Cat Toys: Part Two

Keeping cats physically and mentally busy can be a challenge, especially since most people cannot afford to spend huge chunks of their day playing with their cats. It is advisable to regularly spend some time, such as 10 to 15 minutes, playing with your cat, whether it involves throwing toys around (some cats will fetch), being the Keeper of the Elusive Red Dot, or dangling a wand toy.

Changing things up and giving different types of enrichment, toys, and stimulation can put some pizzazz back into your cat’s step. Giving them something constructive to do can prevent your cat from getting into trouble or growing bored. Here are some ideas:

1. Window watching. According to The Fur Person by May Sarton, the feline equivalent of reading the newspaper is watching the goings on outside through a window. (By the way, if you have a chance, do read The Fur Person. It is a truly delightful little book.) Every cat I have had enjoys looking out the window, often excitedly at the birds on the patio or the trees in the yard. It gets very animated in the house when the birds, squirrels, and cat(s) start sassing and chattering away at one another. Boudicca does not know what to do when she sees rabbits, especially when they come close to the patio door. There are ways to maximize your cat’s ability to know what’s going outside safely and easily.

1. Catnip. There are different types of catnip out there, and if you want, you can even grow your own. Toys laced with catnip can make your cats frisky. Some cats prefer to play with catnip toys while others go “meh”. (On the other hand, there are cats that can react aggressively in response to catnip. Every cat responds differently.) Spreading a pinch of catnip on scratching poles or sprinkled over scratching pads may reinvigorate a cat’s interest in these areas and give an added incentive to scratch where you want them to, as opposed to your furniture.
2. Boxes. Occasionally putting a box out for your cat to explore gives them something new to do. Boudicca prefers to have one of her beds placed inside a box and likes to hang out in another. Does your cat sprawl on top of your keyboard while you are trying to work? Try putting a shallow box on the edge of or near your desk. This way your cat can have a space near you without getting in your way. Bonus: cat will be conveniently located for spontaneous rubs.

1. Mazes. You can take giving a cat a box one step further by creating a cat maze out of boxes like Cat Man Chris did for his beautiful cats, Cole and Marmalade. You can always scale it down if you are feeling less ambitious.
2. Structures. Unleash your creativity and make castles, forts, condos, tunnels, and other fun things for your cat to explore. You can make kitty castles out of boxes and all finds of furniture projects including a TARDIS for the Whovian feline. NB: Your cat may want to “help” you as you build these.
3. Towers or trees. Some cats, like Boudicca, fall definitively in the box camp. The boys, on the other hand, prefer going high. Because of that, they benefit considerably from their tall cat tree. (Photo below: Within 5 minutes of the cat tree being assembled, Charlie and Garrus inducted it by playing a game of hide-and-pounce.)

1. Puzzle toys. These can either be purchased or created DIY fashion, so there are a number of options available!

My friend Christina, cat foster mom extraordinaire and guru of all things feline, was thoughtful and generous enough to send me a few puzzle toys: two eggs and a piñata. These were originally intended to pique Boudicca’s interest and offer my senior girl some enrichment after Nala’s passing in January 2017. Boudicca wasn’t sure what to do with them when I first showed them to her. She still is somewhat undecided but will at least investigate them because she likes treats. (In this way she is rather doglike.) After we adopted the boys and they started to settle in, we introduced them to eggs for starters. Both were fascinated by the idea of a strange rattling thing that rolls around, spins, and produces treats!

What toys do your cats like? Are their toys they absolutely dislike? Do your cat play with odd things? In her youth Boudicca stole hair bands on a regular basis. Nala was a known thief of Post-Its. How do you play with your cats? If you have fun and/or creative ideas or just cute stories, please feel free to share by adding them in the comments.

Cat Toys: Part One

Although cats frequently are stereotyped as aloof and self-contained (some cats indeed are), many cats enjoy play time! Whether I bring a new toy home or simply recover one from beneath the couch, Charlie in particular reacts as though it is his birthday, Christmas, and Halloween all rolled into one because he is SO THRILLED that I am giving him a toy. Even Garrus drops his usual reserve and makes some spectacular leaps while chasing after one of his favorite toys.

Boudicca has never been a very playful cat with a high prey drive. When she was younger, she would chase the red dot and half-heartedly bat at toys, but now that she is a senior who will be 18 in May, she has lost most interest in playing. She will occasionally demonstrate a willingness to investigate puzzle toys chiefly because she wants treats. Garrus and Charlie, on the other hand, love to play. This is especially true for Charlie, who can best be described as a busy, happy-go-lucky furry toddler. (He is, after all, two years old, which makes him the feline equivalent of a college student.)

Both of the boys have their unique preferences. Garrus prefers the wand ribbon toy (I think it’s actually called a Cat Dancer but that term has always made me giggle) and the laser pointer, especially if there are treats beneath the red dot. He will occasionally bat around toys that we have lying around. (During a particularly active play session, my living room looks like a daycare center. Charlie also has developed a habit of leaving his toys in odd places around the house.) Garrus also is intrigued by puzzle toys and is generally more willing (and brave enough) to explore new things, like a big paper bag.

