have their moments when they have the night time crazies running up and down the stairs
 
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laceface

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Originally Posted by Pami

They are teaching each other many valuable things right now.... when they jump on Lucy ..... she is teaching them what to do and what not to do. How much to use their claws, how hard not to bite. Their little squeals teach each other these important things.
I miss mine being little babies like that. They played, wrestled, climbed .... whew little wild ones at times. But they know all of the important social skills that they taught each other through those little rough games.
Yeah, I just feel so bad for her when she is squealing! I am so happy though, they have learned to not use their claws ALL the time. They keep them in unless they are playing...now to teach them I am not a chew toy, lol.
 

mystik spiral

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I've only got one cat, and when I first got her I couldn't get her to play to save my life. THEN I had her teeth fixed, and once she was feeling better she was like a whole new cat!

Holland likes to play fetch with her furry mousies. Also, she likes when I play with her with her wand toys and scratching post. Her favorites are the fleece wand and the one with ribbons and a bell. I drape the material over the scratching post and she attacks it and then runs away. Then she comes back, stalks the "prey", and repeat, repeat, repeat. I have to admit, though, it's as much fun for me as it is for her...


The most fun, though, is when she chases moths and houseflies. They get her running and jumping with NO effort on my part!!
 
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