As a toy, it is long enough for human safety and functions as a wand, is soft and fluffy for cats, and it is surprisingly hard-wearing (probably because it was one for dance!). Only a few of the fronds have come off after almost a year of HARD wear. And the 'spine' was finally broken just last week. It has worked comfortably (for the humans) and unbearably enticingly (for the felines) on couches, stools, as a jumping gambit from the floor, in tunnels, in boxes, and all over their massive cat tree. This is the toy that will have them racing up the cat tree to play, or any other place we use it. It is also the fail-safe toy for Ava...because she sits and whines at us and refuses to play (while demanding playtime!) until we select the toy she wants!
It has been a while between posts on toys - not because we've stopped playing, but just because I've been a bit busy (lazy??). A firm favourite in our home for the last year has been a long 60cm ostrich feather. It was SUPPOSED to be safely stored in the cupboard for a dance costume (so it was bought from glitter and dance, a dance fabric store for about $10 plus postage). However, husband man thought it was safely stored as a cat toy, so thats what it became!
As a toy, it is long enough for human safety and functions as a wand, is soft and fluffy for cats, and it is surprisingly hard-wearing (probably because it was one for dance!). Only a few of the fronds have come off after almost a year of HARD wear. And the 'spine' was finally broken just last week. It has worked comfortably (for the humans) and unbearably enticingly (for the felines) on couches, stools, as a jumping gambit from the floor, in tunnels, in boxes, and all over their massive cat tree. This is the toy that will have them racing up the cat tree to play, or any other place we use it. It is also the fail-safe toy for Ava...because she sits and whines at us and refuses to play (while demanding playtime!) until we select the toy she wants!
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Well, it's winter and we are upping our vitamin C intake and fighting colds. Cue a big bag of oranges - too big for a home in a cupboard or the fridge. So they were plonked on the kitchen bench...only to have me turning in puzzlement at a strange ripping noise, and cats on the bench! Both Kato and Ava were fascinated with the tough, mesh orange-bag. So I cut off a piece for them and threw it on the floor. POUNCE!
They also liked jumping for it if I held it high in the air, and batting it around the floor. And of course holding it and ripping at it with their teeth - it's very tough! (As my cats enjoy ripping and spitting, I'm not worried about them eating any shredded chunks, but I do pick them up and bin them when they finally succeed in tearing off a piece.) And of course the next metamorphosis of this toy was to attach it to the 'Da Bird' wand and turn it into a whizzing wand toy. Lots of successful sommersaults with this toy! Just look at the glee on Ava's face when she caught it in her little paws! Here's a quick piece of amusement: put a few icecubes in their bowl of water (obviously works well in summer). The clinks as the cubes float and bump the sides of the bowl, as well as the ice 'crackles' as it starts to warm, add even more interest to the vision of things moving in their water! Both Ava and Kato will spend an intense 5 mins trying to fish out those ice cubes. Hindered of course by the pesky water that keeps wetting their paws or going up their noses. Prepare for snorts and shaking paw-droplets, and a good activity to drain some of their boundless curiousity. I saw the Flik while at my local independent pet store and impulsively bought it. Ava has been actively objecting to our play attempts with existing toys - she begs for a play, then sits and whines at you as each 'bad' toy gets pulled out! As soon as you jackpot onto the toy she wants, she springs into action. It's very cute, incredibly smart, but frustrating for the human, so we were definitely in need of some new stimulation.
