Tootsie polydactyl Maine coon cat invents new cat toy
I've worried about Tootsie getting bored, especially when I'm not around.
I bought a few "official" kitty toys. The only one she liked was the feather toy. Deal is, though, that she ran off with the feather part, and I haven't been able to locate it.
I'm beginning to suspect that this was her way of mentioning to me that she was now bored with the feather, rather than her having forgotten where she put it.
Why do I say this? Well, she was really nutty for plastic straws for a few weeks. But now, they just don't seem to hold the same fascination. Used to be that she would throw these about, jump on them, and push them off high places, without any intervention from me. Now she pretty much ignores them, even when I try to get her interested.
But, whew! Tootsie is a very resourceful cat. So, I am downstairs, and I hear thundering about upstairs. Not exactly the first time this has happened. She gets especially wild and crazy when I'm not watching. And then, out of the corner of my eye, as I am sitting downstairs at the computer, I catch a glimpse of her trotting across the kitchen with "something" in her jaws. And then I hear scraping noises. She's whapping that "something" about, as I shortly discover.
The figure below gives the details. Part a shows the "something" she was trotting around with. Why yes, it IS a twist tie, and it was included in the packaging for the Roomba I purchased. Part b shows my attempts to create other options, following on from Tootsie's toy invention. A scale bar is provided for reference.
I guess I won't have to buy a $40 RC helicopter as a cat toy here, just yet.
Update on the twist tie adventure- she loves my "safe for kitties" version, here
I bought a few "official" kitty toys. The only one she liked was the feather toy. Deal is, though, that she ran off with the feather part, and I haven't been able to locate it. I'm beginning to suspect that this was her way of mentioning to me that she was now bored with the feather, rather than her having forgotten where she put it.
Why do I say this? Well, she was really nutty for plastic straws for a few weeks. But now, they just don't seem to hold the same fascination. Used to be that she would throw these about, jump on them, and push them off high places, without any intervention from me. Now she pretty much ignores them, even when I try to get her interested.
But, whew! Tootsie is a very resourceful cat. So, I am downstairs, and I hear thundering about upstairs. Not exactly the first time this has happened. She gets especially wild and crazy when I'm not watching. And then, out of the corner of my eye, as I am sitting downstairs at the computer, I catch a glimpse of her trotting across the kitchen with "something" in her jaws. And then I hear scraping noises. She's whapping that "something" about, as I shortly discover.
The figure below gives the details. Part a shows the "something" she was trotting around with. Why yes, it IS a twist tie, and it was included in the packaging for the Roomba I purchased. Part b shows my attempts to create other options, following on from Tootsie's toy invention. A scale bar is provided for reference.
I guess I won't have to buy a $40 RC helicopter as a cat toy here, just yet.
Update on the twist tie adventure- she loves my "safe for kitties" version, here
Hahah!! Boo is nuts for plastic ties, especially when you put a little jingle bell in the middle. When he was a kitten, one of my friends brought me a big bouquet of helium balloons... she had weighted each ribbon with a big heavy jingle bell. When the balloons deflated, I cut off the bells (which were still tied to bits of ribbon), and it just so happened that little kitten Boo went NUTS for them. We call them "Boo Bells" (original, I know... we are so clever sometimes we can barely stand it). That was years and years ago. He still loves those, but he also really loves the little ties with a smaller jingle bell stuck in the middle. Very cute, he plays fetch with them, too! So I wake up and have my bed jingles... how dare I sleep when he wants to play??? Foolish Mortal!! :)
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, by the way!! Thanks for the smiles!
Hi Lorrelei!
ReplyDeletehey can't we please talk about cat's vomiting hair balls? (just kidding)
What a great idea, and what a great story!
I would have never ever thought of the plastic ties unless tootsie had suggested it.
btw "feets" is up tomorrow (3/4), in case you are reading responses.
I realize this is an old entry but I found it from a search and I just had to comment to relate with you about the twist-ties (we call them twistix). Our "Kitty", loves twistix too. His eyes also get as big as black pancakes over dropped bright blue pen caps, the bright blue pen itself, and a tube of eco-lips (like chapstix).
ReplyDeleteThe twistix is especially interesting to watch him play with. He attacks it, jumps with it, throws it in the air mid jump, then attacks it again once it lands. Kitty is 15lbs, so when this occurs over and over again in the kitchen it sounds like some very major stuff is going on. Nope, it's Kitty entertaining himself in the kitchen.