Friday cats: high-speed play

A decade or more ago I bought a cat toy that involved a little amorphous worm on the end of a string and pole (intended to be stuck to something for self-entertainment of cats). My old cat Buddy was quite fond of it, but my spouse's cat Yogi took things to an entirely new level the first time she saw it -- she was immediately transformed into a crazed beast, who would pounce on the thing (now called the "mouse"), get it in her mouth, and then crouch in a panther-like manner while growling and trying to drag it away to a safer lair. I actually had to put the toy away in a cupboard, because she was unstoppable (I once wore her into near-prostrateness by keeping it just out of reach for a half hour or so) and it was more than a bit creepy. Even then, she'd meow and get all agitated every time I went near the hiding place . . .

Anyway, she's a bit older now, and quieter, but this toy still brings out her amazing speed and intensity. And it turns out to transfix the bengals too, eliciting responses that are unequaled by any of their favorite playthings. Having the mouse out when all the cats are in the same room makes for some very crazy times...


Yogi and Pasha wait for the mouse to swing within reach


Pasha makes a graceful leap


Pixel does the dive and roll

Man, I wish I could find another thing like this -- it's duct-taped, and the stuffing is always on the verge of coming out (from all the pulling!). Many things look similar, but nothing comes even close...


Past kitteny goodness (reverse order): 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0