Play is a vital element in your cat’s life.
“Constructive playtime for a cat is much-needed exercise,” explains Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM of Chagrin Falls
Veterinary Center and Pet Clinic in Ohio. “One hour of play increases a cat’s healthy lifespan by four hours. It often
improves cats’ mental health, too, lessening anxiety and destructive behavior.”
“Cats need play just like kids do. It helps them engage, deal with boredom and it helps build bonds between
[family members and] other cats in the home,” says Dr. Taylor Truitt, DVM, The Vet Set, Brooklyn, New York.
“Play stimulates their brains and also helps them exercise. Overweight cats are an epidemic in our homes, and
as we know, exercise helps us trim [them] down. Any time I meet an overweight pet, I talk to the pet parent
about playtime and burning calories.”
These are reasons enough to set aside time to play with your cats, but there’s one other very important reason
why playtime is essential for them. Play is a part of a cat’s biology, Dr. Truitt adds. Play simulates the natural
prey stalking instincts in cats, which helps them stay mentally fit and stimulated.
“Often when I have behavioral problems with cats, the owners are not actively engaging in playtime with their
cats,” Dr. Truitt says.
The mental and physical enrichment that develops from cats at play will also help a cat transition into a family,
animal behaviorist Russell Hartstein, CEO and founder of Fun Paw Care in Los Angeles and Miami, says.
“Without the proper mental and physical enrichment, play, stimulation, socialization, exercise and training, a
cat—and any animal—will develop and display maladaptive behaviors and coping mechanisms that will be a
problem for a parent and a cat,” Hartstein explains.