This one NEVER gets old! It's one of our top-five most viewed posts, too!
(Oh, and no word on new kittens yet! YET! Seriously, it could happen any minute)
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Thanks to their friend Lynda, The Darlings were introduced to a new game, "Bathtub Soccer". They spent the better part of yesterday morning chasing the ball around the tub.
This morning, they climbed back in for another scrimmage, but the game was called off early because of rain. (I had to shower)
After consulting with our in-house cat toy experts, Charlene and Wylla, I put together a list of the toys that they feel would bring your cats the most joy during this season of gift giving, and year 'round, too!
Here we go, in no particular order, Charlene and Wylla's top ten toy list.
1. The Catnip Banana.
OH, do our girls love their Yeoww Catnip Bananas. In general, they're not huge fans of catnip toys, but there's something about the Banana that really clicks with them. It's the one toy they'll both fight over, so we always keep more than one around the house. They both chew on them, roll with them, bunny kick them until the bananas are flat and soggy. These folks make a catnip cigar, too, but it's not as fun as the banana.
2. Da Bird
Wylla loves feather toys so much that we have to keep them out of paw's reach when we're not using them. Left unsupervised with a feather toy, she'll gnaw on it until the feathers are gone. Out of all the feather toys, Da Bird is her favorite, and she gets VERY excited when we bring it out. When you wave the wand and make the bird fly, it makes a whirring sound which is very stimulating to both cats. Charlene only watches it, but Wylla leaps like crazy for it. She jumps so high, we only play with it upstairs where there's soft carpet to land on.
3. Sparkleballs
Paws down, Charlene's all-time favorite toy, and that's why we sell them in the IBKC shop. They're light and fun to bat around. We've heard from many that even your uber-finicky cats and kittens love them.
4. Rattle Mouse!
According to Wylla, Rattle Mouse is the greatest toy ever made in the history of cat toys! If anyone knows who makes these, please let us know. We've got two of them, but they're getting pretty worn, and I know her heart will be broken if we have to retire them.
5. Cat Srpings!
It's a good thing these are cheap, because they are so easy to lose, and we go through so many of them. Big cats and kittens love scooting across slick floors and chasing these springs.
6. Cat-Dancer Charmer Wand
The Cat-Dancer wand is another favorite of Wylla's. When we play with it, she's gets lazy and just rolls over on her back and waves her arms as we wave the wand. This one is a huge hit with the kittens, too, but they'll actually jump after it and burn a few calories.
These feather wands are loved by Charlene. Though she was quite a leaper in her younger days, we try not to encourage it too much now, so we just wriggle these around on the floor and Charlene chases after them. They lose their feathers eventually, so we do have to replace them every now and again.
8. Pingpong Balls
HOURS of fun if you throw it in the bathtub, right, Darlings? Cheap, cheap, cheap endless entertainment for cats of all ages!
9. Track Ball
No cat is on the fence about Trackball -- either they're into it or not. Wylla is into it.
10. Skip the gifts, just give them a box!
Just so you know, we're not getting paid to endorse these products, we're just sharing with you the toys that our cats and kittens enjoy more than any others. Most can be found online, but we prefer shopping our smaller, local pet boutiques.
I've been blogging about our fostering adventures for over eight years now, and have written over 3000 posts! 3099, to be exact! After all these years of blogging, I thought it might be fun to take a big look back and compile a list of our most popular posts.
I spent a lot of time reading old posts, and to rank the top fifty, I considered the number of comments first, followed by page views and the number of shares. Over the next five posts, I'll share with you this list. Please take some time and click on all the links. It's fun to revisit these stories and also read what you all had to say!
Here we go!!!
# 50 Welcome Wee Wallflower!
Kitten introductions always get a lot of comments. Here's the story of little Phoebe, the Dearborn that went missing.
#49 'Tis the Season Nearly three years later, I'm still laughing at Wylla in her Santa suit. Ho ho ho! Ha ha ha!!!
#48 The Gift of Graham The adoption tale of Graham Loudermilk is a real heart-warmer!
#45 Birthday Wishes for Butterbean
We celebrated Bean's birthday with a list of Bean fun facts! She's changed so much over the years, the list is not 100% accurate anymore, but it's still fun to read.
#44 Meet Bernice
Another kitten introduction! This little love had a rough start, but she turned it all around. Oh, sweet Bernice.
I bought this pink basket for Charlene when she was just a tiny tot. She slept in it for her first year, then outgrew it. Now, it belongs to the kittens.
Every single litter we've had has curled up in this basket. Oh, the memories it holds.
(and thank goodness it's machine washable)
Here's a little sampling of the cuteness this basket has contained.
Oh wow, what a year it's been. It was such a pleasure getting to know each of these 29 very special little beings, watching them grow, and seeing their personalities develop.
We had some good times , and some worrisome times too. In the end.. all was well and our happy, healthy kittens all met their families and left our nest.
Thanks for being there by our side through it all. We appreciate you so much. You are an amazing, loving, community and your supportive ways always lighten our load.
Happy New Year, friends. We wish you ALL the best, and look forward to spending 2010 with you!
Lots and lots of love and hugs,
Laurie, Craig, Drewey, Charlene Butterbean, Walter and Ira.