The Flik is a stand alone toy, a low lying circle with a front opening out of which a string whips. Mechanically, the string is winding around in a circle. It is also variously timed so the flick does not occur at even and predictable intervals. Kato and Ava love any new package, so they both investigated opening and set up. Kato arrowed in on the string as soon as he saw it, and grabbed it immediately, tugging back on it. The toy stopped working-probably a safety feature- but did not break, and flicked into action when Kato let go. That was it for Kato - he's too smart, so 30 secs excitement was all The Flick brought for him. I was really hoping for more with Ava though, and she was interested for about 5 minutes. Again, not in actually playing with it, but in trying to dismantle it. The toy is sturdy enough that it is still fine, which is a good rating from our two deconstructionists, but it does whir in a strained manner when they pull on that string. Overall the Flik is well-made, but has little to hold the interest of Kato and Ava. That is probably more a comment on our cats' personalities however, as they are driven to find out how things work. Almost all stand alone toys are primarily designed not as a 'figure me out' puzzle, but as a mechanical substitute for a human arm to wiggle something. Such toys don't do it for people oriented cats, let alone those with inquisitive minds. The Flik may, of course, be wildly entertaining for a different type of cat. I bought the Flik for $25 from LaundryMutt in Richmond (Melbourne, Vic). These guys are very friendly, with far better knowledge than a chain store, and stock some good quality products you won't find in those mass market stores. I particularly like them for their food options, which I'll post about soon in the nutrition section! I also did a quick google to find online places you could purchase the Flik (there are a number so I just put a link a one), but the price hovers on $50. Well fed cat's play with prey. Simple as that. Some people call them cruel because of this, but they aren't, as cruel people derive their pleasure from someone else's pain. Cats don't take pleasure in pain - they take pleasure in PLAY. So I understand their innocent desire to play, and indulge it where my conscience allows - I do try to avoid having any 'victims'! For example, just last week I waved and clapped to help one poor bird get a bit more alert to the fact that a grey shadow was rather close. Kato enjoyed his big sneaky creep-up, and the bird was safe. The week before, Kato showed us just how much this stalking was play when he was too quick for our wits. He moved so fast he got that bird, but when we rushed up saying 'let it go, let it go', he looked at us and opened his arms. That bird had been hugged in the pounce, not ripped, and it flew away. Meanwhile, Kato pranced into the vacant lot, king of all the birds, and chattered at the Indian Minors (and as introduced pests, those birds are fair game!). Which brings me to some animals where I would let cats have their way. For many years, cats have been prized for keeping rodents down. And in our urban house, bugs and flies don't stand a chance. We actually had an evening ritual with Kato (before Ava's arrival), where we would walk around the apartment, cat in arms, searching for any bugs. When we saw one, Kato would balance in our cupped hands, stretching all the way up to reach the ceiling and get that bug. He purred the whole time! Ava's arrival brought home to me how much of an understanding of this ritual Kato has. He understands the word 'bug' and will come running. As soon as we pick him up, he purrs and starts looking at the walls and ceilings. And when we lift him towards a speck, he will balance on our hands and also reach for that speck. Ava meanwhile, has absolutely no clue that when we lift her away from our body, she should 'balance and go after the dark speck'. She remains floppy and looks back at us as if we are daft! But Ava certainly understands mice. I have a soft spot for these furry critters, and wrestle with myself - I don't want them to suffer, but I don't want them in my house! And actually, I never thought we'd ever have mice in such a city location, in such a modern apartment. I scoffed at a neighbour who asked us last week if we had seen any mice, saying 'well, if there were any, we'd know FOR SURE'. And for sure, as of last night, we know there are mice! Early in the morning, both husband-man, and our sentinel cat Kato, heard a noise. Kato jumped off the bed to investigate. When he reappeared at the door of our bedroom, huffing and growling, husband-man was fortunately awake enough to ask, 'WHAT have you got?!' He had a mouse in his mouth!! I think he was actually bringing it to us, so luckily he didn't have to get our attention by bringing it all the way into our bed! Then Ava jumped off the bed because she wanted the mouse - and Kato let it go for her. Cue 15 minutes of mouse chasey through the living room, before it finally wiggled up through a crack under the dishwasher. Every time Ava caught the mouse, she'd hold it in her mouth, and look back at Kato growling, before trotting off with the mouse to let it go somewhere else. And that's another bad part of playing with prey - we really didn't need to have a mouse still scampering around somewhere in some crack no-one ever knew existed. Husband-man spent the day blocking up all the cracks he could find - after pulling things apart to make sure no mouse was in there, and our TOY mice received new attention from both cats. Observation of prey, and stalking, even if without an actual chase and capture, expend a lot of feline energy. We always notice how content and tired Kato and Ava are when there have been birds or bugs to watch and stalk. And even if you don't take your cats out on a walk, a window or outdoor enclosure can provide this stimulus. I have also heard of people having a terrarium - a glass enclosed 'tank', where they have had greenery and butterflies. Some have lizards. And of course some people have fish in tanks. All of these options provide that feline stimulus that leads to a very contented cat! There's a you tube channel for cats! I'll have to see if this entrances my two, like it entranced Pamela Merritt's cats. Apparently for her, the trick was to flip her laptop so the screen was lying flat - like an ipad. With this orientation, her cats have enjoyed watching all the prey animals that feature in this channel for cats. Afterall, watching and lurking is a favourite pastime for cats, so it may well work...
Christmas has been fun. We got a new Jamie Oliver Home Cooker - the big box was very exciting for Ava and Kato. They played 'who can get in the box first?', ambush chasey, hide and seek chasey, and footsies under the side flaps. Plus 'can I dive-bomb through all the flaps into the box?' (when it was in its upright position!)
