How to Make Your Cat Happier — in 3 Minutes | Nicky Trevorrow | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

When I was asked to do this TED Talk,

接到 TED Talk 的邀請時，

I sat down with my cat, as you do,

我和平常一樣跟我的貓在一起，

and I thought,

我心想，

有什麼能改善更多的貓生？

what's going to make the biggest difference

to as many cats as possible?

What could it be?

答案是？

And I looked at my cat for inspiration and thought,

我看著我的貓尋找靈感，心想： 「對了，就是這個，卡托。」

“Yes, that’s it, yes, Kato,” --

that’s his name --

卡托是牠的名字──「咱們 來告訴大家遊戲的力量。」

"Let's tell everybody about the power of play."

If some people seem to be the cat people like me, hands up.

如果在座有跟我一樣的 愛貓人士，請舉手。

Yes, welcome.

好，歡迎你們。

Other people seem to be dog people, hands up.

其他人似乎是愛狗人士？ 是的話請舉手。

You're also welcome.

也歡迎你們。

It doesn't matter if you're not really a cat person.

如果你不是愛貓人士也無所謂， 不特別喜歡貓也沒關係。

If cats aren't really your thing, that's fine.

Just take the word cat in this talk

只要把這場演說中的 「貓」字換成「狗」──

and replace it with dog --

or horse, goat, child,

或馬、山羊、孩子，

whatever your species of choice is.

你想選任何物種都可以。

And that's because play is so fundamental to happiness

那是因為，遊戲是快樂的根本，

that it affects so many different types of animals.

可以影響許多不同種類的動物。

In fact, there's research to show that even fish like to play.

事實上，有研究發現， 就連魚類也喜歡玩。

They actually jump into streams of bubbles and ride them to the top

牠們會跳進泡泡中，乘著氣泡上升， 然後跳出來，再來一次……

and jump out and do it again.

如果你們好奇魚怎麼玩。

In case you were wondering.

Now when I tell people that I’m a cat behaviorist,

每當我跟人說我做貓的行為諮商時，

你可以想像他們臉上的疑惑，

other than the confused looks I get,

which you can imagine,

and people saying, "A cat, a cat what?"

有些人還會說：「貓…… 貓什麼？」

Then -- they really are quite confused by it.

然後── 他們真的 對這個詞感到非常困惑。

Then if they don't have a cat themselves,

然後，如果他們自己沒有養貓，

then they'll soon tell me that,

他們接著就說：

"Oh, yes, my mother's neighbor's friend's sister has a cat,"

「哦，對了，我媽媽的鄰居的 朋友的妹妹有一隻貓。」

and they'll often ask me questions about that cat's behavior.

然後可能就問我有關於那隻貓的行為。

It's a bit like those of you that are nurses

有點像是，如果你是護士，

大家都會問你一些醫療的問題。

and you get everybody's medical questions.

Now invariably,

但，我總是建議互動式遊戲 及餵食豐富化。

I'm often recommending interactive play

and feeding enrichment.

And that's because it has such a positive difference,

因為這樣能帶來很正面的改變，

such a big impact on their happiness.

對牠們的快樂程度有很大的影響。

As you can see here from my cat Kato, play is not only fun,

各位從我的貓卡托上看到， 遊戲不僅好玩，

it gets the gray matter working.

還能帶動大腦灰質的運作。

It's great way to connect with your cat.

這是你跟你的貓互動的好方法。

And it has lots of physical benefits as well,

同時也對身體很有益，

because all that extra exercise is an excellent tool

因為這些額外的運動

能讓過重的貓甩掉幾磅。

for helping overweight cats shed those extra pounds.

This is the very gorgeous Moodles,

這隻可愛的貓叫穆朵絲，

and she came into Cats Protection's care weighing 6.7 kilograms.

她來「貓咪保護計畫」時 體重是 6.7 公斤。

Now her very fantastic owner not only continued the diet

她有個非常棒的主人，

除了堅守原有的飲食計畫，

that was already in place,

but she also implemented a program of interactive play

同時還開始一個新方案，

包括互動式遊戲以及餵食豐富化，

and feeding enrichment.

It's certainly made dieting a lot more fun.

讓減肥變得更有趣。

And this is Moodles today at her target weight of four kilograms,

這是現在的穆朵絲， 已達成目標體重 4 公斤。

and she's a much happier and healthier cat for it.

現在的她更快樂也更健康。

Play is important for every cat,

遊戲對每隻貓來說都很重要，

young or old, all around the world.

不論年齡，不論所在。

Now I know what you might be thinking.

我知道各位可能在想：

"I know how to play with my cat."

