Big Cat organizations that care for and rehabilitate wildcats will sometimes give the beasts treats and toys for mental stimulation. This white tiger is certainly relishing its treat. As a bonus, cat caretakers will insert a chunk of meat inside the pumpkin as an even more delightful treat. It’s fun to watch the cat try to figure out where the scent of delicacy is coming from.
When the cats first find the pumpkin, they will kick it around like a ball and begin to check it out. Their mouths are so large that a tiger can pick up and carry an entire pumpkin with its powerful jaws.
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.
The King of the Beasts Poses for a Picture
If you have a cat at home, you may have noticed it will occasionally drop to the floor and roll around, rubbing its back against the carpet. And if you can easily interpret cat language, you would know that your cat is feeling relaxed, safe, and secure, and is quite possibly asking for a little affection.
Big cats are no different. And doesn’t he look sweet? Albeit, choosing to give a playful rub to 600 pounds of muscle, talon-like claws, and razor-sharp sabers may not seem as inviting as petting a little house kitty.
Big Cat Foot Rubs
Here's a lion looking for a little attention. You see the way he's on his back, signaling to the zookeeper that he's ready for his foot massage? Alex Larenty, a British zookeeper who cares for Jamu in a lion park outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, says Jamu has total trust in him.
“Trust me, though, you need to know what you are doing, and our relationship is one that has built up over the last six years.” Larenty adds, “Jamu won’t just let anyone touch him the way I do.” Perhaps you recognize Jamu? The 550-pound cat stars in a British TV show called 'Wild at Heart' on ITV.