5 Of My Cat’s Favorite Toys

And one I actually bought for that purpose.

My cat is playful. He will play by himself. He will ask me to play. He will sometimes do this at 3am. Lucky for me, he has the best fun with things I didn’t buy for him to play with. In fact, he even has a toy built in!

Tail

I have seen many a dog chase their tail. Even cats. But Zak takes it to another level. Since he is long (over 3ft), it’s a long distance from his mouth to the tip of his tail. He loves play biting in general and looks like he’s doing an impression of Hungry Hungry Hippos when doing so. He rarely runs in circles to catch his tail. He will hear his tail doing its extra excited wag and start twitching. Then he looks slowly behind him and his tail hides by moving to the other side. Immediately after that, he tries to trick it by quickly turning to look behind him on the other side to determine which side is the best way to attack. Then he pounces it, which usually leads to him flipping around in a ball in a way that reminds me of Sonic The Hedgehog. Once he catches it, he “wins” by getting to groom it.

Box

One of the things Zak and I have in common is our love of boxes. My mom would tell me how my first birthday, I got all these gifts and only cared about playing with the boxes. Any new empty box in the house must be inspected by him. He will also attempt to go inside them, even when the most liquid of cats his size could not fit. There are many boxes he has enjoyed over the year. This is his favorite one and therefore the one that shall not be disposed of.

What makes this particular box so awesome? He might not be able to sit up tall, but there are plenty of ways he can comfortably sit and sleep. Scratching at the back of the box searching for the pathway to Narnia happens often. There is plenty of space for him to chase his tail in there too. The flaps are purrfect for hiding behind and plotting against things such as….

Floor Cleaner aka The Green Monster

When I first got this Swiffer alternative, Zak was terrified of it. Like bolt out of the room to hide in terror from it fear level. This fear slowly morphed into it being an awesome thing to swat at. The minute he sees me coming along with it, he immediately runs into his box to plot against it. I push the sweeper towards the box, and a paw suddenly appears to whack it. If there’s a delay, he peeks around or over the flap to see where it went.

Packing Paper

It’s a shame so few of my packages are packed in packing paper. This is easily the best source of all the things to Zak. Ideally it’s crunched up. He will sit on it. He will push it around the entire living room. Pouncing things on it is approximately 85% more fun vs the regular laminate floor. He takes the balled up paper I gave him and pushes it around to a preferred or purr-furred layout.

These Coasters

My mom made me many sets of coasters over the years. These she made to use up leftover yarn. I think they are cool so of course I use them. When I first got them, I’d wake up and find the last one I used on the floor. Initially, I thought it was getting stuck on the bottom of my glass and I wasn’t noticing it fall off when I put my glass away before bed. Then he was sitting with me one night and I saw his eyes get mischief as they stared at my table. He reached out his paw and grabbed the coaster with his claw and dropped it onto the floor! How rude is that? He is generally good about leaving tables and counters alone. Expecting him to see these on a surface he can reach and not pull them off onto the floor is asking way too much. If I forget to hide them from him, I will catch him leaning towards the table in complete anticipation of being victorious in claiming it.

Now why all he seems to do with them is throw them onto the floor is a question I can’t answer.

The Toy I Actually Bought For Him — Ball Track Toy

When I first brought this home for Zak, he played with it for an hour straight. The first week I had to put it up in the closet before bed because the sound of it wasn’t conducive to my sleep. Once he was going after the ball so aggressively, he managed to dislodge it from the track and sent it flying…straight into my arm. I was just minding my own business, sitting and watching TV. The next thing I knew, there was sudden pain in my arm and a ball on the floor I did not recognize since it was not in its natural habitat. He must’ve been a roulette dealer in another life.

What the manufacturer thought was a scratching surface in the middle is really a sitting/sleeping spot. I had no idea what the human equivalent of sleeping there is, or I would’ve passed along that recommendation.

He also randomly scratches frantically at the track even though the ball is within easy reach. He also will give the ball a light tap when he walks by, just so it’s clear who is in charge.

He will also give me a light tap on the shoulder when he wants me to play with him. I already know he is in charge.

You know you want more fabulous cat stories from me! If not, please pretend otherwise.

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