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Play With Your Cat!: The expert guide to a happier and healthier feline
What does a cat need besides food, a comfortable home and access to veterinary care? Play!
This practical guide from leading cat behaviour scientist Mikel Delgado explains how interactive play is at the centre of your cat's overall health. Revealing how it mimics the hunting experience that shaped cats' evolution, Play With Your Cat! includes:
- Advice on selecting toys and setting up your home environment for the perfect play session
- Guidance on specific play techniques to exercise your cat's body and mind
- Tips on engaging nonchalant, anxious and uninterested kitties
- How to use play to address specific behavioural issues like aggression and litter-box avoidance.
With charming illustrations to demonstrate different techniques and evidence-based advice to help you deepen your relationship with your furry friend, this is an essential handbook for cat owners everywhere.
This practical guide from leading cat behaviour scientist Mikel Delgado explains how interactive play is at the centre of your cat's overall health. Revealing how it mimics the hunting experience that shaped cats' evolution, Play With Your Cat! includes:
- Advice on selecting toys and setting up your home environment for the perfect play session
- Guidance on specific play techniques to exercise your cat's body and mind
- Tips on engaging nonchalant, anxious and uninterested kitties
- How to use play to address specific behavioural issues like aggression and litter-box avoidance.
With charming illustrations to demonstrate different techniques and evidence-based advice to help you deepen your relationship with your furry friend, this is an essential handbook for cat owners everywhere.
272 pages, Paperback
Published March 7, 2024
24 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 16, 2024
I happened to see this book on a list somewhere, and checked out the library's Kindle copy. Didn't work for me: we have two ex-feral housecats, who have never really gotten socialized. Well, one is semi-socialized but he bites. It's a long, sad story. I didn't pick them out. They are very pretty cats: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2905046... But they have FLEAS, and we have failed utterly to keep them flea-free! Grrr.
So I was hoping for tips on dealing with semi-ferals. This book has none. And in fact, had I paid money for this book, I would have been annoyed, since it's VERY simplistic. Play with your cats! Over and over, with variations. Even for free, it's semi-worthless. But mildly entertaining, hence the 2 stars, vs its actual value for me, which was zero. Caveat felix!
So I was hoping for tips on dealing with semi-ferals. This book has none. And in fact, had I paid money for this book, I would have been annoyed, since it's VERY simplistic. Play with your cats! Over and over, with variations. Even for free, it's semi-worthless. But mildly entertaining, hence the 2 stars, vs its actual value for me, which was zero. Caveat felix!
October 17, 2025
Who would have thought of picking up a book on playing with your cats and absolutely gaining the most out of it?! We think we know our pets, specially cats, when it comes to their personalities and their routines. Well… most of it would turn out wrong!
The book focuses much on the basics we must know about how to keep our fur babies active and healthy. It’s not just about buying them toys and boxes (we know they are obsessed with them!) but also about how and when to play with them according to their age and type.
I never thought about it this way before and yes, books like this bring out our ignorance and fill us up with answers at the same time! I really appreciate it.
The book also gives an apprehensive view on the types of materials we can play with our feline family.
I really appreciate the author for including all kinds of feline family: the household, the shelter ones as well as the ones which live both inside and outside our home.
But the most I get out of this book is our cat parents misunderstanding of what we human perceive as playful versus what irritates our feline lovelies.
Also, the bibliography given towards the end of the book is a gem! Check it out as well! Thank me later 🙂
The book focuses much on the basics we must know about how to keep our fur babies active and healthy. It’s not just about buying them toys and boxes (we know they are obsessed with them!) but also about how and when to play with them according to their age and type.
I never thought about it this way before and yes, books like this bring out our ignorance and fill us up with answers at the same time! I really appreciate it.
The book also gives an apprehensive view on the types of materials we can play with our feline family.
I really appreciate the author for including all kinds of feline family: the household, the shelter ones as well as the ones which live both inside and outside our home.
But the most I get out of this book is our cat parents misunderstanding of what we human perceive as playful versus what irritates our feline lovelies.
Also, the bibliography given towards the end of the book is a gem! Check it out as well! Thank me later 🙂
March 9, 2025
Really excellent and helpful book. I’m glad I read it. My three kitties are happy as well with the changes we’ve incorporated based on this book. My only critique is that the blue text can be a little hard to read at times.
May 4, 2024
For Respect Your Cat Day in March, I treated myself to a copy of Play with Your Cat! The Essential Guide to Interactive Play for a Happier, Healthier Feline by Mikel Maria Delgado, PhD.
I’d been looking forward to this book since I heard it was in the works. Now that I’ve read it, it’s definitely on my list of recommended cat resources. It’s fun and interactive with “Your Turn!” suggestions throughout encouraging you to pause and play with your cat.
As Dr. Delgado’s work spotlights: Play is a huge part of health and wellness. Daily play is a sign of a happy cat!
What I love about this book is…everything.
