Question
Sometimes when I am petting my 3-year-old cat she will roll over on her back and stretch out. At this point, if I bring my hand near she will try to grab it with her claws or mouth. I think she is just being playful, but my hand is not the ideal playmate for a ten-pound predatory animal. However, I don't want to just leave her hanging if she wants to play. Is there some kind of toy I can substitute for my cat to play with, or should I just leave her alone when she does this?
Answer
I've found that when my cats want that kind of play, I get the best results by substituting a decent-sized stuffed toy (catnip is optional). I don't mean one of the tiny mice designed for batting around, but, rather, a toy that's at least 3-4" around, something that the cat can reasonably hold onto with both front paws and/or its mouth while rolling around on its back. (I don't know where to buy toys of this sort commercially; mine are hand-made. If you want to make your own, a rectangular stuffed toy is pretty easy.)
I've tried offering a thing on a string, but when my cats want to wrestle they don't seem to want to chase an airborne object. They want to grab something and hold on; the key is for that thing that they grab to not be a body part or anything else that is Not A Toy.
Our dogs (when we had dogs) used to like "tug of war" with a cloth knotted on both ends. I've never tried this with a cat, but that might work too -- it gives the cat something to grab onto (unlike the thing on a string) and allows you to put a little more distance between your hands and the cat.
Answered By - Monica Cellio