Take Me to Your Feeder

[madbaker]

Miss Bea has discovered a new, exciting game: after she has gobbled 1/2 to 2/3 of her meal, she can sometimes get us to pick up individual pieces of her freeze-dried rabbit and toss them down the hall. Beatrice can then chase, catch, and devour her prey while making excited noises. And return for more.

It's adorable, but also good exercise for her. And it reinforces the hunting behaviors that vets say we should encourage in indoor cats so they don't sleep all the time.

Comments

[psybelle]

I play that game with my pantherlet - in part to get her to finish her food, in part to keep the tigering from eating it... It's lots of fun for both of us. (I wish I could get the tigerling to play more, though - she needs the exercise, too, but the pantherlet would beat her to the kibble every time....)

[madbaker]

It wasn't an option when we had both cats, as Hilde would simply bowl over Bea in any physical game.

[psybelle]

My two are pretty well matched in weight, but the pantherlet is just much faster and more agile - so there'd be no contest.

[madbaker]

Hilde was three weeks older and about a pound heavier. Bea was also slower-growing; she only hit her adult build around two years old.

More to the point, when Hilde got in play mode both of her brain cells would focus and leave no room for anything else. Hilde wasn't necessarily trying to bowl over Bea, but it would just... happen. Bea obviously wasn't too enthused by this.