This is not something we usually see. We usually observe lions out in the wild, wandering the Serengeti. We don’t see cat toys lying around the desert plain. True, these large beasts like to play with their dead prey, just the way our kitties at home bat around a dead bird or mouse, as if regretting it’s dead and the end of playtime.
But here’s a toy that is not going anywhere. Chained to a tree, this lion will get plenty of playtime out of the dangling ball. Look at him go after it! He’ll play with it until he gets bored of it, as cats often do.
Kittens!
Okay, fine, they’re called cubs, but these four Indochinese tigers are as cute as kittens, especially as they’re pictured in that adorable picnic basket. We can imagine they love to chew and scratch at it too. They are cats, at the end of the day.
These cubs were born at the Tierpark Zoo in Berlin. Indochinese tigers are from Southeast Asia. Most of the population lives in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and southwestern China. Since 2018, the Indochinese tiger has been considered critically endangered. The Indochinese tiger is now extinct in Cambodia, and, according to 2011 figures, the total population is only about 350.
Awww!
How is it possible for a wildcat cub to look even more loving and adorable than a house kitty? (That is when they decide to give you the time of day.) The zoo attendant must take very good care of this sweet, young leopard. Leopards are beautiful animals. Their spots are called rosettes because they look like a rosebud.
Black leopards have spots, but they are not visible, and that’s why they are called panthers. Leopards and panthers are known to hunt from trees, dropping in on their prey. Female leopards mate year-round. The cubs generally stay with mama for two years before going off to live on their own.
All Cats Love a Good Box
Place a box in a cat's environment, and it will be noticed. It’s something new and exciting. The box will not only become part of the cat’s territory, but the cat will step inside and squeeze on in, if necessary. Boxes are good for cats. A 2014 study showed cats given boxes exhibit fewer stress behaviors.
The insulation boxes provide give extra warmth and a cozy place to curl up in. It is exactly what cats adore. Just look at this magnificent jaguar contently resting inside a large produce box. Cats also use boxes as a place to hide, another trait indigenous to cats. Mikel Delgado, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, told Inverse magazine in 2017, “I think the box might give the cat a sense of concealment while they’re waiting to see if a mouse or small prey item might come along.” She thinks that cats like the option of stalking behind cover.
Cats Love Cardboard
Boxes are like toys to cats, as well as resting places. If the box gets flattened while an oversized cat attempts to ease into it, so much the better. Now there’s a cushy blanket to rest on. The cat, no matter if it’s a large cat of prey or a domestic house cat, will rub its scent glands on the cardboard to mark its territory. Pheromones are excreted from the glands on the sides of their face and around the mouth as they rub against the cardboard. When your kitty rubs against your ankles, yes, they are marking you as territory.
Since cats of all kinds love to nap, a piece of cardboard like the one this tiger is conked out on is a great find. Cats spend most of their day resting. On average, they sleep about 12 to 16 hours per day. It is part of cats’ predatory instinct to sleep so much. Sleeping is how they conserve energy for the high-energy demands of hunting. In general, cats live on a feed-rest-hunt cycle. After a large feed, they will lie down and rest for hours.