The reason why kittens, adult domestic cats and small wild cats play

Playing for both the domestic adult cat and kitten and in general small wild cat cubs is about self-training and practising for improved predation for survival and to defend their home range.

Play is for honing motor skills in practice for predation. Image: MikeB

I would argue that for the small wild cat species, as stated, it is normally only for cubs/kittens to play and who do it intensively in order to train themselves in terms of coordination and general motor skills to become better predators (and survivors) when they are adults. And it is fun.

For the domestic cat it is a little different as they are cared for by their human caregiver. The human caregiver is a surrogate mother and this tends to keep the adult cat in the mental state of being a kitten and therefore they tend to have a kitten attitude or personality which translates to kitten-like behaviour which in turn translates to playing as an important aspect of their lives even when adult. 

Domestic cats and kittens play a lot because it's instinctive but it doesn't stop when they become adults. That's the point I'm making.

Experts have observed small wild cat species playing with prey animals such as mice in the same way as domestic cats. Some people think that the domestic cat is torturing a mouse when they do this. And they criticise the domestic cat for it. It's not true. It's normally because they might be a little frightened of being bitten because they lack practice in predation or they are instinctively practising predation and killing as was observed in a Geoffroy's cat in a captive environment.

The point is that the underlying reason why the small cats which includes domestic and wild cats play is, in the words of Jim Sanderson PhD, "to develop their motor skills". That's the purpose behind it rather than simple entertainment.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Is this play-fighting between a dog and cat safe?

The caregiver videoed their cat and dog play-fighting as they wanted to ask social media users if it was safe. I presume 'safe' for the smaller partner, the cat. And it think it is perfectly safe as dogs often 'mock bite'. They can bite very gently employing a 'pseudo-bite'. I've seen dogs carry young kittens in their mouths when nursing them as a surrogate mom.

Is this Safe Play with Dog Sister?
by u/Gartschool in cats

The owner says: Hey all, Apollo is my first ever cat, so I’m not super versed on what are safe interactions with his sister. Both are young, he’s only 6 1/2 months and she’s about 11 months. They play a lot, and most of the time he doesn’t run from her, he stands and holds his ground. We always correct and are training her to leave him be when told to, but we do want them to be best buds as they grow together. He does meow and ‘hunts’ her, I’m always trying to watch his body language but this video is a common way they play. I worry when she ‘pins’ him, but he doesn’t usually run away when I move her arm off him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

The 'sister' is the dog. Not the real sister! For me the dog plays more gently than many cats that I have seen in videos. 

When dogs and cats play, they have to use their mouths which is why they constantly bite each other but they are not genuine bites; just pseudo-bites. 

They haven't got hands to grab with. When humans play rough, they use their hands. Cats and dogs have to use their mouths to achieve a similar result.

Does this adult cat want to play with this kitten or is he being mean?

The owner of these cats wants to know whether the adult cat wants to play with her kitten or whether he is being mean-spirited towards the kitten? I feel that I can say with considerable confidence that this adult cat simply wants to play and he has a kitten to hand to carry through on that desire. 

Curious to get opinions, is he playing or being mean to our kitten? I feel like he’s batting at her so gentle it could be playing, he’s actually swatted at her in a mean way a few times but I’m still nervous to let them interact without supervision
by u/racheljobe in cats

The problem is that the kitten is a little too small to play with. I think both the kitten and adult cat realize this but as the kitten grows older, I am sure that they will play. 

I don't see anything mean-spirited in this adult cat's actions. My assessment is partly based on the fact that immediately before the adult cat approaches the kitten he was playing in the tunnel. 

He was stimulated to play; to have some fun. And his natural instinct was to go to the kitten for a playful interaction. 

They tap each other's paws as if slapping each other. I've seen this before quite a lot. It's as if cats are boxing each other and it's a kind of vestigial form of aggression which has been de-tuned to be play and no more. 

I do not see anything wrong with this behaviour in any way and I'm sure that these two cats will get along well in the future.

