Cat play and toys incorporates predatory games of "play aggression." Cats' behaviors when playing are similar to hunting behaviors. These activities allow kittens and younger cats to grow and acquire cognitive and motor skills, and to socialize with other cats. Cat play behavior can be either solitary (with toys or other objects) or social (with animals and people). They can play with a multitude of toys ranging from strings, to small furry toys resembling prey (e.g. mice), to plastic bags.
Play in cats is a behaviour that first emerges in kittens. Some important developmental aspects of play behaviour include motor development, social behaviour and cognitive development. There are different types of play that develop at different stages during the development and growth of a kitten. The first play behaviours observed in kittens include approaching, pawing and holding onto each other. Following this stage in their development, kittens begin to show an interest in inanimate objects and prey behaviour.
Since cats are meat-eating predators, nearly all cat games are predatory games.
Predators often encounter fearful prey that attempt to escape predation. Cats often play more with toys that behave like fearful prey trying to flee than with toys that mimic confrontational prey by moving towards the cat with an aggressive or defensive posture.
