When I first got my cat, Bast, I tried buying her all sorts of toys. But she rejected them one by one. The mouse on an elastic attached to the top of a door frame I thought would be the best. She did play with that one but less and less. Most toys she would ignore. One, the suction cup spring toy I attached to the side of my fridge at cat height, she didn’t play with and just kept ripping the suction cup off so the toy was on the floor.
But one inexpensive toy gripped her. She would hear my tearing off of an envelope end and jump into my lap. Before I was done reading the letter or maybe more properly bill, she would reach her paw up and grab the envelope end. This is her favourite toy of self play. She’ll play with these scraps on the ground after she has liberated them from my table.
I’ve tried all manner of balls with her but she hardly plays with these things. But I bought grapes and one time one accidentally fell to the floor. She rolled this around and it met her approval as a cat toy. Of course it was weeks later that I found this lone grape underneath my furniture, rotting away. So I have not let her have any other grapes. Still this alleged carnivore that doesn’t beg for food, will beg me every time I bring out any grapes to snack on.
She will play with me and the red laser toy. I just don’t bring it out that often because it isn’t that fun a toy for me. Especially after the first minute or two when she will look up at my hands and know that I am moving it around for her entertainment purposes. Then she stops.
I just got a watch with the biggest face I have ever seen. So even far from the kitchen light in the living room it catches that reflection which sometimes accidentally makes an appearance on the floor. My cat loves playing with this. And she really doesn’t know where the light is coming from which makes her play for a few moments. This is way longer than she plays with the laser light.
So there you have it. If I had known my cat’s penchant for found toys, I could have saved all of my toy bills. I have three ways of playing with her for free even if I won’t use the one because of the possible stench in my apartment.
So there you go. Three free ideas to keep your cat entertained without actually buying a toy. Try them first if you get a cat. If not you can buy the toys my cat won’t play with.
