Saturday, July 1, 2017

Playtime

     Though an older gal, Cleo now and then lets her playful side show.  We're trying to get her to be a little more active in hopes that she'll slim down to a healthier weight, and she does occasionally surprise us with bursts of energy and lightning quick swats and grabs at some of her toys.
     She's got an assortment of colorful balls, some catnip mice and a few other things, but her favorite plaything is string.  That's it.  String.  Catnip, though at first gets her going, seems to bore her after a minute or so.
     She loves chasing string, and we'll run around the apartment, trailing a 5 foot long piece and laughing as she trots and scuttles after it.  And then she plops down.  Sure, she'll swat and swipe at it if we're standing close enough, and once in a while she'll get up and come after it again, but I think we get more exercise out of it than she does.
     She's also shown this interesting behavior where she talks and chatters at us, much the way she does when she's hungry, and leads us to her toy collection on her favorite mat.
     She sits in front of her toys just looking at them, and when I start to pat her behind and scratch above her tail she begins to play with her things, sometimes going crazy rolling around and chomping heartily on her catnip mice.
     Now, I've seen some of the videos and read a handful of articles about the whole cat spanking thing (there's an eye-opening amount of it out there), and it's certainly an interesting trait. 
     Orbit used to enjoy a hefty patting above his tail.  My old pal Isaac loved a hearty smacking. 

     I'd hoped to have a handful of action shots to add to this post, but the ones I've got so far don't show much of Cleo's playful side.  They do, however, show how our play sessions most often end up.  The dear old girl seems to bore easily.  We'll try some other things as time goes by, but for now we'll make do with her shredded piece of string.

 
    

     

12 comments:

Summer said...

That's awesome that Cleo has such a playful side. Boodie and Binga are 16 and almost 17 respectively, and they both can be quite playful!

BTW, I LOVE having my behind patted. When I go on therapy visits, people who aren't around cats much always ask about why I raise my behind when I'm petted there.

Eastside Cats said...

Neither Angel nor Chucky play much anymore; they seem to get bored easily, just like Cleo. They've both gotten more loving toward us humans, but that too is sporadic. We just roll with it!

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Cleo looks very interested in her string.
Flynn used to love to have his behind spanked. When he was ill and lost so much weight he still wanted it. I had to tap him gently but he still enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

Several of our cags have really enjoyed string, too, but Tommy, our present kitty, likes it almost exclusively. He has a couple of places in the house where his string is tied to the back of wooden chairs and hangs down behind them to floor level. He stands, sits or rolls around grabbing at them, some just plain string or some with a small toy attached. He especially likes elastic to pull on and have it snap back into place. I hope Cleo continue to do her string play! Wonderful.

Love,
Lily and Tea Cakes Tommy

Brian's Home Blog said...

Playtime is always fun and important to keep those claw skills finely tuned!

pilch92 said...

She is a cutie. How old is she? My Phoebe and her friend Kali of Canadian cats have a club for girl cats 15 and up so if she is that old please email me at pilch92@aol.com and I can get your address to send you a crocheted red hat.

Catio Tales said...

Go Cleo! String toys are the best. And many of us 'get bored' with catnip after the first snorts, hehehe.
And butt whapping is great too - I don't like it so much but Mirsku and Veikko are total tarts for it.

Tamago said...

Aww string is the best, isn't it? Goro loves strings, too. Niko doesn't play much but he does chase toys around from time to time. Both loves food game :)

Cathy Keisha said...

I love chasing string myself. TW uses those long rubber strings that sometimes gifts get wrapped in. I jump all over the place with them and I'm not that young myself.

da tabbies o trout towne said...

cleo...waves two ewe gorgeouz on thiz monday....eye am knot inta string ....unlezz itz on a rug; that kneadz un ravelled...bit bye bit...just ta make de food servizz gurl eye rate; rite now de "korner" frum de kitshin rug iz nice lee "rounded" !!!

tuna of moon ~~~~ ☺☺♥♥

Ivan from WMD said...

Only the kids play around here. Caroline and Elliott aren't too excited by play.

The Whiskeratti said...

Toby has s great passion for string, always has. He'd much rather chew on it than play with the toy at the end. Leia loves the chase. Same age but she's much more active and energetic then he is.