Preferred Golf Ball
 

Buffy's choice of golf ball is a Titleist #3 for bapping weight and
bounceability. :) She will accept a Pinnacle #4 golf ball if she can't
find her first choice.

I never really noticed before why she seems to prefer one golf ball over
the other.

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Jill

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On 2017-01-11 1:55 PM, jmcquown wrote:
Buffy's choice of golf ball is a Titleist #3 for bapping weight and
bounceability. :) She will accept a Pinnacle #4 golf ball if she can't
find her first choice.

I never really noticed before why she seems to prefer one golf ball over
the other.

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Each cat has its own preferences! I got a kind of circular track with a
little ball trapped in it, so it can't escape under the furniture. The
cats I originally got it for liked getting treats out of the larger ball
in the centre, but ignored the small one. Kerry, the newest cat loves
it, and spends hours lying next to the toy and batting that ball around
the track. Sometimes I can hear the click click of the ball late at night.

It looks like this one, although this apparently is only the ball and I
bought the whole apparatus as a set:

http://berganpet.com/product/turbo-treat-ball/

Kerry is one of those cats who has only two states - comatose and
hyperactive. When she's awake, she's often playing with and chasing
things. One of her more annoying characteristics is her love of knocking
things off the desk, which includes her conviction that there's
something interesting under the keyboard. That keyboard has frequently
hit the floor as a result.

--
Cheryl

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On Thu, 12 Jan 2017 08:22:08 -0330, Cheryl wrote:

On 2017-01-11 1:55 PM, jmcquown wrote:
Buffy's choice of golf ball is a Titleist #3 for bapping weight and
bounceability. :) She will accept a Pinnacle #4 golf ball if she can't
find her first choice.

I never really noticed before why she seems to prefer one golf ball over
the other.

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Each cat has its own preferences! I got a kind of circular track with a
little ball trapped in it, so it can't escape under the furniture.

Minnie's preferred "ball" is one of those round plastic fishing floats sometimes
referred to as a "bobber" - hers is about an inch and a half in diameter and has
a ridge around the middle where the top and bottom half were joined which makes
it do funny things when it's rolling around on the floor. It also has the button
on top that you push to expose the little hook that comes out the bottom for you
to clip it onto your fishing line, which often makes it go off in an unexpected
direction when it's rolling.

I think its tendency to change direction unexpectedly and go around in a circle
when it hits that ridge is what she likes because it simulates prey changing
direction unpredictably so she gets to practice her predator's skills. However,
it does tend to end up in a few places where I have to retrieve it for her, like
under the refrigerator. She's also quite inventive at finding ways to let me
know when she needs me to get her "ball" back for her and showing me where it's
become trapped.

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:25:34 -0500, jmcquown wrote:

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Yes, what is it with our felines leaving things inside our footwear?

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On 1/12/2017 2:42 PM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:25:34 -0500, jmcquown wrote:

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Yes, what is it with our felines leaving things inside our footwear?

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

I think they like to surprise us. As long as it's not alive (or half
dead) and squishy I don't mind. ;)

Jill

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On 1/12/2017 2:34 PM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Thu, 12 Jan 2017 08:22:08 -0330, Cheryl wrote:

On 2017-01-11 1:55 PM, jmcquown wrote:
Buffy's choice of golf ball is a Titleist #3 for bapping weight and
bounceability. :) She will accept a Pinnacle #4 golf ball if she can't
find her first choice.

I never really noticed before why she seems to prefer one golf ball over
the other.

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Each cat has its own preferences! I got a kind of circular track with a
little ball trapped in it, so it can't escape under the furniture.

Minnie's preferred "ball" is one of those round plastic fishing floats sometimes
referred to as a "bobber" - hers is about an inch and a half in diameter and has
a ridge around the middle where the top and bottom half were joined which makes
it do funny things when it's rolling around on the floor. It also has the button
on top that you push to expose the little hook that comes out the bottom for you
to clip it onto your fishing line, which often makes it go off in an unexpected
direction when it's rolling.

I think its tendency to change direction unexpectedly and go around in a circle
when it hits that ridge is what she likes because it simulates prey changing
direction unpredictably so she gets to practice her predator's skills. However,
it does tend to end up in a few places where I have to retrieve it for her, like
under the refrigerator. She's also quite inventive at finding ways to let me
know when she needs me to get her "ball" back for her and showing me where it's
become trapped.

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY


I remember fishing gear like that. My dad took us on vacation on the
St. Lawrence River, upstate NY. I was about 6 years old and we stayed
at Cal's Cottages. Dad was stationed at Lakehurst, New Jersey. My
father pretended to fish. LOL He had all kinds of gear. So yes, I know
what a bobber is. :) Hopefully you don't have any fishing lures with
feathers and hooks laying around.

I can see why a bobber would make a fun toy. Sort of wobbly. :)

Jill

Preferred Golf Ball
 

jmcquown wrote:
Buffy's choice of golf ball is a Titleist #3 for bapping weight
and bounceability. :) She will accept a Pinnacle #4 golf ball
if she can't find her first choice.

I never really noticed before why she seems to prefer one golf
ball over the other.

