As I explain in my first holiday rug post, a small throw rug can become an incredible toy for our cats. It plays with their conception of territory, and then they play with each other.
As seen above, Mithrandir loves the holiday rug, even though he has his usual puzzlement while being photographed. (My attempt to turn on a light while he was on the rug chased him away.) One thing about his intellectual capacity: he’s reached a stage of development where he actively puzzles over why he does things.
Even as he’s doing them.
mental constructs
A Holiday Rug is like a “virtual box.” Cats want to be inside this enclosure, even though the boundaries are mostly in their mind. It’s part of what I call the Giant Sensory Map.
Cats are constantly drawing 3-D images of their environment in their heads, calculating escape routes and ambush sites. So creating new territory is always an exciting thing for us to do for them. When I brought the rug home, we were still in the midst of putting up our tree and lights, and it was folded away on a table for the time being. Tristan found it within the hour, and sat on it, mutely begging with his patented “sad eyes” for us to unwrap this gift.
At this point everyone has had a turn, including a buddy session with Reverend Jim and Mithrandir, and Tristan teasing Olwyn with his posture on the rug, while she sat under one of her chair fortresses. (She likes to seek out the shelter of a guitar stool and a wicker footstool to observe the Rowdy Tabby Boys.)
We position the rug in a prominent place, which allows incursions from many angles, and a sense of spotlight for the rug. We always verbally, and sometimes physically, share our cat’s happiness when we see them there.
ownership games
Our cats love to sit on the rug and challenge another cat from its confines. They will flip it over to make it smaller, dig their heads under it to see how it works as a fort, and expect it to be used as a designated cat toy and treat outpost.
Indoor cats need a little more effort from us when it comes to satisfying their instincts. The exercise, amusement, and observation activities the outdoors offers needs to be duplicated indoors for them to feel content. So we have cat trees, cat forts, and leave boxes out for them periodically.
If we safely add variety to their territory, they will find all their routines refreshed.
The mad dash across the room, the latest tussle, and group playtimes all adjust to allow this new piece of territory to influence behavior. It also provides them a useful distraction during the winter holiday time, which has plusses (more toys!) and minuses (what, we can’t play with these toys?) along with a probable influx of guests.
Such intense holiday times, when we are often overstressed and absent from home, can be a challenge for our cats.
mental sanctuaries
I offer tips for holiday decorating and guest/cat management because our cats need the extra help. The high rate of disruption is especially difficult for Gammas and Betas on the Gamma side, who adore their routines and are often shy with strangers.
By giving them physical places to retreat to, and mental templates to help them understand, we can support our cats and keep them feeling secure. One of our holiday parties was early in Tristan’s kittenhood, and he reveled in the bustle and attention. These days, Reverend Jim is the one who most enjoys the novelty of meeting new friends, and Tristan has to be coaxed out of the bedroom.
These “tides of socialization” are common in cats, as they advance and retreat based on what they have learned, the behavior of the new people, and the varying ways they understand why their home is being invaded. The more we create safe places for our cats to participate from, the more comfortable they will feel about sharing our holidays.
It’s all about making them feel like family, too.
I welcomed the Holiday Rug 2012 and Holiday Rug 2014.
Got here from a Link or Search?
There’s more ways to understand our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on WHY CATS DO THAT.
The post Holiday Rug 2016 appeared first on Cats n Things.
from
http://catsnthings.com/holiday-rug-2016
No comments:
Post a Comment