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You are here: Home / Advice / Dear Sparkle: How Do I Make My Human Play With me?

Dear Sparkle: How Do I Make My Human Play With me?

July 25, 2013 By: Sparkle Cat25 Comments

Dear Sparkle,
My human spends all her time hunched over some big board instead of playing with me! She just sits there, holding these colorful sticks and rubbing them on paper. Isn’t that weird? Everyone knows that paper is for sitting on and sticks are meant to be batted around! So I am always jumping on the board trying to show her the right way to use these toys (after all, I have nothing better to do), but then she gets mad. She calls me things like “incorrigible” and “out of control.” She acts like there is something wrong with me when all I want to do is play — I mean, isn’t that typical for a young kitty like me, who’s barely a year old? Why is she trying to make me feel like some freak of nature?
Signed,
NOT a Freak!

Dear Not a Freak,
The only freak here is your human, for thinking there is something wrong with a cat who likes to play. If she wanted a non-playful cat, she should have adopted one who was older, like over 10 years old… although, I have to say, all of us here are over 10 and we still enjoy playing and one of us who happens to be the oldest one here (cough, cough… Binga…) is legitimately a troublemaker, not just a fun-loving kitty like you.

Sadly, you are not alone. Many young, active cats are accused of being “crazy,” “psycho” and the like when nothing could be farther from the truth. The real problem here is that you, like many kitties in your position, are just bored and live with a human who doesn’t realize how important play is — for both cats and humans. Humans need to set aside time to play with their cats every day, especially cats like you, who are still basically kittens. In fact, at your age, they should be setting time aside two or three times a day for playtime! It does not have to be complicated. It is just a matter of throwing around a spring toy or a catnip mouse, or making a wand or stick toy like Da Bird fly around so you can leap after it. The key is for your human to play with you until you are worn out. Then maybe she can get some peace at her silly board, misusing the colored sticks and paper.

I would encourage you to instigate playtime with your human, since she seems to be too dense to think of it on her own. If there are no cat toys in the house (and it is very bad of your human if that is the case), find something that works as a toy that you won’t get yelled at over, like a milk jug ring, and bat it around a few times in your human’s presence, then pick it up and drop it on her hand! Depending on your human’s intelligence level (or lack thereof), you may have to do this several times before she gets the idea that she is supposed to play with you. But even if she does not get it right away, persist. Humans function better when they take breaks from whatever “serious” stuff they are doing to play and refresh their minds. So when you want to play, refuse to take no for an answer. Playtime is a win-win situation for you both.

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Comments

  1. Mark's Mews says

    July 25, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    One way yer Bein can help you play is to keep a small bowl of kibbles near her an toss one around every couple minutes. That gives you somethin ta chase, a tastey reward fer catchin it, and the anticipation of the next toss. Of course more interactive play is better, but sometimes ya gotta start the Bein slowly an werk up.

    Reply
  2. Team Tabby says

    July 25, 2013 at 6:38 pm

    You did get some very good advice, Sparkle. In our house, to get attention, we stare, unblinking, at our humans, and/ or lie across the doorways.

    Mindy
    Moe
    Cookie
    Mike

    Reply
  3. Amelia Hughes says

    July 25, 2013 at 6:19 pm

    LOL, Wubbikins loved this! Cod help us.

    Reply
  4. Brian says

    July 25, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    😛 Anhuman that won’t play right is just not right!

    Reply
  5. Layla Morgan Wilde (Cat Wisdom 101.com) says

    July 25, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    The humans should know if they don’t provide enough playtime, kitties can get really creative by being destructive or engaging in other undesirable behavior. We believe in an ounce of prevention.

    Reply
  6. CATachresis says

    July 25, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Put in a request to get your dumb human transferred and start interviewing replacements NOW!

    Reply
  7. Emma and Buster says

    July 25, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Hello Sparkle, this is Buster. Let me tell you what I do when I like to play. Emma is older at 5 and I am 2, so I still like to play a lot.

    When I see mama sit on the ‘puter desk, I would rub her leg and meow incessantly. I really don’t need to meow that much, bec she always answers at the first meow. She always ask, what do you want Buster. Then I meow my answer. Most of the time she gets it. I want to play chase the red dot. And we play and play for a few minutes, until I get tired. Then I take a nap. Wake up and she’s still in the puter and we’ll do the whole thing over and over again.