Our lot will use a ping-pong ball if they want bounce. If they
want the maximum amount of noise, a golf ball rumbling over a bare
wooden floor works great at 3am; I've no idea what brand it is.

Took me many years to work out what "Titleist" meant and how to
pronounce it. I first figured it was a German name like Feist,
and pronounced Tit-lyste. (But the only time I have ever come
in contact with a golf ball in play was when one whacked me on
the head while I was walking across a park in Glasgow - the
players didn't get it back, it may be the very one our furries
now use).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On Thu, 12 Jan 2017 20:52:18 -0500, jmcquown wrote:

Hopefully you don't have any fishing lures with
feathers and hooks laying around.

Heavens no. I have two of the largest tackle boxes I could find, chock full of
lures and other gear - but everything is securely contained in those boxes and
nicely organized therein, not laying around where Minnie can get at it. I only
just got her at the end of October, but my fishing gear and radio gear (I'm a
ham operator) are two things I've always kept well organized, so that was two
things I didn't have to worry about putting that stuff away when she moved in.
The drawstrings on the window blinds, on the other hand...but that's a story all
by itself.

If that hadn't been the case - well, you hit the nail on the head, Jill...among
other things, she's definitely attracted to feathers. I had gotten a cat toy
with a catnip-scented mouse on one of those kitty fishing poles that had a
couple of feathers on it. The first time we played with it, one of the feathers
came off. It took the rest of the evening for her to finally leave it so I could
get rid of it without her seeing me do it and getting mad at me...and of course
the whole time I had to watch her to make sure she didn't decide to eat it.

Now I'm just waiting for the other one to come off too... :-)

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On Thu, 12 Jan 2017 19:20:46 -0500, jmcquown wrote:

On 1/12/2017 2:42 PM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:25:34 -0500, jmcquown wrote:

I keep a pair of rubber flip-flops next to the back door for stepping
outside to do things on the patio. She likes to try to bap a ball into
one of my flip flops when they're sitting by the door. :)

Yes, what is it with our felines leaving things inside our footwear?

I think they like to surprise us. As long as it's not alive (or half
dead) and squishy I don't mind. ;)

What if our cats regard the items they leave in our shoes as having been placed
on deposit with us for safe keeping until they return to reclaim them later?

"I'm finished playing with this ball for now, but I don't want it getting eaten
by that nasty, noisy, no-good, ill-mannered vacuum cleaner of yours - so kindly
hang on to it for me until I'm done with the four-hour nap I'm about to go take,
on your bed of course, and I'll be back for it later!"

Which leads, four hours and thirty seconds later, to: "Why am I attacking your
feet, you ask? Because, you impossibly slow-witted human, my favorite ball is no
longer in your flip-flops where I left it earlier! And don't bother trying to go
laying a guilt trip on me by claiming you put them on to go out on the patio and
water the catnip plants, because it's much too chilly this morning to be wearing
flip-flops out there! So take THAT and THAT and..."

Exit human screaming, stage left, with cat in hot pursuit. Fade to black. Roll
credits. Be sure to join us next week, when we'll see what happens when Buffy
catches Jill having the unmitigated audacity to make tuna casserole without
offering Buffy some tuna first. (WARNING: Contains graphic violence. May not be
suitable for young audiences)

I know - it's no more than a theory that happens to fit the facts, with no proof
to back it up. Still, it would explain more than one aspect of cat behavior...

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

Preferred Golf Ball
 

On 1/18/2017 3:03 AM, John Kasupski wrote:

What if our cats regard the items they leave in our shoes as having been placed
on deposit with us for safe keeping until they return to reclaim them later?

"I'm finished playing with this ball for now, but I don't want it getting eaten
by that nasty, noisy, no-good, ill-mannered vacuum cleaner of yours - so kindly
hang on to it for me until I'm done with the four-hour nap I'm about to go take,
on your bed of course, and I'll be back for it later!"

Which leads, four hours and thirty seconds later, to: "Why am I attacking your
feet, you ask? Because, you impossibly slow-witted human, my favorite ball is no
longer in your flip-flops where I left it earlier! And don't bother trying to go
laying a guilt trip on me by claiming you put them on to go out on the patio and
water the catnip plants, because it's much too chilly this morning to be wearing
flip-flops out there! So take THAT and THAT and..."

Exit human screaming, stage left, with cat in hot pursuit. Fade to black. Roll
credits. Be sure to join us next week, when we'll see what happens when Buffy
catches Jill having the unmitigated audacity to make tuna casserole without
offering Buffy some tuna first. (WARNING: Contains graphic violence. May not be
suitable for young audiences)

I know - it's no more than a theory that happens to fit the facts, with no proof
to back it up. Still, it would explain more than one aspect of cat behavior...

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY

LOL It's as good an explanation as any. BTW, I don't know about Buffy
but Persia absolutely despised tuna. Early on I had to give Persia a
pill. The vet suggested hiding it in some water-packed human tuna:
she'll love it! Persia looked at me like "You expect me to EAT this?!"
She never cared for fishy cat food, either. Chicken, turkey, beef,
yep. In subsequent years I discovered Greenies Pill Pockets (chicken),
which usually worked.

Jill