Cat toys

Sprocket's favorite hobbies are sleeping and watching birds (there are three bird feeders on our patio for his viewing enjoyment), but occasionally he likes to throw a toy around the living room. To accommodate this, I have invested a bit of money over the last five years buying him bouncy balls, jingly balls, catnip mice, and more. Recently I went to a specialty pet store and got him some rather fancy, frilly, expensive little toys. Both are designed as chew toys for cats- which I thought would be great because my cat does love to chew. One of them- the one I was really excited about - was a treat toy. You put cat treats inside of it and the cat has to chew the toy to get the treat out. My vet had recommended it a couple of years ago when it was noted that Sprocket might need a little more exercise to tame his expanding waistline, but I had never been able to find one before. The other was a basic chew toy with lots of little fabric ribbons hanging off, which I also thought he would like. That one's designed to remove tartar from his teeth. Together, the toys cost about $10.

Well. My cat, who loves treats more than anything else in the entire world, will not touch the treat toy, no matter which yummy treat I put inside of it. He does take the time to sniff it briefly, then he decides (apparently) that it's not worth the effort. The treat toy has been laying on the floor in front of my bedroom door for the last week. It hasn't moved at all. The ribbon toy has achieved a similar fate, except it lives on the floor in front of the television in the living room.

The irony in all of this is that Sprocket has spurned his expensive, boutiquey cat toys in favor of something that costs virtually nothing at all- the little plastic piece that comes off the cap on plastic bottles of milk. This is his favorite thing in the world. He will spend what seems like hours playing with these things. He can grasp them in his paws and then throw them in the air and chase after them. Inevitably, every one I give him ends up behind some piece of furniture, never to be seen again (or at least it won't be seen until I move). But it doesn't matter because there's always another one waiting to take its place. I drink a lot of milk, and I've had friends collect them for me in the past.

So I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to waste any more of my money on fancy cat toys. I guess I should be happy that my cat is satisfied with the simple things in life. :)