It’s so cat-focused and really takes us into the worldview of these ambush predators. I love the idea of people reading this book because they want to learn how to play better with their cat (and there really are some fun tricks to it). I love the idea of people thinking about how to spend time playing with their cat. Delightful!
The illustrations by Lili Chin are delightful, too.
Play With Your Cat! also has got some great cat facts. While you are exploring and reveling in cat play, you’ll learn a lot about how cats perceive the world. You can use this knowledge to choose the right color, size, shape, and type of toy for your cat, adjust your play style to your individual cat, and keep your cat playful throughout their life.
My favorite quote:
"Although we cannot stop our cats from aging and, sadly, also from dying, we can use play throughout their entire lives to help them age well."
As Dr. Delgado says, “Play is just one way to make your cat love you more!”
I’d been looking forward to this book since I heard it was in the works. Now that I’ve read it, it’s definitely on my list of recommended cat resources. It’s fun and interactive with “Your Turn!” suggestions throughout encouraging you to pause and play with your cat.
As Dr. Delgado’s work spotlights: Play is a huge part of health and wellness. Daily play is a sign of a happy cat!
What I love about this book is…everything.
It’s so cat-focused and really takes us into the worldview of these ambush predators. I love the idea of people reading this book because they want to learn how to play better with their cat (and there really are some fun tricks to it). I love the idea of people thinking about how to spend time playing with their cat. Delightful!
The illustrations by Lili Chin are delightful, too.
Play With Your Cat! also has got some great cat facts. While you are exploring and reveling in cat play, you’ll learn a lot about how cats perceive the world. You can use this knowledge to choose the right color, size, shape, and type of toy for your cat, adjust your play style to your individual cat, and keep your cat playful throughout their life.
My favorite quote:
"Although we cannot stop our cats from aging and, sadly, also from dying, we can use play throughout their entire lives to help them age well."
As Dr. Delgado says, “Play is just one way to make your cat love you more!”
June 9, 2024
Should be (like Jackson Galaxy's books) a compulsory reading for first-time or struggling cat guardians. Delgado explains very clearly why playtime is so important in your relation with your cat, and in his balance ; and gives good tips and suggestions for particular cases. I highly recommend! (and Mademoiselle Luna awards it five claws up too, or five fishing toys up, as you prefer!)
Want to read
October 12, 2024One of the authors presenting new titles at Bark! Fest 2024, really enjoyed her session :o)
December 9, 2024
A quick but enlightening read for those who want to make sure they are giving their cat the best life they can. Delgado explains some of the science behind cat behavior, particularly around play, and goes over how it can change as a cat grows. She also gives a lot of do's and dont's when it comes to interacting with your cat, and many things to try for enrichment. There's even sections for cats who seemingly don't like to play, older cats, and disabled cats. I'm hoping to be able to use at least some of what she talks about to get my young cat playing a little more and hopefully also keep him out of trouble.
February 15, 2025
I really enjoyed this book as I thought it was both enjoyable and informative. Most of the book explains how interactive play with your cat(s) is beneficial to both you and the cat(s). Indoor cats especially, need stimulation since they are not exposed to hunting opportunities like cats who go outside.
The author gives many ideas and suggestions on ways to stimulate your cat through interactive play.
Some illustrations are included on what toys to buy as well as several set ups for play.
Specific ideas for overweight cats, blind cats and deaf cats are included.
This should be a must read for cat owners in order to learn about enriching a cat's life through play.
The author gives many ideas and suggestions on ways to stimulate your cat through interactive play.
Some illustrations are included on what toys to buy as well as several set ups for play.
Specific ideas for overweight cats, blind cats and deaf cats are included.
This should be a must read for cat owners in order to learn about enriching a cat's life through play.
June 5, 2024
Play With Your Cat is a comprehensive discussion of the best ways to interact with your cat to keep them happy and healthy. There is advice on how to choose toys and why as well as techniques to help a cat with behavioral issues. Highly recommended for cat families!
June 30, 2025
Probably none of us with cats spend enough quality time with them, no matter how much we may love them. Delgado's book explains why we need to change that and how to do it, without being overly preachy. And a shoutout to Lili Chin's wonderful illustrations in the print version!
September 11, 2024
play! with! your! cat!!!!!
December 11, 2024
The most important book on cats ever written!
March 11, 2025
This is an approachable, science-backed book on a little-addressed topic. It's definitely given me more motivation and ideas for playing with my kitties!
September 28, 2025
A great resource to learn why it's important to play with our cats and how to :)
March 31, 2024
I have learned many strategies for improving my cats’ lives, and Mikel Maria Delgado does an excellent job of synthesizing all of that information together and making it accessible and actionable for people living with cats. One of my girls is currently going through a phase where she wants me to drop ball toys outside of her tritunnel so she can pounce at them, so I liked that “interactive play” in this book includes some types of non-wand toy activities. Wish I had had a book like this (or any orientation pamphlet from my vet, really) when my late cat was becoming a senior because this likely could have helped her solo cat behavior issues and noise phobia before her senescence.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews