Toys, Toys, Toys!

I had arranged with Rose that she’d show me the wonderful cat stores she visited, when her daughter adopted Quizzy Lizzy! I was hoping to find something to engage their minds as well as burning off energy – like those kibble puzzles I’ve read about. I was also hoping to get a chance to check out some of the cat furniture I’ve seen online – see how stable they actually are, since my cats are quite enthusiastic and energetic!

First, however, we decided to have some coffee and toast – and had a most enjoyable serendipitous encounter: A friend I had know online for many, many years, but never met face to face, was there as well! Since Rose knows her well, and the friend she was with, we had a thoroughly enjoyable breakfast together!

Next we went to the Cat Box. Wow, what a large selection they have! I browsed and picked and examined and we each exclaimed “Oh! Look at that!” so many times – it was cat lover heaven! I found two types of kibble puzzles – so I bought them both. I also found some chew-toys specifically for cats – I’ve had to make do with dog chew-toys until now, none of with any of the kittens ever took to – so I selected two of those as well. A mint stick and a wiggle worm – one made of material, filled with mint and the other made of rubber or plastic infused with catnip. Then I saw something called ‘Catchy Mouse’ which basically looks like a centipede, but comes with batteries, so it moves. Something I can use to distract them, or keep them occupied when I’m busy. I also got a set of kitty grass – just add water, seeds and soil included and use the container as a pot. Also something I’ve been keen to try. Then I got them a kick & scratch bar, which is basically just rolled up corrugated cardboard with a feather sticking out the top. With Mewthos chewing cardboard so consistently, I figured this would be a good idea. I also couldn’t help getting some run-of-the-mill type toys, like a stuffed mouse with a thick thatch of pink feathers as a tail, another wand toy all pink with a pink fish and pink feather at the end. And then I got a track along which a ball rolls with openings for paws to push it or stop it along the way.

They also sell litter there at ultra cheap prices, so I took another 2 x 5kg. It doesn’t feel as fine as the sand my Mips like, but they’ll have to live with it. I also found the perfect artificial grass mat! Exactly what I’ve been looking for – to put outside the litter box so it can clean their paws off excess sand without trotting it all over the flat … and then I saw the price tag. Yikes! So I put it back.

They also have a really large variety of cat furniture! All sizes, ranging from a simple three-step ladder to an intricate connection of tunnels, seats, scatch posts, etc. But they are all rather … unstable. I can’t see any of them staying upright if a cat leaps on or off any of them. None of my cats are delicate tip-toers – well, maybe Lady Jane at times, but not always. When the scratcher I had built was a bit wobbly, Ziva wouldn’t use it at all – because she likes to put her whole weight into scratching. And Mewthos toppled it over in his enthusiasm! And compared to the furniture sold in the store, that scratcher is rock-solid! So, regretfully, I’ll be better of teaching myself carpentry to build my own. Sigh.

Next we went to Pet & Pool. Yeah, I don’t know why the combination, either, but whatever. They, too, had an entire shelf for only cat toys! I got a different type of wand toy, with just feathers on a stick, no string involved. I also found another type of kibble puzzle, one a bit more intricate, which I decided to take as well. And they had a simpler version of the ball-on-track toys, one that just goes round and round, but has a slot for catnip, to keep them interested. And then I saw the exact same water dispenser I had given away when Mynx died! That thing was perfect! Not like the one I got which is either kibble or water, depending which way round you use it – it actually doesn’t work well neither for water nor for kibble. I use it for kibbles now, but that water dispenser? Got it! Yes, I have the flower-water filter, but none of my cats have really taken to it. They like neither the freshly filtered water nor the pretty flower design. Mewthos keeps jumping on the window sill to get at the stale water in my flower pot there and Ziva asks me to put some water in the sink for her. So, yeah, I’m happy to have stumbled across this dispenser!

I also saw some sauce to add to dry kibble, so I decided to give that a try as well. Yes, I spent a lot of money – but very few were impulse purchases. Everything had been researched and considered before I got to the shop – and decided beforehand. And it’s a once-off expense, as I won’t be getting them any more toys – well, except to extend the track.

It was after three when we got back home – poor Mips had been shut in most of the day! I waited until they were well out in the garden before I started unpacking! But being my little mommy’s mippies, they didn’t stay away for long – and I showed them the wonderful new toys I had got for them! Among such a vast variety, they didn’t know what to choose – and would play with things for a bit, then look “What else you got?” The ball chaser, the one going round and round – that had them playing very happily for quite some time! Even Ziva played a bit! But then I took out the feather-wand and everything else was forgotten! Lady Jane showed pure ecstasy on her little face! Both of them stood on their hind legs head whipping left to right following the feathers! Mewthos would growl quite angrily when he got hold of them – and got even angrier when he ‘lost’ them again! I could lead them anywhere I liked, their eyes stayed firmly fixated on those feathers!

The wiggly mouse, which looks like a centipede, I needed to open with a screwdriver so I could insert the included batteries. Fortunately I keep one on my desk. As it turns out, it doesn’t move on carpet, so I put it on the tiles in the kitchen. But those tiles were laid on top of a wooden floor (that’s why half of the tiles are cracked) and the noise that makes when it vibrates over that hollow – worried my Mippies a bit. So I put it down in the bathroom – that at least has always been tiled, so they went and chased it … until it got stuck on my waste bin. That being hollow, the noise frightened the Mippies at first as well.

In the meantime, I had assembled the track. Oh boy, did we have fun! All three got stuck into this ball running up and down and around … three sets of paws pushed and stopped the ball! Yes, I said three – Ziva got just as intrigued as either Mip! I took a few videos of them at play – it was such a pleasure!

 

This was before I had assembled the track. See how all three are intrigued?

Oh, and to add further value to their products, Catit print designs on all their boxes, if you cut them out, you have additional cat toys – either simple carboard toys or puzzles, etc.

Overall, I feel that it was money well spent – nothing wasted.