「我知道怎麼跟我的貓玩。」

That's fine.

那很好。

But if your cat were to give you a review,

但如果讓你的貓給你評分，

what's it going to say?

牠會怎麼說？

Now, it might not say

牠可能不會說：「可以再努力一點。」

"Could try harder."

But it might say: “Could try smarter.”

但牠可能會說：「可以再聰明一點。」

So let's have a look at how to play the cat way.

咱們來看看貓怎麼玩。

I often act as a bit of a translator between cats and their caregivers.

我的角色有點像 貓和其主人間的翻譯者。

This cat, for example, is saying,

比如，這隻貓在說：

"What is this?

「這算什麼？這是死老鼠。

This mouse is dead.

Bring it to me alive."

我要活的。」

And that's where the interactive play comes.

這就是互動式遊戲的點了。

Because if you just put it there in front of the cat,

因為如果你如果光把它放在貓面前，

it's not interesting.

那並不好玩。

You need to make it move,

你得讓它動起來，

you need to bring it to life.

你得讓它活起來。

And so you bring the mouse to the cat, and the cat goes,

你把老鼠放在貓前面， 貓會說：「不不不，

"No, no, no, no, not like that.

不是這樣，牠應該要逃跑。」

Make it run away from me."

Because let's face it, not many --

因為，事實擺在眼前，

有哪隻不知天高地厚的老鼠 會跑去跟貓說：

You know, no self-respecting mouse would ever go up to a cat and go,

"Hiya! Here I am!"

「嗨！我來了！」

所以我們必須思考獵物的移動方式。

So we need to be thinking about how prey species actually move.

And then we need to be thinking about the fact

然後，我們還需要考量 貓有各種不同的遊戲方式。

that cats have got different play styles.

Some cats prefer a game of rabbit,

有些貓喜歡兔子遊戲，比如這隻貓。

a bit like this cat.

And that's where they grab the toy with their front claws

兔子遊戲就是用前爪 抓住玩具，用後腳做兔子踢。

and they bunny kick with the back legs.

Other cats prefer a game where you move the toy across the floor,

其他的貓可能喜歡的遊戲是 你把玩具在地板上移動，

and maybe it makes like a little,

有點像這樣在這頭動一動， 接著狂衝到另一頭，

a little quiver over here and a mad dash across the floor,

just like a mouse might.

就像老鼠一樣。

And then others prefer the toy to be moved up in the air, like this.

也有些貓喜歡會飛的玩具，像這個。

So this is a game like an erratic moth.

有點像是倉皇亂飛的飛蛾。

Now cats haven’t evolved to show an awful lot in their faces.

貓並沒有進化到什麼都寫在臉上。

If you find them hard to read, that's OK,

如果你讀不懂牠們的表情， 沒關係，那是演化的結果。

they've evolved that way.

But if you look at this cat, you can see that the claws are out,

但你看這隻貓，牠的爪子都伸出來了，

the whiskers have come forwards and the mouth's open,

鬍鬚向前伸，

嘴巴也張開了， 非常投入且專注在那玩具上。

and they're so engaged and focused on that toy.

This is a cat showing the face of joy.

這就是貓喜悅的樣子。

You can also make it a lot more fun

你也可以把玩具變不見， 讓遊戲變得更好玩，

like this by just having it disappear out of sight,

like under a newspaper or magazine like this.

比如像這樣把它藏在報紙或雜誌下面。

And that makes it much more interesting.

那會讓遊戲更有意思。

It's really important that the cat is actually allowed

非常重要的是，要讓貓能真的 抓到和殺死那個玩具。

to catch and kill the toy.

It makes the cat feel good.

那會讓貓感覺良好，

It's those happy hormones.

產生快樂荷爾蒙。

So very, very important, catch and kill the toy.

所以，非常重要的重點： 抓到和殺死玩具。

And that's where, spoiler alert,

而那也就是──注意，爆雷──

the laser pens can be a bit of a problem,

雷射筆的問題所在，

because it can cause frustration

因為它只帶給貓挫折，

where the cat can't ever catch the red dot.

因為貓永遠抓不到那個紅點。

So if you do have a laser toy at home, fear not.

但如果你家有雷射玩具，別擔心，

你只要用像這樣的玩具 來收尾就可以了，

You just need to end the game always on a physical toy like this

so they can actually catch and and kill the toy.

讓你的貓最後能真的 抓到並殺死那個玩具。

You may be concerned, perhaps that, you know,

你可能會擔心，也許，

maybe all of this play is just training our cats

所有的遊戲只會把我們的貓 訓練成更高超的獵人，

to become more proficient hunters.