Charlie, as I mentioned earlier, likes to be busy. While he is not really mischievous, he very well could be if he ever became bored. This is one of the many reasons why I am so grateful that we fostered and adopted both boys. Charlie is so much happier with a cat buddy and is generally appreciative of having a playmate. In between naps and being cute, ambushing, chasing, wrestling, and playing tag with Garrus fill his daily calendar. However, Garrus does not always want to play, so when that happens Charlie has to entertain himself. While both boys immediately claimed the cat tower for themselves (Boudicca prefers boxes), Charlie regularly runs up and down the tower, either chasing Garrus or inventing a game for himself. (The rules of these new games are not always clear to me. In fact several of them appear to have fluid parameters.) Having a tower gives Charlie a place to exercise, hide in a cubby if he feels insecure or just wants a cave-like environment, a convenient perch, and his preferred sleeping spot (a high platform).

Within days of erecting the tower, Charlie tore off all three of the toys that had been attached to it. (I cut off the remaining elastic string on both the tower and the toys so that he could not chew on it.) For some reason, these are his absolute favorite: two fuzzy brown mice and a ball.

Charlie had actually left one of the mice in the bed. I moved the other two toys there to take this photo. He was very curious about what I was doing and nearly bumped into my phone and photobombed the shot.

“Hi Mama…whatcha doin’?”

My friend Tracey proposed a theory that some cats are more “birdy” and others are “mousy”. “Birdy” cats like toys that they swat or chase in the air while “mousy” cats prefer to stalk toys on the ground. This makes sense to me, and I think a fair number of cats fall into one of these two categories or are a blend of them. Garrus may fall more into the “birdy” cat category while Charlie is “mousy”. Where does that leave Boudicca? She’s in the final category: lazy and/or googly.

How many toys does my little pounce have? After fishing them out from under and behind furniture (the boys looked on, rather bewildered and intrigued), I found most of them. Although I originally bought a pack of eight springs, I only found four. I do not know where the others went. I suspect gnomes kidnapped them.

Note that I do not have any feathery toys in my collection. I don’t have anything against feather toys; some cats like them very much. However, Mr. Charlie demonstrated that he will eat the feathers and that makes him sick. The vet told me no more feathery toys for him.

Garrus stared intently at his wand toys as I lay them out for the above photo. He was totally game to play. So we did. Charlie joined in as well.

Here Garrus pauses before he executes his trademark swat and pounce move. His face is a study in concentration.

Because we have all these toys, we collect them and put them on the platforms the cats generally don’t use. This habit started inadvertently; I believe I needed to vacuum the living room and the toys were everywhere, so I put them on one platform to get them out of the way and apparently forgot about them for a bit. Charlie, however, discovered them as soon as I put away the dreaded vacuum monster. I watched him fish out toys he wanted to play with and either swat them to the floor or carry them in his mouth. (Garrus has selected toys using his paws this way but does it less often.) Charlie does this very consistently with his fuzzy mice and ball, which I now put on the uppermost platform. I cannot tell if Charlie is slightly offended when I put them up there or just feels strangely compelled to throw all his toys onto the floor. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to catch Charlie doing this with my camera yet but I will keep trying. It’s pretty adorable and usually involves a squeaky commentary.

Toy shelf #1

Toy shelf #2

Charlie danced all over the platforms, trilling and sniffing all his toys intently, as though personally checking that I returned them to their proper spot.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

I Think He Likes Me

Earlier today Charlie did something ridiculously cute. He found me in the bathroom before I shut the door. Apparently I am not supposed go to by myself, so he brought me his brown fuzzy mouse toy. He left it in the doorway then scampered off. I couldn’t help but giggle.

Charlie: Look Mom! I brought you a present!

Me: Oh really! Just what I always wanted!

Charlie: *scampers off* Play?

Me: *tosses the toy down the hallway*

Charlie: YAY it’s play time! *scamper, scamper, skid, pounce* This is my favorite thing!

Occasionally Charlie will leave his mouse, fuzzy ball, or crinkle ball in my office, the doorway of the bedroom, in the middle of the kitchen floor, under one of the kitchen table chairs, or near the bathroom door. While he may have simply stopped playing with a given toy at that spot, it may very well be his kooky way of reminding us to play with him. He hasn’t figured out how to bring the toy back but he does certainly enjoy it when we throw a toy for him! He’s really cute that way. 

Present?

Charlie is a hoot sometimes, especially when he’s full of beans and squeaky. The other day I heard him squeaking up a storm on the other side of the bathroom door. When I opened it, I found him sitting patiently, looking up at me. He held a fuzzy brown toy mouse in his mouth. He stood up, dropped the mouse, and scurried off.

I’m not sure if this was a present for me, his way of showing off his latest prize, or a cheeky invitation to play. When I followed him, he proceeded to zoom around the house. Cats are weird, adorable, and often amusing beyond all reason.  

What Are You Doing?

Occasionally, I find Charlie, Garrus, or both Downton Tabbies investigating something intently. If I approach and they completely ignore me, it usually means they have either (a) discovered/appropriated a new toy or (b) created a new game. In the former situation, I always want to double check to ensure they’re not into something potentially harmful. 

This afternoon I saw them repeatedly staring underneath the refrigerator and the oven,  tails twitching with excitement, then they’d scurry off without warning. I wondered what was so fascinating so I watched them. The boys fished out dust bunnies from under the fridge and the oven and batted them around the kitchen with the same delight a small child has when playing with a Christmas present for the first time. (Notice that Charlie does this a lot whenever he finds a new toy!)

Of course, I had to laugh. It’s a relief to see Charlie and Garrus playing like normal. I glanced around the living room and didn’t see many of Charlie’s crinkly balls or springs. I got the broom (of which the boys are quite wary) and used the handle to push any toys out from under the couch and entertainment center. I threw the toys I found in Charlie’s direction. He bounded after them, paws outstretched and tail up high and quivering. There might have even been a squeak of gratitude.