Then there was the wrapping. We had a few variations attached to the wand toy, the winner being a combo of some squished Christmas paper and wrapping ribbon. Ava gave us her best examples of 'Flying Grey Streak'. She doesn't seem to like to jump onto the stool from the front -always from the back! And then she likes a bit of cat yoga, remaining flooped over the back so her haunches are suspended. After all the hunting, stalking, and flying, she also likes a lazy play - lying down with all four legs in the air and mouth (teeth) active! Yep, weeds are good - especially when you make a new game with them. Today husband-man threaded a weed through the hollow of a foam tube, and that little bit of green disappeared and re-appeared in a tantalising manner. The foam tube is, in itself, very good to grab and kangaroo-kick, with a yielding texture that is apparently fun to also bite chunks from. So the grass gets chased, and the tube also gets grabbed. We got this foam tube from Clark Rubber - if you have a foam exercise roller, chances are you will already know how attractive such a material is to cats (ours is sorely battered). Click on the photos below to make the series larger... (remember also to choose grass that is non-toxic to cats). Update 29/05/2014: I recently received a concerned comment about the safety of this toy. Their key issues were about the choking hazard of foam if chunks were taken from it, and also from toys where plastic bags were involved.
This is a valid concern. As always, with all toys, as I've often said throughout this blog, common sense prevails. Play WITH your cat so you can always see any potential dangers. If an invention proves to be less than desirable, then scrap it. If a toy in session starts to develop shreds or potential dangers, change/remove or fix it. Put your toys away afterwards. And know your cat - each cat will have different predilections (for trouble!). For this toy in question: 1. it is an interactive toy, where the weed is the primary target as shown in the pictures, and humans are supervising 2. as a potential choking hazard, this has as much potential as other commercial cat toys, or cat-safe plants, or a cardboard box, or their food- which is in far larger pieces 3. the 'chunks' that were ripped out in session were not ingested and not a potential danger - they were not even noticed by our cats. The size was crumb-like, as can be seen from the picture. The shape was rounded, not a more dangerous strand-shape, which could wrap around the intestines causing a blockage. 4. we put away this toy after the play session - the weed was what they were after in anycase 5. we know our cats. Both of them are shreddders - they rip and spit, never ingesting. But we DO know Kato has a thing for rubber bands, so we have taken protective measures as described in that post. As always, any comments, concerns and feedback are appreciated. Bringing a bit of the outdoors inside is lovely for cats. And we've found that a long weed makes an excellent 'wand toy'. It has the added advantage of its green smells to entice a feline, and if picked long enough, is quite convenient for a human to operate. One note of caution - pick a plant that is not toxic to cats. We use the grass they like to eat on their walks. It looks very much like our pots of cat grass, and in fact, one of our pots has gone crazy and the massive stalks have sprouted a wheat-type feather of seeds - very similar to the wild grown grass they munch. And that brings me to another caution for the humans....while the head of seeds makes a delightful rattle, they WILL come off and spray everywhere in play! Not great for the house. Oh, and you'll need to judiciously play with such a weed dependant on where you live. The same things grow in Western Australia, but they are baked by the climate so the seeds are little daggers. We learned the hard way on our last holiday there with Kato - he got one of those seeds stuck in his throat. It did get swallowed, but had irritated his throat. The emergency vet said there are a lot of problems with these grass seeds, as they are so sharp, they can imped in mouths/throats or even in an animals skin. Fortunately over here in Victoria, the climate is much gentler, and the same grasses just don't do this. Moral of the story, use your judgement, and if in doubt, just rip off the seeds (like you probably did when you were a kid!). Have you seen David Attenborough's footage of the North Pole? It includes amazing film of an Arctic Fox springing up into the air and arrowing down, paws extended, to punch a hole in the ice and catch a fish! Ava has this move down pat. Unfortunately, it is most often used in bed at night, on a certain sensitive part of husband-man's anatomy - I get woken by the yells. But I end up laughing it's so funny! If the dive bomb doesn't quite get the thing, she ends up scratching around trying to get through/at it or under the covering material. Which also elicits disapproving sounds in the middle of the night.
As a game however, this instinct makes for engaged cats. Both Ava and Kato are riveted by any cover I put out, always suspecting something is under it. So I put things under, attached to strings, which slowly get pulled along the length of the blanket or towel (underneath of course!). They love the 'Arctic Fox' game. And it is something I can do when I don't want to get up from the couch. Sometimes the towel covers me as well, and the toy gets woven behind my back and under my knees, accompanied by squirming cat. This is a game where I get to SIT! And while Ava and Kato don't get a 'panting with tongue hanging out' workout (this does happen!), their brains are fully switched on, and the exhaustion is achieved through a mental rather than physical means. And they are smart. Frequently they don't even look at the toy, but straight at my hands to see where it's going to pop out! |