My sweet little old lady cat

Hi All,

I've been playing peacock feather games with my twenty year old Lady
Jane Grey. I just love to see that wild-eyed kittenish expression she
gets when I poke the feather out from behind some obstacle or, as she
was just doing, delivering a "whap" "whap" "whap" as I let it protrude
briefly from under the surface of my desk (she being on the desk at
the time).

I'm not sure what survival behavior it mimics, but it seems that
they'll let an object, even one that's well within pouncing range,
turn a corner and then they'll charge. It seems as if there must be
an innate urge to let the object of their attentions get just out of
sight. Presumably on the premise that if they can't see it, it can't
see them. In any case, my preferred method of playing string, red
bug, or feather is to put the cat's end of the toy close, move it
toward some object, and then sloooowwwly make the last bit of it
disappear around the corner. If they're at all in the mood to play,
that usually gets them to charge.

Of course slapping them on the head with the feather seems to
work too g.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

On Tue, 26 Oct, O J wrote:

---------snip of happy piece about happy kitties-----------

I had written this earlier, before I heard Steve's bad news. It got
lost in my newsreader's screens and I just posted it. Naturally, I'm
happy to have seen my Lady Jane playing like a kitten, but I regret
following directly after Steve's sad news with a happy piece.

I know we'll all be holding our breath till we hear about Rocky.

O J

On Tue, 26 Oct, O J wrote:

---------snip of happy piece about happy kitties-----------

I had written this earlier, before I heard Steve's bad news. It got
lost in my newsreader's screens and I just posted it. Naturally, I'm
happy to have seen my Lady Jane playing like a kitten, but I regret
following directly after Steve's sad news with a happy piece.

I know we'll all be holding our breath till we hear about Rocky.

O J

On Tue, 26 Oct, O J wrote:

---------snip of happy piece about happy kitties-----------

I had written this earlier, before I heard Steve's bad news. It got
lost in my newsreader's screens and I just posted it. Naturally, I'm
happy to have seen my Lady Jane playing like a kitten, but I regret
following directly after Steve's sad news with a happy piece.

I know we'll all be holding our breath till we hear about Rocky.

O J

O J wrote:

I'm not sure what survival behavior it mimics, but it seems that
they'll let an object, even one that's well within pouncing range,
turn a corner and then they'll charge... In any case, my preferred
method of playing string, red bug, or feather is to put the cat's
end of the toy close, move it toward some object, and then sloooowwwly
make the last bit of it disappear around the corner. If they're at
all in the mood to play, that usually gets them to charge.

Yes, that works around here, too. In fact, it works with every cat I've
ever met! They just love to go after the "disappearing prey".

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

My theory about why they love this is that it looks like the tail of a
mouse, disappearing around a corner or underneath something, as it runs
for cover.

Joyce

O J wrote:

I'm not sure what survival behavior it mimics, but it seems that
they'll let an object, even one that's well within pouncing range,
turn a corner and then they'll charge... In any case, my preferred
method of playing string, red bug, or feather is to put the cat's
end of the toy close, move it toward some object, and then sloooowwwly
make the last bit of it disappear around the corner. If they're at
all in the mood to play, that usually gets them to charge.

Yes, that works around here, too. In fact, it works with every cat I've
ever met! They just love to go after the "disappearing prey".

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

My theory about why they love this is that it looks like the tail of a
mouse, disappearing around a corner or underneath something, as it runs
for cover.

Joyce

O J wrote:

I'm not sure what survival behavior it mimics, but it seems that
they'll let an object, even one that's well within pouncing range,
turn a corner and then they'll charge... In any case, my preferred
method of playing string, red bug, or feather is to put the cat's
end of the toy close, move it toward some object, and then sloooowwwly
make the last bit of it disappear around the corner. If they're at
all in the mood to play, that usually gets them to charge.

Yes, that works around here, too. In fact, it works with every cat I've
ever met! They just love to go after the "disappearing prey".

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

My theory about why they love this is that it looks like the tail of a
mouse, disappearing around a corner or underneath something, as it runs
for cover.

Joyce

On Tue, 26 Oct, Joyce wrote:

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

Oh yes, the throw rug game! We have several woven straw mats as
accent rugs. They're about half an inch thick by four feet wide and
circular with a pattern woven into them. My man Smokey will come
running at full speed and dive under one, right to the middle to nab
'prey' under the rug, much to my and DH's amusement.

Another favorite of my bunch with a softer throw rug is for Daddy to
tie a knot in a small rope and drag the knot along under the rug so it
can just be seen. They pounce on the rope through the rug with that
stiff-legged motion of the forepaws as if trying to burst through the
rug or perhaps flatten the prey so they can scooch under the rug at
leisure and grab the stunned prey.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

On Tue, 26 Oct, Joyce wrote:

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

Oh yes, the throw rug game! We have several woven straw mats as
accent rugs. They're about half an inch thick by four feet wide and
circular with a pattern woven into them. My man Smokey will come
running at full speed and dive under one, right to the middle to nab
'prey' under the rug, much to my and DH's amusement.

Another favorite of my bunch with a softer throw rug is for Daddy to
tie a knot in a small rope and drag the knot along under the rug so it
can just be seen. They pounce on the rope through the rug with that
stiff-legged motion of the forepaws as if trying to burst through the
rug or perhaps flatten the prey so they can scooch under the rug at
leisure and grab the stunned prey.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

On Tue, 26 Oct, Joyce wrote:

Another way to play this game: run a stick under a throw rug, so that one
end of the stick pokes out from under the side of the rug that's closest
to the cat. You can push it out so that, say, 3 inches of stick is showing,
and then, very slowly, pull it back toward you, back under the rug. One
thing that really fascinates all my cats is if I pull the stick slowly back
under the rug, and then, when maybe 1/2 inch is still showing, I *STOP*
moving the stick. It's that moment of stopping, as the stick is going
under the rug, that really makes them charge - usually with the front paws
sliding under the rug, claws extended, to dig that prey out from under
there.

Oh yes, the throw rug game! We have several woven straw mats as
accent rugs. They're about half an inch thick by four feet wide and
circular with a pattern woven into them. My man Smokey will come
running at full speed and dive under one, right to the middle to nab
'prey' under the rug, much to my and DH's amusement.

Another favorite of my bunch with a softer throw rug is for Daddy to
tie a knot in a small rope and drag the knot along under the rug so it
can just be seen. They pounce on the rope through the rug with that
stiff-legged motion of the forepaws as if trying to burst through the
rug or perhaps flatten the prey so they can scooch under the rug at
leisure and grab the stunned prey.

Regards and Purrs,
O J