Playtime for Cats: Activities and Games for Felines »

Helena Dbalý is a cat breeder. Stefanie Sigl is a cat and dog psychologist.

All cats, young and old, need plenty of playtime. Daily activities help safeguard their well-being and physical and mental fitness, and work to prevent the development of behavioral abnormalities. Unfortunately, cats are frequently bored and can suffer from their owner’s lack of imagination. This comprehensive guide offers a host of creative ideas that will add diversity and excitement to all play. Special attention is paid to developing a "fiddling board," a special device that will provide hours of entertainment once it is adjusted to the tastes and needs of owner and pet alike.

What's the point of a book on games for cats? 10

Rules of play for human and cat 12

Smelltastic-smells, herbs, catnip, valerian, etc 15

Drugs for cats? 15

Scented toys 17

A punchbag for scallywags 18

What's the rascal doing in my laundry? 18

A mouse, a mouse! 19

When, how and what do cats hunt? 20

Commercially available toys 20

Magic roundabout 21

Fabric mice and furry balls 21

The dangling rod 22

The feather play rod 23

The CatDancer® 24

The laser pointer 24

Home-made toys 25

Household items 25

Paper aeroplanes 26

Catching beer mats 26

Playing with string 26

Catching food 26

For the curious cat-searching and unwrapping 28

Searching for food 28

Unwrapping food 30

Food in a cloth 31

Unwrapping tea bags 32

Stuffed toilet roll 32

Who has the knack? 33

Box with mouse holes 34

The cup and pea game 35

Who's scared of water? Games involving water 37

Indoor fountain 39

Fishing permitted 39

Water? Bring it on! 39

Bath tub captain 39

Greetings from the big wide world-extras for indoor cats 41

Where have you been? 42

Small objects from the natural world 43

Real trees for indoors 44

The cat garden 44

You can train a cat ? it?s cat?s play! 45

Cats are not dogs 46

How do cats learn? 47

Playfully modifying behaviour during daily routines 48

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed 48

The kitchen helper 51

The training of signals 53

Come 56

The place mat 57

An obstacle course across the house 60

What do you need as props? 61

The target stick for guiding 62

The obstacle course with kids and cat 64

Acrobatics for cats 66

Dancing 67

Walking through the legs 69

Balancing act 71

Building balancing facilities 73

Balancing exercises 73

For advanced and expert balancers 75

How to get a couch potato moving 76

For strategists-the fumbling board for cats 79

What is a fumbling board for cats? 80

Fixed modules 81

Movable modules 83

The right board for every cat 85

What to do with a scaredy cat? 87

Options for those not keen on tasty treats 88

The cardboard fumbling board 88

The wooden fumbling board 91

The fumbling oasis 92

The fumbling tower 93

Wall-mounted fumbling boards 94

Modules for experts 95

A fixed module with an increased level of difficulty 97

A flexible module with an increased level of difficulty 97

Inventor's spirit needed 97

No time for DIY? 100

Cat activity-the fun board 100

Game over? 102

Further reading 106

Index 108