International Cat Day is celebrated every year on August 8th to raise awareness for cats and how we as their owners can do more to help out.
This year’s campaign is centred around ‘Purrfect Play Every Day’ and encouraging cat lovers to play with their pets more regularly.
To mark the occasion, we’re giving away one of Johnson’s ultimate flea-fighting bundles to one lucky kitty and their carer.
How do I Enter?
Simply email your favourite play time picture of your cat along with a fact file to info@johnsons-vet.com.
The competition ends Sunday 13th August 2023 at midnight, so enter now to be in with a chance to scoop one of our ‘purrfect’ prize packages.
Congratulations to our winners!
Winner - Ginger Kev
Runner Up - Cleo
The Increased Need for Play
Play time is more important than it’s accounted for. It helps to ensure your pet gets enough mental and physical stimulation for a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing.
Continue reading to learn about the value of exercise for cats and the ways you can keep your pet actively entertained. There’s even some time at the end to meet the Johnson’s teams’ feline friends!
Why Exercise Is Important for Cats
Instructing a routine of daily exercise and activity will lessen the chances of your pet developing common cat conditions such as obesity, diabetes and arthritis.
It also helps with the stability of their mental health too, by preventing boredom and allowing them to act of their natural inhibitions.
How Can I Exercise My Cat?
The simple answer is through play. But there are a couple of ways you can interpret this:
- ‘Interactive play’ which involves playing with humans or other animals alike
- ‘Self-play’ which is for the independent cats who like to play by themselves or with toys
- A hybrid of the two (at different times) can also be a firm favourite for some kitty’s
Interactive games
A few short sessions of interactive play are the closest representations of cat behaviour in the wild.
What you choose to do for this will depend on your cat and their preferences. Some cats like a game of fetch whereas others prefer hide and seek.
Bear in mind that games which involve too much teasing or rough play can spur on bad habits, such as biting and scratching.
Climbing
Cats are naturally great climbers. Use this to your advantage by creating games where they can express their natural talents, such as a tiered scratching post.
Food games
One way you can keep feeding time exciting is by introducing a food ball. This is a plastic ball, slightly larger than a tennis ball, where you can put dried cat food or treats. Whenever your cat manoeuvres the ball, pieces of food fall out.
Ball games
Following on from the food ball, simple ball games usually have a high success rate. You can buy these pre-made from the store or make your own from household items such as tin foil.
Some of our favourite ways to play ball with our cats is through fetch and attaching it to a piece of string.
Training
Though it may not be obvious, cat training is a form of play. Teaching your pet different tricks and commands keeps their mind active and encourages them to be more obedient of instructions.
Remember not to make the training too intense or force your cat to do anything they don’t want to do. Keeping things fun and light-hearted generates the best responses.
There Is No End to Cat Play
This is only an insight into the many ways you can keep your cat entertained, but we hope you feel somewhat inspired at the very least.
It’s all about finding out what works for the two of you as a partnership and trying new tactics!
Meet some of the Johnson’s teams’ beloved cats
Lily
- Age: 6 years old
- Breed: Moggie
- Likes: Curling up in her basket next to the bed
- Dislikes: Being tormented by her brother Phil
- Top tip: Don’t feed her when Phil is around
Phil
- Age: 6 years old
- Owner: Helen & Nanny Julie, brother to Lily
- Likes: Loads of fuss and loads of food
- Dislikes: Being groomed and getting wet
- Top tips: Wear gloves when attempting to groom him (he’s long haired)
(One-eyed) Bella
- Age: 4 years old
- Owner: Kerry, sister to Ziggy
- Likes: Sitting next to you & going on holiday to her Nanny Julie
- Dislikes: Loud noises
- Top tips: Not to blind side her
Ziggy
- Age: 4 years old
- Owner: Elizabeth & Guy
- Likes: Being scratched behind the ears. Chasing the bees
- Dislikes: the ironing board, vacuum & the rain
- Top tips: Keeping his food bowl full & being let outside
Bob
- Age: 5 years old
- Breed: DSH
- Owner: Jesse and Poppy
- Likes: Being around the children and sleeping
- Dislikes: Loud noises and excitable dogs
- Top tips: Loves lots of cuddles and food
Layla
- Age: 20 years old
- Breed: DSH
- Owner: Lee
- Likes: Lazing in the sun
- Dislikes: Rain and dogs and noise
- Top tips: Make sure he has quiet spaces where he can relax
Betty
- Age: 2 years old
- Breed: Moggy
- Owner: Lisa B
- Likes: Bringing her toy to mommy and lots of treats
- Dislikes: Salmon
- Top tips: Lots of loving and letting her sleep under the covers at night to keep her warm
Ozzy
- Age: 3 years old
- Breed: Moggy
- Owner: Lisa B
- Likes: Lots of fuss and loves tuna
- Dislikes: Nothing
- Top tips: Brushing and lots of love
Fluffy
- Age: 4 years old
- Breed: Persian Longhair Mix
- Owner: Maria and Mick
- Likes: Cat food biscuits
- Dislikes: Gravy cat food
- Top tips: Comb and feed me
The competition small print
Every competition has to have rules and ours reflect the best practice of The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and their Advertising Guidance on Promotions with prizes (non-broadcast), the important bits of which are as follows:
Whilst there is no cost to enter the competition and no proof of purchase is required, there is no cash alternative to the prize of a Johnson’s flea treatment pet care hamper.
The competition is only open to pet owners living on the UK mainland. The photograph must be of a cat you currently own and not a strangers cat looming the street, for instance. But if you believe your cat(s) is(are) a top game player, there is no restriction to the number of times you can enter.
We will judge the competition and award the prize to the cat who partakes in the best play time activity, not necessarily the most photogenic, just the cat in our eyes that has boded the best to unique forms of play.
If it just so happens that your courageous kitty wins our prize, we’ll notify you by email, within a week of the closing date – when we’ve had time to appraise all the photos.
We will announce the winner and post the winning picture on our website and across our social media channels, so please bear this in mind when uploading your photos – no expensive cars or homes in the background!
By entering our competition you are transferring the copyright of the picture to us and understand we can use the photograph in future marketing for Johnson’s. However, we often need playful cats for our product packaging and we will contact you in future if we deem your cat appropriate to appear on product in pet shops across the country!
We hope that all makes sense, but if you have any concerns about the competition, the prize or how we might use a photo of your feline friend, please don’t enter. It will save a lot of worry for everyone.