But you'll be very pleased and relieved to hear

但最新的研究發現能 讓你很高興且鬆一口氣：

that the latest research shows

that if you just play with your cat for a few minutes, several times a day,

你只要跟貓每天玩幾次， 每次玩個幾分鐘，

it actually reduces hunting behavior.

就能減少貓的狩獵行為。

OK, now some people might think,

現在有些人可能在想：

"It's all very well and good,

「這些聽起來都很好，

but my cat doesn't really like to play.

但我的貓就是不愛玩。

牠們太老了、太懶了，

They're too old.

They're too lazy.

That won't work for my cat."

這些方法對我的貓行不通。」

And some people really think that their cat doesn't play at all.

有些人真的認為他們的貓根本不玩。

我有個客戶就說： 「不，我的貓不玩。」

I had one client who said, "No, my cat doesn't play."

And yet, during the conversation, I found out that her cat does play,

然而，在談話中，

我發現她的貓是會玩的，

but only for five minutes.

但只玩五分鐘。

This is play.

那就是玩啊。

It's just that the owner expected her cat to play for half an hour or more.

只是牠的主人期望她的貓 每次玩至少半個小時，

Much like a dog would.

像狗那樣，

But cats are not small dogs.

但貓並不是小狗。

Now as children, we were taught not to play with our food.

嗯，小時候，大人叫我們不要玩食物。

And I’m here to ask all of you to not only play with your cat’s food

但我在這裡要請所有人 不但要去玩貓的食物，

but, more importantly,

更重要的是，

get your cat to play with their food.

讓你的貓玩牠們的食物。

Feeding cats in a way that's more interesting

用更有趣的方式來餵貓，

gets their minds working.

讓牠們的大腦動起來， 刺激牠們的精神。

It's mentally stimulating.

In short, for very little effort,

簡言之，不用大費周章，

you can actually change your cat's happiness

你就可以讓你的貓更快樂， 改變牠們的貓生，

and you can change their life in just three minutes,

一切只要三分鐘。

因為只要三分鐘 就能讓貓的餵食豐富化，

because that's how long it takes to show a cat feeding enrichment,

also known as puzzle feeders.

用益智餵食器就可以做到。

And it simply just means feeding a cat in a way

簡單來說，就是用比較 有趣的方式來餵貓，

that's much more interesting than just in a bowl.

而不只是用一個碗。

Now some people may have dabbled in feeding enrichment,

有些人可能不經意間 已經嘗試過餵食豐富化了，

probably accidentally,

when they’ve gone down the pet shop and picked up a puzzle ball like this.

比如曾在寵物店買了 一個像這樣的益智球。

And they’ve given it to their cat,

他們把球給了貓，

and then they’ve got frustrated and thought,

可是覺得很沮喪，心想：

“It doesn’t work.”

「這沒用嘛。」

Because the cat’s disinterest has left them disheartened.

因為他們的貓不感興趣， 讓他們很失望。

But fear not, because I have a few handy tips up my sleeve

但別擔心，因為我有幾個 實用小秘訣可以分享，

and that is to keep it simple.

那就是：保持簡單。

Now, as much as I love,

雖然我真的很愛益智球，它們很讚，

I do love the puzzle balls, they are brilliant,

but these are medium-level toys.

但它們是中階的玩具。

We need to start off really simple with something like this, OK?

我們得從非常簡單的東西 開始，比如這個，好嗎？

You can find this online.

網路上就能找到。

And you want to start everybody off in an egg box.

大家也可以從蛋盒開始，

It’s brilliant because they’re free,

蛋盒很棒，因為不用花錢買，

你只要把乾糧放進蛋盒即可。

and you just put in the biscuits where the eggs would normally sit.

And you need to pour it out with your fingers

然後用你的手指把餅乾挖出來， 示範給你的貓看。

and show the cats how to use it.

And then for the next level up,

然後若要再進階， 你可以用一些紙蓋住餅乾。

you can cover the biscuits with a bit of paper.

If you want it to be really difficult, you can then shut the lid.

如果想再提高難度， 你可以把蓋子蓋上。

看貓咪獵食真的超有趣。

And it's so much fun watching these cats hunt for their food.

Once they've mastered the egg box,

一旦牠們搞定了蛋盒， 還可進階到衛生紙捲金字塔。

you can move on to the toilet roll pyramid.

This one is fantastic for children,

這種金字塔對小孩來說也很棒，

a great one I'd like to see done in schools,

我覺得很適合學校的勞作課，

particularly because there's no sharp scissors involved.

