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Thu 9 Aug, 2007 11:01 am
For months rolands favorite toy has been those rubber mice you get from party supply stores.
You know, the ones that are realistic looking, gray and soft enough to get a good hold of with your teeth and carry.
He would play fetch for as long as 15 minutes at a time, bringing the mouse back and dropping it in your lap. Loved having it thrown into different places so he could hunt them.
Well, he suddenly discovered if he bit them really hard, he could tear them in half.
For fear of his choking, we're taken them away (we have cleaning up some puke that had a rubber mouse part in it)
I've looked on the internet and seen leather mice (they don't seem to have them at pet stores) but before I order them, I thought I'd try a home substitute.
I went by the dollar store and looked around and got an idea.
I bought these hair curlers with small vent holes in them, and these little woven bags that are supposed to be used to collect dryer lint.
I cut up some rubber bands, and threaded them through the holes in the curlers, then put the curler in the little bag, thread the end of the elastic band through the mesh also, make little "legs" and "tails" (roland liked to carry the mice by its legs and tails). Then, I put some catnip and glass beads inside the roller, for some weight. roland is always trying to steal glass beads but the vase they are in. Finally, I wrapped a bunch of rubber bands around the whole thing to give it some softness to bite.
roland watched the whole process, facinated, and "helped" with the threading of the rubber bands. So, I was feeling pretty optimistic.
he played with it a little while I dangled it by a leg. he made a couple of passes at picking it up by the netting and legs when it lay on the floor. he chased it, but didn't pick up and retrieve, when I tossed it down the hall.....but I was hopeful.
Then........tragedy.......I tossed the thing, and it bonked him in the head....if it had been the rubber mouse, it all would have been in a days work. But, since the glass beads make sound, and probably made the thing weigh like an ounce more, this caused roland to suffer a severe setback. he immediately became convinced this this was a WMD and ran from it like it was the devil.
I took out the glass beads, but it was too late. Over the course of the evening, I've gotten him back to where he tolerates it, but....it's no rubber mouse.
Any suggestions for something that feels like a rubber mouse, but can't be decapitated?
ps...I also think he was insulted that he was supposed to believe this looked like a mouse.
The best toy we have is a long, stiff wire with these cardboard cylinders on each end.
The cats go crazy.
Re: Cat toy suggestions
Chai wrote:
Then........tragedy.......I tossed the thing, and it bonked him in the head....if it had been the rubber mouse, it all would have been in a days work. But, since the glass beads make sound, and probably made the thing weigh like an ounce more, this caused roland to suffer a severe setback. he immediately became convinced this this was a WMD and ran from it like it was the devil.
HAHAHA! I could picture the whole event.
I find that little wads of loosely crumpled paper or simply string works best for my cat.
DrewDad, that is interesting - never seen it in a store anywhere.
oh yeah....rolands got the cat dancer, and he chases paper, and I'm sure he would like cardboard and wires....but.....
it's the chasing something that looks real to him, the bapping it to show it who's boss and render it unconscious, the capture, the jog back to us with the prey in his mouth, the fact that the rubber mouse would try to climb into his ears and then rush around to his butt, and suddenly hide under a cushion....then....fly arcross the house....
cat dancers can't do that.
roland is honestly the smartest cat I've ever had, and needs mental stimulation. He's one of those cats that can see himself in a mirror, and tries to grab moving things on the computer monitor and TV. I'm afraid it's a realistic animal like thing or nothing.
I think I'll order some of the leather mice, but you know how cats are.
oh, btw, all the rubber mice had the same name, Fluffy.
Did Roland pick the name?
I had some mice that were very realistic, but I haven't seen them out here in Albuquerque. My cat would "kill" it, chase it, pounce on it, but eventually kill it for real, into little munchings and crunchings.
My favorite cat toy is to take off my socks, fold them together, and throw them at Lou when he least expects it. He'll often get about 4' in the air for the backflip. Good times!
what about those plastic mice at petco
the ones covered with hair.
They have some 'give ' to them..
Diane wrote:Did Roland pick the name?
yes, he did.
he started out with an attachment that looks like a killer whale head, that fits over your water faucet.
when you turn the water on, it comes out the blowhole.
roland drinks out of "Fluffy Whale" and then fights with the water. He gets quite wet.
shewolf, I'll try Petco today, I have a meeting in south austin, and have to pass by it on the way home.
Have you ever tried a cy-purr mouse?
It even has a voice and taunts the cat. "Naa-na na-na naa-naaaaaaaaa, heeheehee!" "Uh-oh!"
Only works on smooth floors, though.
you know what?
I was actually thinking of getting one of those. We've got quite a bit of tile it could run on.
Maybe I could let some moths into the house, he likes to crunch them.
all the while, the grand dame, jezzer watches with disapproval.
There's a little leather with furr on it, and pipestem legs that most cats seem to like long after the legs are destroyed.
You might try a kids' toy like a radio controlled fire engine. If they don't like it, you could always slip up on them and turn on the siren.
cjhsa wrote:My favorite cat toy is to take off my socks, fold them together, and throw them at Lou when he least expects it. He'll often get about 4' in the air for the backflip. Good times!
Uh, no - I don't think that's a good example of your cat playing with a toy. I think that's you throwing things at your pets for amusement. You could skip the middle man, and just use 'em for target practice, but I can why you stick to just thowing things - you'd use your targets up too fast...
Hey, maybe you could use rocks? That way not only would they jump, they'd probably cry out in pain, too! Good times!!
I think I missed the humour. Course, I ain't too smart about using kitties for selfish amusement.
Yep, pussy won't come near ya, eh, hoser?
The depravity of the left amuses me -- they can't help but try to insult the porcupine. Fu--kin weird.
What's depraved is you throwing things at your pets, then talking about politics when called on it. What the hades has the left or right got to do with some idiot thowing things at his cats, and laughing as they jump?
It is indeed a sad state of affairs when a thread deterioates due to the name calling when certain individuals have nothing to refute with other than mudslinging. The fact is that being a Canadian does not automatically make one a "hoser" any more than being an American makes them a [redneck].
My own cat, who I rescued 19 years ago, comes readily to me on her own and especially if I call her. I have never had to throw things at her or otherwise mistreat her since she brings joy to my life.
Getting back to cat toys (she said schoolmarmishly), our cat used to have a toy tiger she played with. It was one of those small stuffed toys kids used to get (may still get) at fast food places (but well constructed so a toddler can't pull anything off and choke...theoretically...) If she was in a good mood she would cuddle it (once, I caught her washing it); if she was in a ferocious, playful mood she would hold onto it's head with her front paws and kick the living daylights out of it with her back feet. If you threw it, she would chase it. (She's buried with it <sniff>.)
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