Cat routines
Oct. 30th, 2019 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterI haven't posted much about Emma recently. That's because in general, she's been doing just fine!
Some funny observations, though:
She really does love routine. Loves it. She's way more motivated by the routine of getting to chase her favorite toy than by food. She'll leave some food untouched and will cry over getting to play. Only AFTER she has played is she at all interested in eating. She's also back to a healthy weight and has only been barfing on rare occasions (after eating a plant or with a hairball, as best I can tell).
The challenging thing with playing is that she wants one of us to play with her. Playing by herself isn't the same. She prefers me, but if I'm not around S is still acceptable. The other day, she found the place where I'd stashed away her previous broken Cat Catcher wand, and did some very thorough investigating in search of the mouse that must be at the other end. So I'm wondering whether she would enjoy having some extra loose mice around the house. We shall see.
Some funny observations, though:
She really does love routine. Loves it. She's way more motivated by the routine of getting to chase her favorite toy than by food. She'll leave some food untouched and will cry over getting to play. Only AFTER she has played is she at all interested in eating. She's also back to a healthy weight and has only been barfing on rare occasions (after eating a plant or with a hairball, as best I can tell).
The challenging thing with playing is that she wants one of us to play with her. Playing by herself isn't the same. She prefers me, but if I'm not around S is still acceptable. The other day, she found the place where I'd stashed away her previous broken Cat Catcher wand, and did some very thorough investigating in search of the mouse that must be at the other end. So I'm wondering whether she would enjoy having some extra loose mice around the house. We shall see.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-30 01:21 pm (UTC)I've been overfeeding Sybyl, my cat. And also figure out a way that she can get more exercise as an indoor cat with a relatively small space in which to roam.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-30 05:50 pm (UTC)I really do think Jackson Galaxy is a high-caliber behaviorist when it comes to cats. He suggests routine feeding times and controlled feeding amounts, something I never did for Emma in her first 15 years of life. He also has a catchy description for stereotypical cat behavior sequences: hunt-catch-kill-eat-groom-sleep. So he encourages 10-15 minutes of playing with your cat to exercise it in "hunt" mode before providing food. When done so, there are a ton of physiological and psychological benefits.
It was a change in routine for us to have to add in the play and feeding routines, and S isn't always so interested in the play -> feed sequence. But the routines have been helpful. One benefit is you can reduce food portions and then your cat will be food-motivated in case you want to reward her for specific things.
I play with Emma inside. She loves chasing her mouse on top of our bed. If you don't have a ton of surface area available, it can be useful to think vertically. Jackson has at least one short video on how to play with your cat that I found useful for ideas. I wound up finding it helpful to set a timer so I play with her for long enough.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-01 03:54 pm (UTC)