Boredom Busting

Working at home day after day, I could see for myself that young Gracie was bored. We just got two feet of snow over the weekend, so winter is not over yet! There are too few birds to provide window entertainment. If I petted her when she was in a mood, she would claw and bite me but playing made everything better. I realized that she needed much more playtime to keep her energy in check. Unfortunately, I must work full-time and can’t play with her as much as I’d like. So, I splurged and bought her some things to entertain her. Sixteen-year-old Nami was eager to play, too, which warmed my heart. She didn’t need it as much as Gracie, but she certainly wanted it!

For three or four years, we’ve had a corrugated cardboard hexagon lying about for the cats to use to sharpen their claws. When I brought it home from the store, I set it on the bathtub’s wide edge until I decided where it should go. The cats took to it immediately, and I decided not to move it. It had become Gracie’s favorite hang-out, and she often slept there at night, with her head inside and her butt hanging out. Whatever. But when she started biting and tearing at the edges, I knew it was not long for this world.

I have bought other open-sided corrugated cardboard claw-sharpeners for the cats, but none seemed to have the same appeal. Then one lazy weekend, I found what I thought would do the trick on the internet. Ta-da! The cat’s new hideout!

I placed on the bathtub’s wide lip again because the master bathroom is a favorite place for the pets to lounge. It faces southeast and is arguably the warmest room in the house before noon. Gracie has made it her favorite place, so I placed the new hideout in the same spot. Success!

On to the toys! We already established in our home that Yeowww! brand catnip is superior to anything else on the market. Our cats have one little fish toy sold by Yeowww! with their trademark catnip, and even Nami likes to play with it. So, I found a Yeowww! kicker for Gracie, who loves to kick my arm, so she should love the toy. I bought more of the little fish and a container of the Yeowww! catnip so that I might marinate some other toys in it. After all, no need to argue with success.

I couldn’t even get the labels off the kicker before Nami started trying to grab it away from me. The Yeowww! fish are also getting batted around. I bought some cork toys that are beginning to get some playtime. I bought some little plastic rings that are easy for a cat to carry in its mouth. I once had a cat that loved to bat around bottle caps and play fetch with them, so I thought the rings might appeal to Gracie. She’s played with them some. I’ve held several things back to introduce in a couple of weeks.

The cat toys aren’t fixing my boredom, but I have enjoyed watching the cats enjoy their toys and fight over share the hideout. I’m relieved that Gracie has accepted a new place where she feels secure to watch us come and go. It’s positioned right above the heater vent, too, so she should be warm and snug!