It appears that the owner has introduced a kitten to her home where there is a resident cat. If that is true, from what we see here, I believe that they are going to get along well in the future. I hope so. There is a possibility that they won't because when the kitten grows up, she or he will want their own home range which may be a friction point between the two.

Indoor cats stop fighting to watch a bird outside the window

This video on Instagram has caught the eye of many people. They are amused by the fact that this couple of domestic cats suddenly stop fighting when they hear a bird outside the window. They have a common enemy which stops them being enemies. That is the argument. However, it is a false one because these two cats are buddies. They are friends. And in any case a bird is not the enemy of a cat. They are a 'prey item'.

Cats stop fighting to watch a bird.

They are not fighting with animosity. They are play-fighting which comes entirely naturally for domestic cats. They are playing like kittens because - and I have said this before - they are kept in a mental state which is similar to that of a kitten. This is because they are looked after by a human. They have a permanent mother and therefore they do not need to grow up and become truly independent.

That said, clearly their predatory instincts are immediately aroused and take instant priority over their play-fighting. And this is to be expected as well. The domestic cat is a top-quality predator. Their instincts immediately drive them to react to the sounds and sights of prey animals.

And being full-time indoor cats, the window to the outside world is like a television for them. Windows are "cat television" to full-time indoor cats. Knowing that, there is a good argument to make watching it as comfortable as possible by placing some sort of bed or platform near the window. Perhaps cat condominiums should be placed near a window.

RELATED: Cat Television – a good example.

There is one negative about this. When a full-time indoor cat sees a cat outside the window they will be aroused because the cat outside is on the territory. Strictly speaking this is not their territory because they are indoors all the time but from the cat's perspective it is his home range. And therefore, he wants to go out and attack the intruding cat. Obviously, he can't which is going to be frustrating.

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Note: This is an embedded video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source or the video is turned into a link which would stop it working here. I have no control over this.

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Are these cats playing or fighting?

A Reddit.com user asks whether, what appears to be siblings, are playing or fighting. My response is that they are doing both. When young cats play together, the basis of their play is fighting. It can get quite rough but the 'victim' at any one time tells the other when it has become too rough by screaming at them. 

Screenshot from video below.

This helps to keep the "violence" down to a reasonable level. But you see slapping, biting and kicking with hind legs et cetera and it's all roughhousing play. One might invite the other to attack by laying down belly up.

Note: This is an embedded video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source or the video is turned into a link which would stop it working here. I have no control over this.

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I guess it is all preparation for independence when, if they lived in the wild, they would have to leave the natal home range and set up their own home range and defend it against incoming intruders with whom they would have to fight.

So, play for young cats as we see in the video is play-fighting. This is the default situation. There is a set of kitten play postures which include: belly-up, standing over, side-stepping, pouncing, chasing, vertical stance, horizontal leaping and face-off. You will notice that they are all to do with fighting an enemy which will no doubt happen in the future.

You will see play between offspring and mother which is not it seems to me "violence-based". Although even in this instance there is often a hint of violence because for example the kitten may bite their mother's tail or their ear. A modicum of violence appears to underpin all domestic cat play throughout their lives.

The other form of play that domestic cats engage in is also centred around violence namely play-hunting. All the toys that you can buy for cats are based upon hunting, chasing and attacking an object. The classic home-made toy is a piece of string which your cat will chase, catch and bite. This form of play is fine tuning a kitten's ability to catch prey. It is called object play. 

Adult cats also engage in "object play" and clearly, they aren't practising for the time when they will become adults because they are already adults but, in their minds, the adult domestic cat is still a kitten because they are cared for throughout their lives by their human caregiver.

It is interesting that domestic cat play is so closely tied to violence and aggression. The only reason I can think of as to why is because they are super predators. The cat is one of the world's best predators. Everything about their anatomy, being and mentality is to chase and kill. It is their raison d'être. We sometimes forget it because they become cuddly companions.

But at heart they are still that killer cat that is their wildcat ancestor who is still out there in Africa and Asia hunting rodents.