    Reply
  8. Abby says

    July 25, 2013 at 1:04 pm

    Sparkle you always know exactly how to solve a kitty dilemma!

    Reply
  9. Kitties Blue says

    July 25, 2013 at 11:55 am

    Such excellent advice. This kitteh certainly is patient. We’d be shredding that paper and chewing on those colored sticks if we didn’t get the attention we were demanding. Not a FREAK’s human must have never had a kitty before. Hope this kitty is up to the task of training the human. It takes a lot of time, patience and perseverance. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    Reply
  10. The Poupounette Gang says

    July 25, 2013 at 11:30 am

    She sits hunched over a board with colourful sticks and paper and calls YOU a freak? Some humans! REALLY!

    Purrs,
    The Chans

    Reply
  11. Jean on July 25 at 10:15AM says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:19 am

    Kali and Shoko are siamese kitties. They agree with Sparkle and his infinite wisdom that they need interactive play everyday with me. Kali just watches but seems to get a fair amount out of playing vicariously through Shoko. Shoko could play all day..me, not so much!

    Reply
  12. Pasha says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Oh Sparkle, Our Mommy is on the dumb side! How do we get through to her? We tried shredding the couch, peeing in multiple places, jumping on her shoulders, remodeling the screen door with bigger holes. Sima even peed on her once, but nothing seems to have worked. HELP!!!!

    Reply
  13. Cathy Keisha says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Excellent advice! TW is getting frustrated with me cos I’ll carry a feather or straw across the condo and drop it at her feet and when she tries to use it to play with me, I won’t play. Yesterday, she—gasp—insinuated that I may be getting too old to play.

    Reply
  14. BeadedTail says

    July 25, 2013 at 9:26 am

    You’re so wise Sparkle! We pester our mommy until she plays with us and she ends up enjoying it as much as we do!

    Reply
  15. Famous SpokesGoat Pricilla says

    July 25, 2013 at 8:31 am

    You are a smart kitty Sparkle

    Reply
  16. Marg says

    July 25, 2013 at 7:47 am

    Such good advice. We all have our Person trained to stop whatever she is doing to play with us but we are lucky in one respect that there are a lot of us so we can play with each other. But great advice. Take care.

    Reply
  17. Madi and Mom says

    July 25, 2013 at 7:46 am

    Oh Sparkle this is too funny but true too.
    I like to play with my Da Bird at least once a day…my staff knows this but I usually have to stand in front of the female staffer yowling at the top of my kitty lungs to get her
    attention off the iPad or the crochet hook
    Hugs madi your bfff

    Reply
  18. Selina says

    July 25, 2013 at 7:44 am

    YES! Playtime is SO important! Excellent advice, well presented. We’re all lucky that MomKatt has NO inhibitions about crawling on the floor with us & playing! Teasers rock!

    Purrz!
    Selina

    Reply
  19. Feline Yogi says

    July 25, 2013 at 7:08 am

    As always Sparkle, you give excellent advice. So glad that you stressed how humans can benefit from playtime with us as well. If humans think there’s something in it for them, then they are more likely to play with us and give us the attention we need and deserve! Meow and Namaste! ~ Pippy the Feline Yogini

    Reply
  20. Katie Bella says

    July 25, 2013 at 6:15 am

    I have to tell mommy too!

    Reply
  21. Sweet Purrfections says

    July 25, 2013 at 5:55 am

    We have to remind our mom to play with us. We tend to get into mischief if she ignores us too long.

    Reply
  22. Hannah and Lucy says

    July 25, 2013 at 4:39 am

    Great advice as usual Sparkle – of course cats play if only to give their humans some exercise fetching the toys out from under the sofa!
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

    Reply
  23. Sometimes, Cats Herd You says

    July 25, 2013 at 2:54 am

    Good advice. Even older cats like to play, just not with as much racing around!

    Reply
  24. The Kitties of Purring Pines says

    July 25, 2013 at 2:38 am

    Great advise as usual!

    Reply
  25. unikorna says

    July 25, 2013 at 12:19 am

    Oh Sparkle you’re a very wise kitty…I shall take your advice into consideration when I consider requiring some playtime from my cats :).

    Reply

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