# Peekaboo



## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Anyone have games like this? We play peekaboo. I hide my face behind for example a cushion and then I slowly sneak a look at her from behind it. When our eyes see each other I give a little yelp and hide my face again. She usually gives a little yelp in reply. Slowly, each time I sneak my face out again she's moved a couple of steps closer. Finally, shes standing right by me and on the final peekaboo she gives a last yelp and does a mock attack without claws on the cushion or me. Its pretty cute.


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## ZoeH (Jun 27, 2010)

Oooh, great game idea!

I really don't know any games, and realised last night that play is pretty important for SemiFeralKitty's neuro development, especially as I suspect she sustained head injury from being kicked. Am not feeling any connection with her, which I feel guilty about.

Any other game ideas?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

believe me, Im at a constant loss for games too 
This works standing behind door posts and things too, and ends with her jumping my leg


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## Olivers-Slave (Jul 25, 2010)

well I play with the lazer with oliver but he just gets so hyper with it it never wears him out. I also play the stareing game. he and I catch eachothers eyes from across the room till he runs to mock attack me. then I grab him by the armpits and snuggle him...then he escapes and the game begins again. If they are feral I'd just start by scooping them and holding them in the air for a moment then letting them down. That is how I started with oliver. He was a feral kitten.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Your description of the peekaboo game and how your little one plays was adorable! 

My two like to play a "peekaboo hunting" game with a box. I take a large box (not huge, but one that's a taller and bigger than they are), and cut some decent-sized holes in the sides. I then dangle a mouse on a string, or something similar, such that it peeks in and out of the holes. They go nuts trying to get at the mouse through the holes. Sometimes, they will jump in the box, whereupon I dangle the mouse on the outside, and they go equally nuts trying to get at it from the inside.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I play Hide/Seek and Chase with some of our cats.
Shasta likes to sort of 'jump up the door jamb' while giving me 'wild eyes', ears back, head bobbing-and-weaving while she trills to get my attention. When I catch her gaze and/or come towards her, she leaps up even higher and then either flops for me to rub her belly or runs for me to 'chase' and 'catch' her. Then she starts again.
The Wanderer (_appx age 16, d.2000_) and Reilly (_2000-2007_) liked to chase me up/down the hall and then be chased in return.
Louie loves to play hide/seek with rumpled bed quilts or pillows. I'll duck down below the edge of the bed and do like faithless ... I'll slooooowly peek my eyes over the edge to catch Lou's gaze and then yelp or gasp as I duck back down. Then I whisper to myself, but loud enough so he can hear: "OMGosh, I think he saw me." *peek-gasp-duck* "Oh! He DID see me! What am I going to do?!" *peek-gasp-duck* "Shoot! Now I'm trapped. I'm doomed. Doomed!" *peek-gasp-duck* ... we keep this up, Louie crouching flatter and flatter, ears spread low and to the sides, pupils super-wide and tail thrashing ... then he'll LEAP to the edge of the bed and trill at me, sometimes bopping me on top of the head. When I reach to pet him, he leaps back behind his 'fort' and we begin again. He'll also do this around walls, doors and furniture.

I love playing with our cats. I've been teaching the foster kittens about playing hide/seek/pounce and they're catching on though they seem to prefer to play "blanket mice" with my feet wiggling under the quilts.

Our kitties all love the Peek-a-Prize. They like to play with toys or 'fish' for dry food-treats.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Haha, yeah. Miu plays like Heidi N Q's Louie. We play peek a boo around the sofa. I'll hide on one side and peek out at her, then say 'Wah!', then duck down and hide. It's funny because I can see her ears slowly flatten down and I know she's paying attention. She'll usually end up jumping out and tapping me, then going back to hide again. Once she gave me a light bite. It's actually quite amusing.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Lol, my cats never tire of peek-a-boo. I love how they slooooowwwly stalk, and FREEZE (often with one leg in the air) when I peek around the corner. It amazes me how, after years of playing, they still get so excited.

Hide-and-seek is another all-time favorite. I'll go into another room and hide, and I'll call just one of the cats. It still blows my mind how nobody pays attention except the one who's called. If it takes a while to find me, I'll get pitiful meows from the 'seeker'. This is Chip's favorite game. 

