New Cat Care Article: Cat's Play

Selecting safe toys for your feline

A feral cat may spend half of her day going through the stalk, pounce and kill of the hunting ritual, trying to obtain enough food to sustain her litter and herself. Meanwhile, our domestic felines nosh all day long on a commercially produced, owner-prepared diet. Little wonder Petunia has packed on a few pounds! When we relegate our feline friends to indoors-only status, we rob them of the opportunity to work for their living. It is a far safer existence, but a more mind-numbing, sedentary one. As responsible pet parents, it’s up to us to enrich their environment and enhance their lives.

The good news is that cats are easily amused. There is very little in their environment that could not serve as a cat toy in a pinch. In fact, in many households, commercial cat toys gather dust while items set aside for recycling are co-opted by the cat. Bottle caps, paper shopping bags, dried-out pens, shoe boxes…what may be garbage to you represents a rip-roaring good time to your cat. Are we the only ones who leave empty boxes in the middle of the living room floor to facilitate feline hide-and-seek? Read on...