If you love Ragdolls you have come to the right place!
Playing with Your Ragdoll Cat
by Katy Stuart
Top Tips:
-Have a wide variety of toys and rotate them on a weekly basis
-Check if there are any parts that can break off and be swallowed
-Never let your cat have unsupervised access to toys with feathers, bells, string, yarn and ribbon that could be chewed and swallowed
-Use the tease and catch method where you entice them to pounce on their ‘prey’ by dangling the toy in front of them or dragging it along the ground and then on the third time let them ‘catch it.’
-When playing games start off slowly and then increase the pace then have a wind down period
-Playing games at the most active times (early morning and early evening) is helpful in their sleep/wake cycle
-Make sure you put away any interactive toys when not in use to keep them and your cat safe
-Use cardboard boxes with holes cut out this is always a big hit
-You could use paper bags for them to climb in but cut off the handles so no risk of getting caught up in them
-Set aside a room or area for your cat to play which has lots of space and consider setting up a little play circuit with different toys and cat tunnels and activity mats for example.
-Do not allow your kitten to bite your fingers and toes in play sessions as this will encourage this behaviour as being acceptable when it is not (I made this mistake)
Types of Cat Toys:
Wands:
–Feather
–Fishing pole type with different attachments
–Danglers
Chase/Fetch Toys:
–Plush toyswith or without catnip fillings
–Flinger coils
–Mesh poles
-Bouncy balls
-Flashing balls
Interactive:
-Undercover spinning mouse cat toy
-‘Pop and Play’ mouse toy
-‘Spinning Bee’/’Flutter butterfly’
-Circuits
-Rollers/ball stackers
-Robot/roll around toys
-Laser (LED) pointers
-Wind-up/battery operated run-around mice, insects and other critters
There are also cat tunnels of varying types and sizes, activity mats, puzzle feeders, mini pools you can fill with water and place some floating foam toys in or small robot fish.
All these toys are useful to encourage the hunter skills in your cat and help alleviate boredom. Some will require batteries and probably some maintenance and repair/replacement parts if they get damaged. The mechanical toys can also be noisy and some cats like my Tom, don’t like the noise so it may not suit some cats.
I would recommend buying one toy from each category and see how your cat responds before you shell out a fortune on toys they won’t play with (like I did!)
Don’t forget you can create your own toys with household items (as long as you make them kitty-safe) such as cardboard boxes, paper bags, plastic crates, wadded up paper balls or felted wool balls and bottle caps.
The Process Of Cat Play
Ragdolls, despite their reputation for a laid back personality, are very active and require at least one to two sessions of play a day or more if you can. Cat play is normally based on getting them to use their natural hunting instincts as previously mentioned. You set up a situation where the cat has something to stalk and pounce on. For example, dragging a toy mouse along the ground or waving a feather wand or fishing pole dangler toy.
Then there are variations on this theme with interactive toys where the ‘prey’ pops in and out or spins around so they have to chase it. You can also invent your own game based on your observations of what they like to do, which is what I have done.
I haven’t had a huge amount of success with the more expensive interactive toys, They tend to sit in the toy box and gather dust. I have found that simple cat toys like feather wands/wagglers, catnip plushies, balls, flingers/springers, fishing pole danglers and household items such as cardboard boxes are the best.
You do need to devote yourself to playtime with your Ragdolls, just you and them, no distractions. I sometimes am guilty of typing with one hand and waving the feather wand with the other but Jack soon loses interest. Ragdolls love to please you and they want you to get involved. They will play by themselves sometimes but they enjoy it much more if you join in. I get on my hands and knees so I am at their level and play hide and seek around the house or hide behind the cardboard boxes and wave the feather wand so Jack can stalk it.
Of course, I am aware that some pet owners are not that agile, but you can just sit in a chair and dangle a toy in front of them which will do just as well. It really helps to engage them as much as possible with your enthusiasm for play and they will love it.
It is so satisfying when they grab hold of the feather wand or dangler toy,growl and run off with it as if to say ‘It’s mine now’!
I have invented some games as well. For example, Tom is not very interested in feather wands and dangly toys but he loves the flinger coils and mesh poles. So I placed them in between the bannister rails on the stairs and he loves to poke his paws through and knock them off and chase after them. Also we have the ‘scarf’ game where I put scarves over them and then roll a ball or a flinger to them and they try and catch it with the paws underneath the scarf. Strange I know but they love it. Best advice is to be creative and work out what games your Ragdolls respond to best.
I made this for them they love it
Here are some other ideas:
Cat apps on your phone – you can download apps that have fish swimming for example and they can watch these and paw at them.
Hide treats somewhere around the house so they have to find them
Blow bubbles- you can buy special cat bubbles (non-toxic)
Teach them a trick- you can train Ragdolls to fetch for example with the reward method.
Speak to them in their language- Jack chirrups at me (or grumbles) so I mimic the sounds and he then he ‘talks’ back to me and we have little conversations.
Puzzle feeders and food distributor balls
Laser toys- bare in mind that you should end the game with a treat so they can find it and avoid the frustration of not catching their prey.
Hide toys inside cat tunnels and cat trees- I put some of their favourite toys e.g. catnip toys in their cat tree house and they have fun going inside and fetching them out. I also hide them under rugs and mats as well.
In summary, play is important for a happy, relaxed cat and spending time observing your Ragdolls in play sessions is vital to understanding what they enjoy doing the most and then adapt your playtimes accordingly.
