I think the one cat toy in our house that has really stood the test of time is the Turbo Scratcher. The one we have now is one of two that we bought well over fifteen years ago (I don’t know what happened to the other one). It has not only lasted for years, it has also remained one of the most played with toys in the house.
Not all of our cats have been interested in it. Some have ignored it completely while others played with it occasionally, but there has always been one cat that goes back to it again and again. When Chris was young, he was the one. Then it was Puck and now Floki loves the Turbo Scratcher.
I often hear the sound of Floki playing with it but I never have a camera around. When I do go and get my camera or phone, as soon as I come back he is done playing. I was lucky to get the above video before Christmas and then promply forgot I had it until now.
Do you have any pet toys that have stood the test of time? I would love to hear about them.
I took this photo of Floki and Chris early Wednesday morning. Because of the poor lighting, the photo is not technically up to my standards but I thought it was too cute to pass up.
By the way, the first post about our vacation to Germany is up on my personal blog. You can see it here.
A bookcase is too much for a cat to resist. I realized long ago that putting stuff on every shelf just guaranteed that something would be knocked off. Instead, I leave one shelf empty just for the cats.
Here, Floki is enjoying some alone time but I have seen all of our cats up there at one time or another.
I finally caught Floki on Friday and brought him to the groomer. You may recall my last effort ended in failure. This time I caught him by surprise, picked him up and almost lost him as he twisted and scratched trying to get loose. My wife helped me get him into the carrier and off I went with him to the groomer.
I bring him to a place called Heaven Grooming where he is handled very well by the groomer.
Normally Floki is well behaved at the groomer, which is very different than at home. It is impossible for my wife and I to trim his nails but a groomer has no problem. I think it is because he is nervous around strangers so he behaves. Unfortunately, the groomer is not as much of a stranger as she used to be so he did struggle a little this time but she handled him well. Hopefully, that trend won’t continue.
Each of our cats has his own special gift. Chris is highly intelligent, Frankie is exceedingly cute, and Floki can read minds. You read that right and I am not exaggerating. It is the only explanation for what I have witnesses again and again.
Floki
These mind reading skills were very apparent a couple of years ago when we tried to trim his nails. Later, when we gave up on trying to trim his nails, his psychic abilities would kick in when we wanted to bring him to the groomer to get his nails trimmed.
A recent example happened last Friday. I brought his carrier in from the shed and set it on the dining room table. He was sleeping on our bed and couldn’t see what I brought in. I casually walked into the bedroom to check on him. He was still sleeping so I pretended to get something out of the bathroom so he wouldn’t get suspicious and then walked back to the dining room.
I asked my wife to follow me into the bedroom with the carrier. My plan was to scoop him up, turn, and drop him into the carrier before he knew what hit him. It was a good plan but the instant I appeared in the doorway Floki jumped down and under the bed he went.
A little while later we heard Floki whining and saw him under the dining room table. Chris had him by the back of the neck and was holding him down. Chris used to sometimes do this with Puck and now he does it with Floki. Unlike Puck, Floki will make a big fuss until someone comes to rescue him.
It always seemed strange that little Chris could hold Floki down better than two grown adults but, at this place in time, that was a good thing. I thought I would grab him from Chris and put him in the carrier that was right there on the table. As soon as that thought entered my mind Floki’s struggles intensified as he looked in my eyes with fear on his face. By the time I got close enough to touch him he had freed himself and was gone. That was the first time I ever saw him get loose from Chris’s grasp.
A couple hours later I saw Floki sleeping on the small cat perch in the Florida room. It was the perch closest to the door so I thought I would sneak up on him and grab him. I quietly moved the carrier to the back of the sofa and came around the corner ready to grab him but he wasn’t there. I turned to look for him and saw him just before he ducked behind the sofa.
I have walked past him a hundred times since then but Floki has pretty much ignored me. The only difference is I have not thought about bringing him to the groomers since they closed on Friday.
What do you think? If he is not psychic, what is his secret?
