The CAT room!

Misti, A walk?! Where? Mikey is an indoor cat. He can't go wandering around the streets of the city. I had hoped to walk him around the building, as I had done with Miranda. But no cat harness is big enough to fit him; he bucks like a bronco when I put a collar on him, and he can weasel out of a dog harness.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Hello, Roberta!

Do you have a long passage in your apartment? For sprinting purposes?

Hey Roberta... should I send him another old toy from the dogs? I seem to remember he thought the smells were fascinating.

How 'bout a small fish bowl with a couple of goldfish?

My youngest daughter kept mice in a large aquarium with a mesh lid and deep sawdust to dig in - that used to keep Timmy amused for hours!

watching hopefully

Oooooh -- even better than fish!

The mice in a tank are OUT. I'm insanely afraid of mice. In fact, it was mice in the vicinity that led me to get my first cat.

I'd love to have tropical fish. Fish in a bowl would last only as long as I could prevent Mikey from breaking the bowl.

There's a long hall outside my apartment that Mikey occasionally runs in. But the last time I let him wander out in the hall, he brought in a mouse! It may still be here! If I don't see it, I'm fine.

Have I mentioned that Mikey is big? He could easily get to and break fish tanks, mice tanks, and most other animal containers.

Back in the olden days when I let him watch his Catnip video, he ran headfirst into the tv set, nearly knocking it over and knocking himself out.

He's impossible--but cute.

Roberta

Something STURDY hanging from a thread in the ceiling? .... that bounces back & attacks?


Or, if all else fails, (wait for it!) ...








another cat?











I thought that might make you go all pale & quivery, R! :wink:

Olga, I wanted to get Mikey his very own cat ages ago. I truly believe that it would have solved many problems. I asked my allergist whether there would be any discernible difference between one cat and two. She said yes. Twice as much of everything I'm allergic to. She didn't want me to have any cat. I said it was a choice between my physical and mental health. Neither is in great shape, but I got one cat anyway.

Aw, Roberta, you know I was just being cheeky!:wink: As if Mikey could cope with sharing your attentions with an interloper! No way.

And, given your allergy situation, my suggestion is totally unhelpful, obviously.

I'm gonna have to go back to the drawing board on this ...... <thinking, thinking ...>

Clockwork mice? With furry covers?

Possum plays with corks - wine and champagne - they're a good size to carry around in his mouth, so he brings them to me to throw. This can get a bit tedious, but I have to persevere as long as he wants to play, or bleed again! At last count, he had a collection of 40-plus corks.

He likes fresh corks, too, so I get to open and empty the bottles!

I wish I had somewhere to let him run off his energy - at it's peak about 3am!

margo - is he part or all siamese? My sister has an ocicat who fetches. Her fav toy is a couple of pipe cleaners twisted together. Does Possum have a scratching pad? Can you induce earlier activity with catnip so that he's tired still at 3am?

Lil K
He's all moggy - a grey and white tabby.

He has a scratching post, which he uses occasionally, but he's found it much more satisfying to scratch the hell out of the base of my bed. Not only is it good for sharpening claws - mum gets up and yells at him as well - a double bonus! The bed base is looking very sick - he'll wander up and start scratching even if I'm sitting there, and he knows he's going to be yelled at!

He's a cat with a warped sense of humour!

He was almost totally disinterested in catnip.

His other favourite occupation is emptying the one shelf of the linen press he can reach - he slides the door open, and pulls the contents out into the floor.

You learn to pay attention when he calls. I'm well trained!

heeheehee.... I forget, how old is he?

So, seek out things he will play with and play before bedtime. Screecher cat absolutely adores crumpled up pieces of paper. EASY!

Margo, I tried corks. A bust. No interest. I tried thimbles, checkers, marbles, twist ties, yarn, rope, twine. The yarn works intermittently. I have to throw it and re-roll it. About mid-roll, Mikey is gone, and I'm rolling up yarn. The only other time Mikey shows interest in yarn is when I'm knitting. Sigh. Not much knitting going on here. At least not much productive knitting.

As I look at the last few posts from me, I get the feeling that he's got too much stuff. Spoiled rotten. Maybe I'll take away some stuff and see if he appreciates what he has. Either he will, or he'll attack me.

Hey Mikey. Get a job.

Poss has just gone 5.... the little bastard goes to bed before me - I'm always trying to keep him awake. But he probably sleeps all day when I'm not there, so.....

You got it Margo ... I used to feel bad leaving the kitties all day ... then one day I stayed home, they slept the whole day away! I should feel bad already?

cat scratcher


My PollyAnna used to scratch the hell out of the arm of our couch. My man was threatening to have her declawed until I brought home a cardboard cat scratcher from K-Mart. It's just an oblong piece of corrogated cardboard and she loves it! The first one lasted about 10 months. She had both sides ripped to shreds, but was still using it faithfully. She got really excited when we bought her a fresh one.

A $7.00 piece of cardboard ended our dispute over declawing and saved what was left of our couch! LOL

Ever try a crumpled up wad of masking tape? They'll love it, I tell you.

scotch tape rope


I take about a foot of scotch tape and twist it into a flexi-rope. Then I wiggle it in front of them on the carpet. It's not limp like yarn nor does it get snagged in their claws. They love trying to slap it, pounce on it, capture it. They love the playful interaction with mommy. Tonight, I had my two older girls and the two new girls encircled around me each waiting their turn for mommy to wiggle the scotch tape rope in front of them. Tons of family fun and all it takes is a little scotch tape! LOL