7/16" dowel, parachute cord, and a bit of shearling fleece, preferably with a part where the fleece has been sheared off to make a leather strip so it looks like a rat. Great fun, especially when it’s not been used for a while. Still buy wands with feathers on them, but they don’t last very long around the boys if we don’t swap them out for a while with that homemade toy. The boys tend to snap the store bought wands, usually before they pull the feathers out. And they tend to snap typical elastic lines real fast. We had to make that toy to get something tough enough to deal with them. It’s ridiculous, we had a lot of toys that we’d had for other cats long before Smokey came along which weathered them and her no sweat. The boys come along and start snapping toys, so we thought “Well, their old toys, that’s why their breaking.” Then we had it happening with brand new toys and decided we had to come up with something.
I wanted to do this a long time ago and finaly did this! I filmed how I’m translated this comics on my phone. If you interested, check it out: https://youtu.be/_YSm_OlCMAk
Funny thing- we have something very similar, and yes, the girls love it. But, in the best “you can buy me a $100 toy but I’ll have more fun with the box” spirit, they go nuts over the silliest thing. The paper- wrapped piece of wire that’s used to hold a bunch of celery or romaine lettuce together. Scrunched up in a little ball and thrown across the floor, it is irresistible to them. We call it a “skittery” because of the sound it makes when they play with it. And as a bonus, they seem to have no interest in chewing it- just batting it around the floor like a soccer ball…
It was a short walk home, but Megan was walking particularly slowly this night. There was Jasmine in the air, and Jasmine was one of her favorite scents. Sweet, strong but not overpowering or cloying. And even without the drinks, she’d still be on a kind of high from the events of the last day (and night). “You doing alright, Kitten?” Megan asked. “How could I not be? Found my mom, found out she’s doing well, met my new brother and sisters, AND- if I’m reading him correctly- got her ol’ man to go home. That’s a pretty good day’s work, if you ask me”. Megan stopped. “Glad you feel that way. How’d you like to do it full time?” “What?” Megan was now prepared to make the offer. She was glad Tre-C had worked out so well. Megan liked her. More than any cat she’d known in… well, longer than she was prepared to admit right now. “What happened tonight… THIS is what I do, Kitten. Getting you and your mom together, seeing the babies and knowing they’re all good- this is what I do. Getting Kip and her back together, if that’s what’s going to actually happen, that was a fortunate bonus. But this is what I do- the detective agency is a facade most of the time. I’m a fixer, and I love every single day and every night of it.” Tre-C took a long, deep breath of the sweet, heady fragrance on the night air, and smiled widely. ’Tell me more…” she said.
“What’s the verdict?” Probably from experience, the Man knows that an expensive, seemingly “sure-fire hit” cat toy must be examined and judged by the Boys. Fancy testimonials on the packaging aside, it’s when the toy meets the paw that the decision is made.
Jump around like crazy after it = two paws up. Sit there staring at it and then you then sauntering off to play with the box = two paws down.
Okay People – now you need to buy two more and wave them around at the same time so each Good Boy has his own toy. Hmmm, that means the Woman or the Man must wave two at a time. Oh, wait but then the Boys will all want the same one. Until they want the other one. No, the first is best. Until they notice the third one …
My feather wand toy lives on a shelf at the top of cupboard so furry paws can’t get it – they adore playing with feathers and will chew them to bits if they’re left out. I got a wand which has replaceable feather attachments – for when they inevitably destroy it – though I have had to tie the cord back together a few times too.
Hehe, even the Toddler wants it! ♥ The sixth panel—love it! That bewildered, stunned look in their eyes before they realise they’ve got to get their paws on this magical thing of beauty! haha!
Good morning and happy Sunday/Bunday, orbsters and orbabies! Such a wonderful strip today. Yum Yum loves feathers, when Paul and I go walking on the beach, we bring back seagull feathers for her to play with and she loves them. When we move the couch to sweep under it, we invariably find a few feathers, and I’m pretty sure she has a nest under the bed!
