CATSCRATCHBOX.COM
THE FUNNY PAGES
We are setting aside this area as a place to have a little fun. It is a place where a cat lover's true nature peeks through, the little zany side in all of us. It is what comes of living with a beautiful gentle creature who is the picture of serenity sitting in sphinx-like repose, who suddenly begins to race madly around the house emitting noises we call "gobbling". GO FIGURE.
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FUNNY OBSERVATIONS OF CAT BOX USE
--We've noticed that our cat will often run to the scratch box and claw it furiously after having been in another part of the house, away from the "pride" as it were. We believe it to be a reacquainting/territorial marking behavior. The box seems to have become THE primary territorial marking spot for him.
--A favorite niece reports that her cat has a ritual of always greeting her at the door upon her return from work, rubbing up against her leg (marking behavior), then running to his scratch box to do some furious scratching (more marking) and from there to the food bowl.
--Whenever we clean off the surface of his box our cat immediately jumps on it and claws like a madcat to re-mark it as HIS.
--Introducing a cat to a scratch box is often facilitated by having the cat nearby and having the owner scratch on it first. Most often the cat will naturally assert it's ownership by marking over your scratching.
--If there is lots of company our cat often sits on the scratch box when it gets chaotic. He very much acts as if this is his safe place, or maybe it is just his post for observing those crazy humans.
HIDE AND GO SEEK
Our cat Merlin likes to play hide and go seek (he plays just like the 3 year old toddler we also play this game with):
Our cat crouches down (completely out in the open) next to something at one end of a room, "hiding". The toddler will openly crouch down next to something at one end of a room, as if she is "hiding".
Our cat meows to tell us he is "ready" (toddler yells, "come get me"), then we approach the cat (toddler) in a slow stealthy manner. This is serious business, you must act like you can't see what is right in front of you(try keeping a straight face).
Larger than life, we charge at the cat (toddler) from around a corner howling all the while, at which point the cat (toddler) runs away meowing (ear-splitting squealing AND shrieking) to another "hiding" place. The meow("come get me") begin anew, but soon the two treat the game differently as described below.
The rest of the Cat Version--This repeats 3 or 4 times until Merlin runs to his scratch box and lies down on it. He treats the scratch box as a safe haven and we have learned to recognize this as his way of saying the game is over. We now often call his box "kitty gools" ("gools" is Boston lingo for the spot you pick as "safe" when you play games, we don't know its origin or where else it is used).
The rest of the Toddler Version--This activity repeats for 3 or 4 hours and wears out 3 or 4 adults. There is never a signal that the game is over for her nor does she show any sign of being tired.
SCRATCHING EARS AND ARMPITS
Okay, this sounds really weird but many if not most cats enjoy it when you stick a finger (NOT a sharp fingernail though) inside their ear and slowly and gently rub (not in the ear canal). This either feels good because their ears are large and hairy, scratching where they cannot reach very well, or it may be considered a form of grooming.
Stranger sounding is that many if not most cats also enjoy having their armpits (front legs ONLY) scratched. Try it on your cat only if it is tolerant of being touched in that general area as many cats will not permit you to get near their soft belly areas. With the cat lying on its side and comfortable with your touch at the moment , come up with your hand from just behind its front legs, move a couple of fingers up into the armpit and gently scratch. If the cat likes it, it will stretch out the entire leg to afford you better access and revel in the scratching. Of course, if the cat doesn't like it the cat will let you know.
HOLDING CAT PAWS
Cats all like to curl up near a source of heat such as a wood stove, a sunny spot or a convenient human. When it's the human radiator they have chosen, they'll often curl up with their back to a warm thigh and accept the usual patting before dropping off to snooze. We have found that for some reason our cats enjoy having their "feet" held. At first it was just the hind feet but after a number of sessions it often includes both front and hind feet. They initiated this position. Once the patting was done and a hand went around them, their paws automatically got placed either on the forearm or moved inside the hand wrapped around them. Once this was done, the cats curled up and went to sleep seemingly feeling very secure.
Just guessing, we assume that having their paws pushing against something gives them a feeling that they can push off and make a quick exit as their nature dictates and so it relaxes them.
INEXPENSIVE CAT TOYS
It's probably safe to say that all of us cat lovers have spent hundreds of dollars on cat toys that wind up collecting dust under the couch because many, if not most, of these toys are designed to attract humans. Here are just a few things our cat Merlin likes to play with and that cost nothing.
The first is string of course. Tie it to a long thin stick, tie a few knots at the end to make it interesting, slowly trail it across the floor and there's nothing a cat likes better.
Second, try a small piece of cloth scented with catnip. Take about a 6-8 inch square of cloth, lay it out flat and rub a small amount of catnip all over it. Then place a pinch of catnip at the center of one edge and roll it up catnip inside as you would roll up a carpet then tie a knot right where the catnip is and you have an excellent toy. The little ball of catnip inside will keep the cat interested for weeks or until the cloth gets so disgusting from cat spit that you have to throw it out.
Third, and our cat's absolute favorite, is made from green velcro strips that the supermarkets in our Boston area use to wrap lettuce. They are an "all-in-one" strip if you haven't seen them, the fuzz is on top and the hooks are on the bottom. Rolled up into a ring about 2" in diameter they make a nice toy our cat loves. Our niece calls them his "kitty bracelets", when he gets his paw inside them he goes crazy with excitement. We think, that since the velcro clings somewhat to his fur and paws, he may be thinking that it is actually something attacking him. These too, can be rubbed with catnip. Most cats will always appreciate catnip (however there are some few who don't).
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