This title may be a bit strange, since after all, all cats are very playful already ... Or maybe not? Well, the truth is that there are some who are more shy who find it difficult to do anything other than eat, drink, sleep and try to go unnoticed. Especially if it is an animal collected from the street or from a shelter, it can be very suspicious at first. So much so that we are most likely wondering precisely how to make a cat play.
To help you, you have to go little by little. It is important first to make him see that we are not going to do him any harm. But of course he does not understand our language, so we will have no choice but to use cat language.
It is essential to know what the signs of affection of cats are so that, from now on, our friend understands how much we love him. If he is very suspicious, he may not let us pet him, so we will not (there will be time for that). What is highly recommended to do is look at him with narrowed eyes, which is a way of saying that you can feel safe with us, that we will do nothing wrong to you.
Avoid going directly to him, because it would feel uncomfortable. In feline language, if you go directly towards one, making a straight line, it is a sign of threat, so you have to address it by making a curved line. Nor should you insist too much: two or three times a day is more than enough. Little by little, he will understand that he has reached a safe home, which will be when he approaches his human, either to play or to caress him.
When we see that he feels calmer, we can start inviting him to play. So, we will sit at its height with a rope in hand that we will move from one side to the other. If you ignore, we can spread it a little (just a little) with sauce of wet cat food or with catnip: so it sure does not resist.
Later, when he plays with the rope, he can be given balls with which he will have a great time. 😉