Cat Toys Are All Around Us At Home

Cat toys are all around us at home. We don’t really need to buy them. We should take care because some informal toys can harm — small, short lengths of fine string, for example, can be trapped in the mouth and throat causing serious damage. Supervision is fairly important or at least an awareness of what is going on. Is the toy in the video dangerous, do you think? I watched him most of the time and it seemed safe to me.

Cats see things differently to us. Obvious! But it applies to toys. We like cat toys to look like cat toys. There is a commercial aspect to them. Cats aren’t commercial or consumers.

Cats see objects to play with. How do they select them? We’re not completely sure but bits of plastic are a favorite. They can get their teeth into them. They can push bits of plastic around, which animates the plastic object so that it becomes alive. They’re not too hard and they are durable.

The piece of plastic in the video is the plastic cover for the three prongs of a three-pin plug which we have in the UK. It comes with the packaging. Gabriel loves it and has played non-stop with if for 20 minutes and longer at one stretch.

Sorry the video is longer than I want it to me but it is unedited and I wanted to capture some decent moments. Half way through he thinks he has pushed it under the chair but he hadn’t. I try and recover it from under the chair but it is not there.

On the basis of what I’m saying and what you can see in the video it does beg the question whether we need to buy cat toys because they are ultimately all around us at home.

Please comment here using either Facebook or WordPress (when available).

Comments

Cat Toys Are All Around Us At Home — 18 Comments

Leah on December 6, 2014 at 11:08 pm said:
Love to watch kittens at play. Gabriel is certainly growing and becoming more confident! I don’t think the plastic cover will hurt him at all.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 7, 2014 at 7:37 am said:
  Thanks Leah. He certainly is growing. He is very active in the evening and morning. Typical cat, but more noticeable for a young, active cat.
  Reply ↓
Dee (Florida) on December 6, 2014 at 10:29 pm said:
Kits are such a joy to watch. So much energy and fascination.
But, what I love most of all is when I see one of my older cats (12-15 years) engage in play. It doesn’t happen often; but, when it does, I’m so happy to see that kitten in them that I remember.
Reply ↓
Barbara on December 6, 2014 at 7:57 am said:
The age old games that cats play, running and jumping and stopping for a quick wash and fishing under the furniture, so lovely to see I could watch Gabriel play all day long. Yes he is growing fast and looking very confidant in his new home. You’ve done wonders with him Michael.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 6, 2014 at 8:01 am said:
  Thanks Babz. He is playing with the same piece of plastic this morning at 7:30 and he is still at it as I write this 30 mins later 😉 .
  Reply ↓
Tina on December 6, 2014 at 7:23 am said:
He is so curious and wonders why you are following him I bet. On the distilled water here, a soft ring comes off and Charlie loves those. After she plays they are ok to leave where they are since they don’t kill bare feet! Cats are funny critters! My dogs would rather play with the store purchased cat toys haha
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 6, 2014 at 8:03 am said:
  Good one Tina. Plastic rings from bottles are another classic cat toy ; ) . I have the same experience. Gabriel is still playing with the same bit of plastic this morning (early) and he goes on for a very long time. Inexhaustible.
  Reply ↓
  - Tina on December 6, 2014 at 9:48 pm said:
    Yes, sometimes they seem to go on forever without getting tired. Even if I wad up a little piece of paper, the girls will play with it until I refuse to get on the floor to get it out from under whatever!
    Reply ↓
kylee on December 6, 2014 at 1:13 am said:
Yea especially Kittens or Older Cats. Jasmine Loves playing with Lids off bottles or anything bits of rubbish. Oh and Yes she loved bits of Bark or even Leaves. She would bring them to me and just play continuously.
Reply ↓
Ruth (Monty's Mom) on December 5, 2014 at 10:58 pm said:
I like how he stops to lick himself in the middle of playing. Monty will do that too. I ask him, “Did that foot just need to be licked?” He just stares at me waiting for me to continue the game.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 6, 2014 at 5:51 am said:
  I ask myself why cats do that. We see it quite a lot. It may just be that as play is quite vigorous and liable to mess up the coat that the cat wants to maintain it, even during play. That would seem to be the common sense answer.
  Reply ↓
Ruth (Monty's Mom) on December 5, 2014 at 10:53 pm said:
I had pretty much quit buying Monty toys since a small stone or twig from outside is so appreciated by him. But I did find a nice toy the other day with long feathers on it. It’s the fishing pole type and as I swish it around the feathers must really look like a bird to him. So that purchase was worth it.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 6, 2014 at 5:55 am said:
  Sometimes we succumb to commercialism 😉 . Just joking. Some toys are pretty good. Gabriel likes a mouse and on the cat condo there are mice hanging on strings which he spends quite a lot time trying to destroy.
  Reply ↓
Neal on December 5, 2014 at 8:00 pm said:
My cat loves to play with an ice cube on the kitchen floor. An accidental discovery, and you can’t beat the price!
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 5, 2014 at 8:46 pm said:
  That is a first for me. I have never heard of a cat playing with an ice cube. Sounds great though. I can see how it works. Slippery ice cube being pushed around the floor.
  Reply ↓
Dee (Florida) on December 5, 2014 at 5:24 pm said:
Babies are babies are babies…
Everything in their world is fascinating and can be so much fun.
Forget the commercial stuff.
Just, accidently, drop something on the floor and watch what happens.
Reply ↓
Ruth aka Kattaddorra on December 5, 2014 at 4:14 pm said:
How lovely to see Gabriel having such fun, isn’t he growing fast! Kittens will play with anything and that’s OK as long as someone is around, because they go into a panic and could hurt themselves if a toy gets stuck on a tooth or a claw. You need eyes in the back of your head lol
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on December 5, 2014 at 4:25 pm said:
  Yes, cats are very quick and almost invisible sometimes. I watch all the time really. He is growing up before my eyes.
  Reply ↓