When i was volunteering at the shelter as a cat petter i loved socializing the kittens. The half feral ones were the most challenging, but if you could get them to play you were half way there.
Laser pointers and string were the best choices to start with. Get one or two out playing and others would come out, even if to only play with a different toy.
Getting them to come out while a human is in the room goes a long way toward socialization.
We took a small rectangle of blue jeans, cut the short ends into strips, rolled it up and tied it with 35-lb test fishing line. Then tacked it to the doorway b/t the kitchen and living room. They batted that poor lil “spider” to pieces!!! But, it was a “renewable” resource, so we’d just make a new one. But we did have to roll it up and put it on the bookshelf every night! Patches would sit and look up at the shelf, until we got it back down!! And, once, I tied a lil catnip into the roll…Patches got so drunk, he sprawled on the floor, but he wouldn’t quit batting at it, except every time he did, he’d end up rolling in the direction of his swing!!! Off the catnip, he was the most dignified of cats, his full name was Patchouli, to match his perfect tuxedo markings…James Bond didn’t fit. And later, we did get a James, so I’m glad we had the name available!
I never got any cat toy’s, my cat Marcus would play with anything we dropped on the floor. He was an indoor-outdoor cat, so he mostly entertained himself by bringing us dead animals.
First time I introduced one of mine to Da Bird, he easily cleared four feet vertical off the floor going after it. The novelty wears off, eventually. (After all, those four-foot jumps are hard on a cat. I sure couldn’t do one.)
. . . Yesterday, Georgia had a live broadcast last night to inform us on Facebook, that she is going to have another comic on this site and it will tell a very different story. Here is a “rerun” from yesterday and in her own words!
“Hello! I will be live on Facebook to announce some good news (the news I hinted at yesterday!) at 5pm Pacific Time—so, in a little under a half hour! Tune in and say hi!.” :D. . . WATCH NOW . . . https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDunnStudio/videos/497485480663759/
. . . though, the live video is over, I believe that you can still watch it from the beginning. FYI, Georgia is adding a new comic, “SwanEaters”, which she had before, though this will be added here. Fortunately, she will continue to have BCN here. Enjoy. :)
. . . here is some information on Ms Dunn’s latest project, which is actually one of her previous projects that she had on the back-burner. :) http://www.swaneaters.com/
There are so many followers on this site and so many comments, that you might have missed this from late yesterday. Here is your “second chance”! Enjoy! :)
I make our kitty wands with 3’ long macaw tail feathers. Yes I wait until they shed the feathers first. I’m not crazy enough to pluck a tail feather from a bird that could bite my finger off if I irritated it.
Jake’s favourite toy is the Catfishing Pole…a cord from a hoodie tied to the end of a yard-stick. If you ever want to find the cat, just start casting into the middle of the living room rug. Soon the catfish will be bitin’!
Kaboodle has one of those wand toys… She had to really be in the mood to play with it, though. Usually a little rattle-ball is her favorite. She hides behind a door or under a bed while I roll the ball past her, then pounces out for the kill. Once that one is “dead,” she hides again and waits for another victim to roll on by….
How timely! Today was tick and flea med day so, to sweeten the blow, after all the putting bad stuff on the neck was done I got out the feather on a string. The guys love it. Most of mine are older and get so excited and the exercise is good for them. For Dymka, the young male, it’s just a bore and he likes to grab the feather and sit on it and upset everyone.
Don’t need a cat toy today. We went away for two days and within 5 minutes of arriving home and opening the door to the back yard, Little Cat brought in a mouse. Now she’s watching while Big Cat chases it around the downstairs landing. Sigh. Hope he doesn’t leave too much behind when he finally dispatches it.
I crocheted a similar style toy, making sure that each dangly bit was different (for interest). I tried to play with my three kitties. I received the following reaction from all three, in no particular order: look of disdain, turning away, curling up and going to sleep, and general disinterest.
