How long should you play with your cat everyday?

At least 15 to 20 minutes per cat

In addition to meeting the time requirements, there are some details for playing with cats:

Playing with cats requires a combination of work and rest, and taking more rest

A 2014 study in Tennessee, USA, found that most wild cats can catch prey at the fastest speed in less than 1 minute, and then they need several hours to recover their strength for the next hunt.

Cats are standard explosive players. Therefore, it is difficult to let cats do aerobic exercise, which is not in line with their nature, nor with their body structure and physical energy consumption mode.

Therefore, when playing with cats, it is best to play for 5 to 10 minutes, then rest for 5 to 10 minutes before the next round of play. Including the interval rest, the entire interaction generally takes ≥ 30 minutes.

If there are multiple cats, play with them separately, and each cat should play for at least 15 minutes.

In the eyes of cats, playing is a simulated hunting, which is to accumulate hunting experience, exercise hunting skills, and improve the success rate of hunting.

Therefore, the playing habits are mostly consistent with the hunting habits – not cooperating, and doing it alone. This is also why in a multi-cat family, when using a cat teaser to tease several cats at the same time, there are always cats who are timid and can’t play to their heart’s content.

Therefore, play with them separately. You can use the cat teaser to tease one cat first, and then play with another cat during the interval when TA is resting. If a cat is playful or likes to grab toys, separate the room and time to play with them at different times.

陪玩时间选对，花样要多

前面提到猫咪的玩耍就是模拟捕猎，所以TA们玩耍积极性最高的时候，就是自然界猫科动物会外出捕猎的时间段。通常集中在早晨（可用跑酷替代）、黄昏、夜晚，后两个就是陪玩的首选时间。

In addition to choosing the right time, you also need to enrich the interactions and toys to ensure the quality of playtime.

According to statistics from the American Pet Products Association, the median number of toys for cats is 7, including interactive toys (such as cat teasers), self-entertainment toys (such as sound-making mice containing catnip), hiding toys (such as tunnels), marking and grinding toys (cat scratching boards), enriched feeding toys (feeders), etc.

Only by providing a rich variety of toys can cats freely choose their favorite form of play, encourage cats to interact more, and satisfy their nature.

What is the impact of not playing with your cat?

We sometimes slack off, because we don’t have time, we are too tired, or the cat doesn’t cooperate.

But for cats, playing is actually their nature, and it is the most basic need like eating, drinking, and defecating.

In 2013, a study by the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex and Northumbria University in the UK found that cats who did not get to play with their owners were 4.2 times more likely to fight when going out; in 2014, a study by the Vancouver Animal Shelter (BC SPCA) confirmed that when cats are depressed and anxious, active interaction can effectively relieve their stress.

In other words, your playing with your child can relieve his boredom when he is alone at home during the day, and it may be the happy time he has been looking forward to all day!

So, don’t “fool around” and don’t deprive him of his happiness…