Several of the cats like Magic Carpet Rides. All I have to do is pick up the edge of a throw rug and move it a little, and I always get a passenger (or two). They hang on for dear life as I pull the rug around. The object is to circle and serpentine so fast that the cat eventually loses its grip and goes flying across the floor.

Our most unusual game is 'practicing' for the Mother And Son Wheelbarrow Races. It's Mother And Son because I have yet to find a woman cat who could be a serious contender. Pick up the back legs of a cat. As the cat moves forward on his front legs, run along with him. Don't push!!! Pushing will usually cause the cat to do a somersault or just fall over and quit. I haven't clocked anybody, but we really can get some speed. My dream is to get several Mothers And Sons together and video the races. (This game is much more fun when practiced outside.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Alpaca said:


> Haha, yeah. Miu plays like Heidi N Q's Louie. We play peek a boo around the sofa.


Are you the member that discovered this game by accident? 
_I am thinking of someone who began this game and described their kitty looking sort of startled to find a human wanting to play a kitty-game._ 
Was that you and Miu?




CataholicsAnonymous said:


> It still blows my mind how nobody pays attention except the one who's called.


I freak out guests when I call particular cats, or direct them to do or stop doing something, and they listen and respond. I haven't had anyone come right out and say 'witch' ... but I could see *something* incredulous and a little bit frightened in their eyes.
I'll have to see if any of my cats would like to try the wheelbarrow race ... maybe Floofy, Skippyjon or Squirrely-Jo. I'll let you know how it goes!


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Pumpkin used to like tag games. She would hide in a box, under furniture, at the bottom or top of the stairs, around a corner, etc. to tap my foot when I walk by. My favorite was the time she dragged a box from the kitchen into the dining room and under table for a super sneaky hiding spot. She was only about 8 weeks old when she did that 

Although it wasn't funny when she got bigger, I used to think Pumpkin's drive-by attacks were kinda cute... She would leap onto the couch out of nowhere, smack you in the face with her paw and assume the "Halloween cat" pose including the spitting noise & poofy tail!! 

Now, she has a little brother to "attack," so our playtime mostly consists of practicing their acrobatics. They can both do midair flips from a sitting pose while gracefully landing on their feet. Simone once did a double cartwheel looking flip that looked pretty impressive


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

There's a few games our kits like, everyone's favorite is when mummy breaks out the treats and does cat-training. They get cookies, attention, pets, it's wonderful. Muffin purrs as soon as he sees the clicker, cute!

Jitzu likes to 'wrestle', only with me though. I'll walk past her when she's sitting on the cat post and she'll reach out and grab my arm. Then I grab at her muzzle with my hand, or try to grab her paws and she bats at me. Sometimes I'll hold her front top teeth and wriggle her head. She loves it! (but only with mum!)

Torri's favorite game is bedmice. She loves to pounce my fingers when they are scratching the sheets. She gets very excited and kitten-hops all over, trilling and pouncing.

Doran and Muffin both like the first game I ever taught them almost as much as training time. When we're snuggling I'll hold one of them like a baby and open my mouth really wide, then pretend i'm going to eat ther feet while making gobbling noises. They both get really wide eyes and purr. If i stop too soon, or if I pause with my mouth open they paw at my mouth to make me play more. It's sooo cute!
My grandpa used to play this game with me when I was little, he'd hold me and pretend he was going to nibble my legs, belly, or fingers. I remember loving that game, so I played it with the boys when they were very little.


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## ZoeH (Jun 27, 2010)

I'd love to hear more about kitty clicker training, librarychick.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Heidi, it could have been. Not sure who else might have had this happen to them. She certainly did find it strange at first that I 'acted like another cat' and popped out at her from behind the sofa. I thought her expression was quite amusing.

I know Miu knows some commands when I say them. Sometimes, she chooses to ignore me. However, when she does listen it's a very fast reaction and I think it's really cute. Like when I tell her 'Let's go!' when I need to leave my room and shut the door. She jumps down from her perch and literally races ahead of me.

And the wheelbarrow thing I never tried with her. I did used to have a dog who I did that with and it was loads of fun!



Heidi n Q said:


> Are you the member that discovered this game by accident?
> _I am thinking of someone who began this game and described their kitty looking sort of startled to find a human wanting to play a kitty-game._
> Was that you and Miu?
> 
> ...


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