Domestic felines, that is, cats play when they are young to learn hunting methods, techniques that they may need in the future. This hobby of the kittens is an essential way to adopt a deep development of their organism in which the nervous system assumes an important role: brain and nerve connections.
Playing is good for young felines to make the appropriate adjustments between the sensations that come from the outside world and their organism. Your senses are fundamental to this indispensable connection. The game keeps sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch in the correct alert position and creates an amazing coordination of all the elements.
An animal that grows and entertains with the rest of the kittens of its litter and, once in a home, with the family that has touched it, does not usually have behavioral problems of fear or shyness.
The fundamental reason is the adaptation to our life and environment
Man, with the adaptation of the cat to his life, has tried to make his animal stagnate in an indefinite childhood. The human likes that the feline stays as if it were a puppy for its whole life, that it depends on us and seeks our pampering and caressing.
These desire to preserve the infantile stage of our pet have influenced the character of cats, which have adapted their behavior to the circumstances of the human environment and to the ease that man gives him to satisfy his needs.
For this reason, an adult cat continues to carry out childish behaviors, including play. It is not that the feline in his moment of fun is chasing, observing or hunting a prey, of course not, because he does not need it. His bowl is always full of feed or cans, so the expression of play is only a way to have fun, to pass the time, to feel comfortable in his territory and, to some extent, a way to exercise.
That kitten that goes out into the street, that spends many hours of the day outside, will spend less time entertaining than the one that is indoors, because it will occupy its leisure time in competing with other cats for territory, food or a partner .
Anyway, the game is a usual behavior of mammals, even more so if they are carnivores. Some species of birds have also demonstrated very basic game techniques. Reptiles and fish do not occupy their time in this entertainment.
What is already clear is that except for these animals, we all play when we are calm , without any pressure or basic need knocking on the door. For this reason, experts relate gambling to well-being.
The favorite entertainment of our felines is to go after animated or mobile objects. If there is nothing in the house that is in motion at the moment, they will find themselves something to “give life” and to pursue.
When a cat can’t find an item to play hunting with, it can develop behavior problems. If you do not find a better entertainment, you may want to spend your time scratching or misbehaving with the owner … It would not be the first time that someone comes to consult for having been surprised in this way by their animal.
What the owners do not know well is that this incorrect way of acting of the feline would be easily remedied by giving more moments of entertainment to their animal, moments of play with the correct objects and not forcing the cat to play with the human’s hands.
These aggressive behavior (in our view) are nothing more than ways of playing the game wrongly directed towards humans.
