Happy Sunday!
I found this video while surfing in search of an amusing Sunday item. Although the video does hold the viewer's interest, there are several interactions which may not be in the best interest of this beautiful cat named Sparta.
Can you find them and list your observations in comments? I am very curious for reactions to this video uploaded to YouTube by MeanKitty.
So, what were your thoughts while watching? Thanks for your comments!
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8 comments:
This started out as blah day but once I saw that video it brought a smile to my face and a couple giggles! Love it love it! I love the interaction between cat and owner. I would suggest they nail the "other" toy to the floor. lol
Too many dangerous dangling strings,a friend's cat once got one of those wrapped around her leg,thankfully my friend was there at the time or she'd have injured herself. The catnasium was unbalanced,you could just see it coming that it would tip over.And I don't think cats should ever be 'roughed up' like that !The grinning chap, in fact the whole video, disturbed me very much.
No, on the whole I don't like it although he's a beautiful cat. Apart from the object being so unstable as to fall over when the cat was sitting on it I thought the owner was excessively rough. I could tell that the cat was used to playing in this manner but what started out as a play fight very soon annoyed the cat and his tail started lashing, his ears were flattened and he went down on his back hissing and gripping the hand that was dishing out the rough stuff.
Throughout the whole video I didn't see the cats claws connect with anything, when he was batting the balls there was no snag of claws, and when the thing fell over he didn't try to anchor himself with claws. That and the fact that the man felt secure enough to rough up the cat and didn't flinch when his hand was gripped made me think this cat is declawed. The man was eyeball to eyeball with the cat who surely if he'd had claws would have whacked him a well deserved clawed punch.
Not funny - sad.
I'm sure some of my comments will mirror those of others who post here. It may even seem redundant, but I feel I must speak out. I have 20 years experience in the field of animal husbandry and have done everything from kennel management, to grooming, to training/behavior modification (mostly canine) and vet tech work. Speaking from a tech stand point, the cat tree was dangerous in the sense that there were many strings that could be ingested and cause intestinal bunching or perferation which requires surgery and can cause death. The cat was also interested too much in the carpet (at least that's how it looked to me) and could easily ingest the carpet fibers which could potentially cause intestinal blockage as well. I like the idea of the tree, but IMO the cat should not be allowed unsupervised access to it due to these potential hazards, not to mention the fact that the tree fell over when the cat jumped on it. I also noticed that the cat tree had some sharp points on it. Furthermore, speaking from a behaviorist point of view, I was not impressed by my the method the man used to "play" with Sparta. As a trainer/behviorist I strongly discourage rough physical play with my canine clients and I would say the same principle applies in the feline world. It is my opinion that rough play can oftentimes lead to aggression on the part of the animal. And I was noticing some aggressive body posture from Sparta. He was extremely agitated, his tail was flicking back and forth severely, he was puffed up and his ears were back with his whiskers forward. All of these are signs of aggression and possible attack mode in the wild and our domestic cats and dogs are no exception to instinctual body language signs as evidenced by Sparta grabbing his owner's arm and rabbit kicking it. I think that Sparta's owner is on the right track in that he wants to interact with Sparta in play, but he needs to read up on feline behavior and find games that are less physically aggressive and more exercising for the cat. Thing-on-a-strings are great for interactive feline/human play. :) Once again, just my opinion; I mean no offense. I'm just looking out for the safety of those who cannont speak to us in English. :)
Sparta was obviously enjoying the interaction and playing with his owner, but it would have been better for the cat if the owner had an appropriate toy in his hand instead of letting the cat bite at his hand.
Some research should have been done before setting up the small cat tree for this large cat. The base was way too small for this big guy and Sparta probably won't play on it much once he realizes that he's going to fall every time he gets on it.
But he is indeed a very handsome cat!
Skylark
GOOD GOSH!!! I never knew life was so dangerous! Apart from the toy being topheavy, I didn't see anything wrong with it at all. And Cory WIlliams seems very loving with Sparta. His "roughing up" is very gentle, and Sparta is very playful. It's a guy thing -- some wouldn't understand it. Maybe the dangling toys might pose some risks, but I've never heard of anything happening as a result of having this type of toy. Lighten up, folks! Life is full of risks, but if you eliminate them all, you're not even living.
I think I would agree with some of the other posters. Although I do not have a lot of experience with cat toys, this one seems a bit unstable. Since cats are quick to get away from things, I would not consider it dangerous from falling over. But the thing that does concern me is that one of those strings could get wrapped around his throat, and really be dangerous for the cat.
Male "play" is more physical than female, it's a total fact of life and something they teach about in early childhood education. Men play differently with children than women do, and so it seems with cats.
Sparta's favorite toy here is her "pet man." When he's not there, she plays with toys. When he's there, she'd rather play with him. She's still got some kitten in her... and I don't think he is being any rougher with her than loving daddies are with their toddlers.
Though I do agree that the strings and imbalance of the cat tree are causes for concern.
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