Like most cats, the Paw Syndicate play with each other, toys, and a variety of things outside. In the fall Robin loves to play with acorns! He will pass them from paw to paw, running around on the deck in the yard. He is a great soccer player and would do great in the Kitten Bowl, if only he was still a kitten. The rest of the crew has their own way of playing, and sometimes you’ll see it on the camera in their mini condo.
Mama, for example, loves to play with the string that’s attached to a piece of wood and is on the deck. This string used to hang a bird feeder thirteen years ago. The string is still holding on to dear life and she loves to stretch out, paw at it and grab it. So, for all of those that think that Mama is mean and doesn’t know how to play, she is not and she does!
Flipper and Baby love to play with dead things. Those are their favorite things to play with most of the year. The dead thing is usually a mole or a mouse. Sometimes it’s a snake or a chipmunk. The paw crew walks away from the kill once the food no longer moves. Most times they will eat what they kill but not always.
A few years ago we had bird feeders on the deck. Well, quickly we learned our lesson. Not only did the cats love the entertainment, the raccoons and bears loved the seeds! Real quick we lost our bird feeders. Now they hang from the roof soffit, and no one can get to them except the birds and us. If a bird hits the window or dies from natural cause, the Pay Syndicate will not play with it or even eat it. We will then bury the dead bird by our front tree.
Does the Paw Syndicate Play with cat toys?
The paw crew does play with cat toys, but not all cat toys are the same. When the cats were kittens I tried to lure them inside with a feathery stick toy. Flipper and Robin would play outside with the toy. Once I take the toy inside, they would walk away from the door. Baby would mostly stare at them playing or get annoyed at the toy and try to whack it. Batman, well that guy just stares at Baby and does what she wants.
In the greenhouse and the mini condo we have added a few different toys. There is a compressed string ball, a catnip Spicy toy, and a crinkle toy. I’m sure there is something else in there but my brain can’t think of it now. The cats love to play with the Spicy toy, but mostly when there is no one else in there. While there is plenty of space inside, they want to jump around, toss and catch the toy in comfort. You may have seen Flipper and Mama play with the toys the most. I caught Flipper playing with a toy in the greenhouse while the rest of the crew was in the mini house watching her.
Paw Syndicate play with toys and each other. While you’ll mainly see them napping in their house or Mama smacking them around, they do know how to be cats and play.
