What makes cats love cat toys?
Im doing a 7th grade science research project…… What makes cat toys so special? Like theres the colors.. scent.. etc…?
Although dogs have been bred for many purposes (herding, hauling, guarding, etc.) cats have been used by humans for one primary thing, hunting rodents to keep them out of homes and food supplies.
Cats are excellent hunters. They are patient, quiet, fast and deadly. Therefore, toys that mimic hunting are the most natural toys for cats. Cats want movement that is irregular as if from a living thing so the best cat toys are the ones with a person on the other end.
Some cats will, in a pinch, play with stuffed mice and balls but they are essentially dead things and nowhere near as interesting as toys with live movement. Some cats will play with images on the TV and laser pointers but neither are a good substitute for physical toys and, in the case of lasers, can be dangerous to their health.
February 26th, 2010 at 2:02 am
i dont think its the toys really because i have alll ways had cats and they are would rather play with a piece of paper or a string pretty much anything they will play with.
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February 26th, 2010 at 2:26 am
CATNIP!
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February 26th, 2010 at 2:34 am
the reason cats love cat toys is because the toys invoke their natural hunter’s instincts…
it’s not because of the colors because cats are, for the most part, colorblind. They can see blues and greens but not reds or pinks; for the most part cats show no attraction to any one color toy:
http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=165
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/903122934.Zo.r.html
the scent of the toy may help the cat to want to play with it, if it is a catnip toy. Catnip is an herb that the majority of cats are attracted to; not all cats are effected by catnip but for those who are effected by catnip, the effect is generally either mellow or hyper depending on the cat:
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/obedcat/a/catcatnip.htm
http://www.cat-world.com.au/Catnip.htm
http://www.myhealthycat.com/catnip.html
for the most part, cats like toys that invoke their natural hunter’s instincts. Cats normally hunt birds and mice, for the most part they like toys that sound, move, or look like the things that they hunt. This is why cloth mice are so popular for cats; they look like mice and when you bat them they scurry across the floor the way a mouse would. Another popular toy is a feather on the end of a stick, this resembles birds flying about just of the cat’s reach.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=1&acatid=255&aid=1641
http://petvideo.com/index.cgi?category=28
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=1&acatid=255&aid=481
the last three links should be most helpful to your project:
good luck!
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February 26th, 2010 at 2:51 am
Cat toys have catnip in them. The smell drives them wild.
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February 26th, 2010 at 3:05 am
Cats like to play with toys and other items because they are predators and toys simulate the hunt. Catnip on some toys may make them more inviting, but toys without catnip are just as fun. Not all cats react to catnip, and kittens won’t react to it until they are around six to nine months old. Interactive toys are the best because as you move them, the cat’s prey drive really kicks in and just a slight movement imitates the movement of a bird or rodent. Even simple things like a piece of paper or a leaf can be enough to stimulate a cat to "hunt" and hone her skills. Things like different colors and fancy eyes/ears are really there for the benefit of the owner. Toys that make a slight noise, like a bell or the type that crinkle may catch a cat’s attention more than a toy without noise.
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Bachelor’s in animal behavior and 20 years working with other people’s animals in veterinary clinics and animal shelters
February 26th, 2010 at 3:40 am
Although dogs have been bred for many purposes (herding, hauling, guarding, etc.) cats have been used by humans for one primary thing, hunting rodents to keep them out of homes and food supplies.
Cats are excellent hunters. They are patient, quiet, fast and deadly. Therefore, toys that mimic hunting are the most natural toys for cats. Cats want movement that is irregular as if from a living thing so the best cat toys are the ones with a person on the other end.
Some cats will, in a pinch, play with stuffed mice and balls but they are essentially dead things and nowhere near as interesting as toys with live movement. Some cats will play with images on the TV and laser pointers but neither are a good substitute for physical toys and, in the case of lasers, can be dangerous to their health.
References :
February 26th, 2010 at 4:08 am
I agree with the poster that said cat likes things that invoke their natural instincts.
Their natural tendence is to run, catch, hide, sneak up…
Any item that allows them to display these tendences is a good toy.
My kittens love cardboard boxes because they like to hide in it. It is dark and serves as an excellent fort to plan enemy attacks. One kitten will hide in the box and another comes to explore that box but is scared away. LOL They also love to chew on the cardboard.
They love the feathery lure that comes with Da Bird wand. When you swing the lure around, it looks like a bird fluttering in the air. They chase, catch, and bite the feathers.
The little red dot from the laser pointer is very interesting to them. It moves around but they can never seem to grab hold of it.
Newspaper and paper bags are fun because it makes crinkle sounds and they like to shred it up.
We also have a real fur toy mouse, Rosie Rat by Kookie Kitty, that they absolutely love. When you or I examine it, it feels nice but is basically a dead mouse. When they get it, they seem to pretend that it is alive. They bat it left and right, grab it with their paws and toss it in the air, catch it and repeat. They also carry it around the house in their mouth.
A similar toy is a mouse with real fur on a string, we hang it from the door threshold and they bat it around for hours.
My kittens don’t care for catnip. It just might be that they are still young and it does not affect them the way catnip affects other cats. They are about 27 weeks old.
They have lots of different size, shape, texture toys but the only ones that they play with are the above. Listed below are some of the rejects.
cotton pig with crinkle material that makes crinkle sounds when squeezed – rejected
chenille soft frog stuff with catnip from Dr. Noys- rejected
tinsel balls – rejected
TLC Cat-N-Mouse Cat Toy – short time amusement, the cat will bat the mouse and it spins in a circular cave that has many holes, sometimes exposed and other times hidden from view. This mouse is not made out of real fur.
It is really hard to say what cats like in toys. I believe my kittens like toys that are made of natural materials – feathers, real fur, cardboard/ paper. They like toys that make them run around. They like toys on strings. They like strings and tassels. They love sleeping on my microfiber blankie. They love their faux sheepskin hammocks.
Maybe you might want to expand your research to what kinds of textures and shapes cats like rather than just limiting it to toys.
I hope I was able to help. It is a very hard question to answer.
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