Playing with cats 猫と遊ぶ

In Summer when my husband and I took care of seven cats, we tried to at least once daily play with them. Not all of them participate all of the time and there are also days when they are more and then they are less playful.

But a grey tiger cat, the biggest one there and apparently the boss, always played. His way of playing was quite dramatic, he ran, jumped, climbed and used all sorts of strategies to catch the prey. That was very loud and energetic and he was quite good at it.

Another one, also with a grey tiger pattern, sometimes played. His way of playing was more fragile like his body build. Standing on two legs and turning with ease trying to catch the prey. How elegant!

Yet another one, a slightly bigger black and white cat, also enjoyed playing but his style of playing was not always the same intensity. It took a long time for him to get serious. Maybe he was the type to need some “warm-up time”.

But the second most successful catcher of prey after the grey tiger was the youngest cat of all seven, whom we named “Scar-chan”! Even though he is always clumsy, when playing he was quite good! He could move quickly and he did not miss the target. Other cats however, except the number one tiger, did not enjoy it too much. If others next to Scar-chan were too slow and he caught the prey right before their noses, then they got angry and suddenly attacked his face! How unjust! Scar-chan got punished by others because of his marvelous talent. Every time after such an attack he did not want to play any more. I thought that I had to take some action. I started thinking that maybe I should play with Scar-chan separately…

One day when I was wearing a dress with some rope hanging down, one of the cats played with it. That surprised me because that cat never played with us. Apparently he has a preference for playing with a rope. I got the idea to have a rope in one hand and play with him and in the other hand to have a ribbon and play with Scar-chan at the same time. And my husband used the toy to play with other cats in the meantime. That was so effective, all cats were playing joyfully! But my husband and I were very tired afterwards.

この夏、主人と7匹の猫の世話をしていた時、できるだけ一日に一度は猫たちをおもちゃで遊ばせるようにしていました。いつも皆んなが参加するとは限らず、のる日、あまりのらない日がありました。

しかし、一番体格の大きい灰色のトラ猫は別です。彼はここのボスと思われている猫で、いつも積極的に遊ぶのです。ドラマティックに走り回ったり、跳び上がったり、よじ登ったり、いろんな手法で獲物をキャッチしようと、熱くなります。ドタバタとうるさく、エネルギッシュで、捕まえるのもなかなか上手です。

灰色の縞模様がある猫もよく遊びます。彼の体格に似合った繊細な狩猟の仕方に見えます。二本足で立ち上がり、前足で獲物を追い、飛び跳ねて一回転したりします。なんて優雅なんでしょう！

体格が大きめの白黒猫もよく遊びますが、ちょっとムラ気のようです。本気になるまで時間もかかります。ウォーミングアップが必要なタイプですかね。

でも、大きな灰色のトラ猫の次に狩猟上手は、何と「スカちゃん」なんです！おっちょこちょいだけれど、上手に遊ぶんですよ！素早しこくて、獲物を逃しません。ところが、ボス猫以外はそれをにがにがしく思っている様子。スカちゃんが彼らの目の前で獲物を仕留めると、悔し紛れにスカちゃんの顔を前足でぶつんです！何と理不尽な！スカちゃんは優秀であるために、他から罰されるなんて…。このようなことがある度に、スカちゃんは意気消沈して遊ばなくなってしまいます。何とかしなくては、と私は思いました。彼だけ、他の猫と離して遊ばせようかな、と。

そんなある日、私がロープのような紐の付いた服を着ていた時、いつもは遊びに参加しない猫が、その紐にじゃれてきたのです。この猫は、紐で遊ぶのが好きなのだ、と思いました。そこで私は、片手に紐を持ってこの猫を遊ばせ、同時にもう片方の手にリボンを持ってスカちゃんを遊ばせてみたのです。その時、主人はおもちゃを持って、他の猫たちを遊ばせました。これは上手くいって、どの猫も楽しそうに遊ぶことができました！しかしその後、主人と私はくたくたになってしまいました。

Picture taken September 2020 in Vienna