Inexpensive Entertainment

After reading a really great article over at ihavecat.com by Stef Hu about affordable cat entertainment, I felt inspired to post a couple of ways I've been entertaining Lily recently!  Playtime with your cat is so rewarding and therapeutic for you, and it promotes exercise and prey for your cat!  There isn't any reason you shouldn't do it!

Lily loves chasing things.  So things that wiz by her are an instant hit.  Although, she is very particular on size and does not appreciate bigger toys.

Her favorite thing is a pipe cleaner wrapped up in a tiny ball. 

I buy a pack of pipe cleaners and it lasts forever.  Whenever she loses one, we just make another.  This is also a really flexible toy since you could wrap and bend them anyway you want.

The next entertainment item is this piece of yarn.

I'm sure any yarn would do but this one is similar to the carpet color, adding an extra challenge.  I've tied it to a hairtie on my wrist while I clean of fold laundry and she bounces along chasing it and grabbing at it's unpredictable movements.  It's also great for me since I'm multitasking!

And finally, her carrier.

All cat owners should own a reliable cat carrier.  It should be something that can be easily used to transport your kitty in case of an emergency.  we all know carriers and traveling can be stressful for your cat.  By pulling it out during playtime, Lily associates good memories with it!  Whenever I need to take her to the vet, she will be less stressed and feel safe.  I open different flaps occasionally to change things up.  She really likes it, and every once in awhile I sprinkle some yummy catnip inside :)

What's great about cats is that each one is an individual.  So spice things up and figure out what your kitty likes!  It doesn't have to be expensive at all. 

Check out 7 WAYS TO ENTERTAIN YOUR CAT WITHOUT SPENDING MONEY for some more ideas! 

Introductions

Hello there.

Let's start with who I am and why I'm blogging here.  My name is Rachel and I am 22 years old. I have a beautiful female tabby cat named Lily who is currently curled up in my lap right now.  She is almost 8 and was born in my aunt and uncle's boat.  Her mama was dumped near their property and decided that the old boat was the best place to bring her kittens into the world. 

Not my first choice, personally.  But then, I'm not a cat.

Over the years she has been a constant source of cuteness, cuddles, and responsibility.  I can't count how many times my mom has nagged me to clean the kitty litter, refill her water bowl, and retrieve her when she makes a great escape outdoors.  I have done most of these things begrudgingly, but the reward of having a warm furry companion every night kept me from surrendering Lily to someone perhaps more qualified.

You could say I've just been the average pet owner.  Taking my cat to the vet for shots, an occasional Frontline treatment, and feeding her a variety of value cat food brands.  This has been fine so far, but with Lily getting older, my encroaching adulthood, and my changing lifestyle I think it's time to step it up.

For both of us.

My realization came a few weeks ago when my friend from school spoke to me about adopting one of her puppies. 

I know this is a cat blog and I'm talking about dogs, but please bear with me.

I just fell in love with a particular round brown puppy and I began plotting on how I was going to get this dog.  My schedule is very hectic since I am a musical theatre major, and I realized a puppy was a very big time commitment.  I was obsessed for a solid week about information about dogs, puppies, puppy training, puppy daycare, puppy socialization, ect.

I found a lot of useful information!  Then, just like a little kid, I presented all my research to my parents on why I was getting this dog.  I'm 22 years old, yet I felt like I needed to give them a heads up since I still live at home.

They were impressed by my knowledge, yet it wasn't quite enough.  My puppy plan was flawless.  My long-term plan, not so much.

I was pretty depressed.  I thought of that cute little puppy face and of all the adventures we could have gone on...

Then I looked down at my feet and there was my cat.

I realized I already had an amazing pet.  I realized that I was also seriously lacking in the cat care I was administering.  I've paid my younger sister to clean the litter days after it should have been done, the food I fed her was the cheapest I could find at times, and her toy selection had progressively decreased over the years.

Yet she still looked up at me in such a loving way.  Even though I had neglected and forgotten her to a certain extent.

Could I redirect that "puppy fever" I had the week before into "kitty fever"?

Don't get me wrong, I was already a cat lover.  I just forgot the most important part of that.  Being there for your cat!  I went on a cat information hunt.  I felt like I knew more about dogs by researching dogs for a week than I did my own cat of 7 years!

Unfortunately my search didn't seem to uncover much :/

There is significantly less information about cats and cat behavior than dogs, and most of the information is only about how to stop undesirable behaviors.  This was discouraging to me, and I wished there was a place I could collect, vent, and review information and document my own experiences.  

This is where this blog come in!!

Hopefully this will usher in a new beginning with my cat.  Here's to learning more and to discovering a better relationship with cats everywhere.