尤其是因為不需要用到尖銳的剪刀。

And you just need to sellotape all the joins front and back,

只需要把所有的接縫 前後用膠帶黏好，

and then put the biscuits in where the toilet roll tubes are,

然後把餅乾放在衛生紙捲筒內，

and then allow the cat to get them out.

讓貓想辦法把餅乾拿出來。

So you can see, very simple ideas,

你看，這些點子都是免費又好玩。

they're free and a lot of fun.

So those are my two tips.

我的兩個秘訣就是： 保持簡單，示範給貓看怎麼做。

Keep it simple and show the cats how to do it.

Many years ago,

很多年前，我幫助過一名飼主，

I helped a caregiver

and I was explaining how to introduce a puzzle ball to the cat.

講解如何讓貓玩益智球。

So we talked through it,

我們講完後沒多久，她打電話給我，

and she rung me up a while later,

quite exasperated, and said, "Nicky, I've done what you said.

很生氣地說：「妮奇， 我全照你說的做了，

I got down on my hands and knees,

四肢著地，

and I've been batting around this puzzle ball now for two hours,

我玩這個益智球玩了兩個小時，

and the cat still doesn't understand.

我的貓還是搞不懂。

She just follows me and eats all the biscuits."

牠就跟在我後面把餅乾吃光光。」

Yeah, that cat knows what she's doing.

沒錯，那隻貓完全搞懂了，

And that cat knows how to use a puzzle ball

因為牠知道怎麼玩， 牠讓飼主玩，自己負責吃。

but she's getting the caregiver to do all the hard work.

And you get pairs of cats like this as well,

這也可能發生在兩隻貓的情況，

where one cat does all the hard work

其中一隻貓負責做前段，

and the other cat swoops on in and eats the biscuits.

另一隻貓就衝過來把餅乾全吃了。

I particularly like this puzzle board

我特別喜歡這個益智板， 因為，如果各位看得到，

because it's got, if you can just about see,

it's got about four different sections on there.

板上有四個不同的區域。

So it's different ways for the cat to think and use their brain

貓得要用不同的思考方式，

and figure out how they're going to get the food.

設法取得食物。

The little bowls you can see near the beginning, near the cat,

各位可以看到， 靠近貓這頭的小碗

are also really good for wet food,

也很適合放濕食，

so it's quite a good one for both wet and dry food.

所以濕食和乾糧都適用。

This one is one of our cats in care, in Cats Protection's care,

這是「貓咪保護計畫」中的其中一隻，

because we do use the feeding enrichment quite a lot.

牠很習慣我們做的餵食多樣化。

Now this is one of those "do not try this at home,"

現在這是一個「不要自己 在家嘗試」的那種遊戲，

unless your cat has been doing a lot of enrichment

除非你的貓已經 很熟悉餵食豐富化，

and knows exactly what they're doing,

且很清楚自己在幹嘛。

because this cat has worked through from easy through to middle

因為這隻貓已經入門進到中階， 又再進階到大師級了。

right through to sort of hard, master level.

But you can see that it's a lot of fun.

各位可以看到這真的很好玩。

And also, it really does slow down feeding.

而且，這還能放慢餵食速度。

It's particularly good if you've got cats that will just eat a lot of food

尤其是如果你的貓會吃很多， 然後又吐出來，這就很適合。

and then regurgitate it up.

Where's the biscuit?

餅乾在哪裡？

It's on her back.

在牠背上。

They do make cute videos as well.

這也會產生很多可愛的影片。

So you can see that really, we're not teaching cats how to play.

所以各位可以看到其實 並不是我們在教貓怎麼玩。

They're teaching us.

而是貓在教我們。

We just have to listen to them,

我們只需要傾聽，

and we need to learn their preferences.

而且也需要去了解牠們的喜好。

Because once you get the basic principles of feeding enrichment,

因為一旦你懂了 餵食豐富化的基本原則，

the world is your oyster,

你就可盡情揮灑了，

and you're only limited by your imagination.

唯一的限制是你的想像力。

So you just need to take the feeding enrichment

你只需要開始做餵食豐富化， 隨時間漸漸增加複雜度，

and build up really slowly in complexity over time

to your own individual cat's pace.

照每隻貓自己的步調來進行。

I think that feeding enrichment is just as fun for us

我認為餵養豐富化

不只是對貓而言有趣， 對我們而言也一樣有趣。

as it is for the cats.

So go ahead, give it a go.

所以，試試看吧。

It's fun, it's easy, and it takes very little effort.

真的很有趣、很容易， 且不用花什麼心力。

You've got three minutes, right?

你有三分鐘吧？

It may not change the world,

或許無法改變全世界，

but it will change the world for your cat.

但一定能改變你的貓的世界。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）