We called one of my former cats Buffy the Vermin Slayer because her mission in life was to kill anything that moved, living or not. Leaves were dispatched every autumn and any mouse unlucky enough to enter her domain would lose its head in a hurry. Then she would play with it. My daughter made me some feather earrings and when she found them, they were destroyed in a matter of seconds.
We have something like that. Ember loves it, to the point that she will complain loudly when we stop playing with it. Our son took to hiding it so it would be out of her sight once he was done playing. Problem: she saw where he put it. She will still occasionally look up and meow in its general direction when she wants to play. However, with me being a little person and my wife being in a wheelchair, I think she has at least caught on that neither of us can reach it.
sugordon over 5 years ago
I love Lupin’s expression in the first panel
over 5 years ago
A purrfect toy for cat lovers everywhere.
Jungle Empress over 5 years ago
OMC, this was one of my favorites! I’m so happy to see it redone!
And now I’m mentally replacing “I want it” with “mine”, like the seagulls from Finding Nemo. :D
knight1192a over 5 years ago
7/16" dowel, parachute cord, and a bit of shearling fleece, preferably with a part where the fleece has been sheared off to make a leather strip so it looks like a rat. Great fun, especially when it’s not been used for a while. Still buy wands with feathers on them, but they don’t last very long around the boys if we don’t swap them out for a while with that homemade toy. The boys tend to snap the store bought wands, usually before they pull the feathers out. And they tend to snap typical elastic lines real fast. We had to make that toy to get something tough enough to deal with them. It’s ridiculous, we had a lot of toys that we’d had for other cats long before Smokey came along which weathered them and her no sweat. The boys come along and start snapping toys, so we thought “Well, their old toys, that’s why their breaking.” Then we had it happening with brand new toys and decided we had to come up with something.
Strob Premium Member over 5 years ago
The precursor of the Red Dot, and you can actually catch it!
Marusya Step over 5 years ago
I wanted to do this a long time ago and finaly did this! I filmed how I’m translated this comics on my phone. If you interested, check it out: https://youtu.be/_YSm_OlCMAk
Rosette over 5 years ago
This is one of Georgia’s more relateable comics – and that’s saying a lot!
skykey over 5 years ago
Funny thing- we have something very similar, and yes, the girls love it. But, in the best “you can buy me a $100 toy but I’ll have more fun with the box” spirit, they go nuts over the silliest thing. The paper- wrapped piece of wire that’s used to hold a bunch of celery or romaine lettuce together. Scrunched up in a little ball and thrown across the floor, it is irresistible to them. We call it a “skittery” because of the sound it makes when they play with it. And as a bonus, they seem to have no interest in chewing it- just batting it around the floor like a soccer ball…
skykey over 5 years ago
It was a short walk home, but Megan was walking particularly slowly this night. There was Jasmine in the air, and Jasmine was one of her favorite scents. Sweet, strong but not overpowering or cloying. And even without the drinks, she’d still be on a kind of high from the events of the last day (and night). “You doing alright, Kitten?” Megan asked. “How could I not be? Found my mom, found out she’s doing well, met my new brother and sisters, AND- if I’m reading him correctly- got her ol’ man to go home. That’s a pretty good day’s work, if you ask me”. Megan stopped. “Glad you feel that way. How’d you like to do it full time?” “What?” Megan was now prepared to make the offer. She was glad Tre-C had worked out so well. Megan liked her. More than any cat she’d known in… well, longer than she was prepared to admit right now. “What happened tonight… THIS is what I do, Kitten. Getting you and your mom together, seeing the babies and knowing they’re all good- this is what I do. Getting Kip and her back together, if that’s what’s going to actually happen, that was a fortunate bonus. But this is what I do- the detective agency is a facade most of the time. I’m a fixer, and I love every single day and every night of it.” Tre-C took a long, deep breath of the sweet, heady fragrance on the night air, and smiled widely. ’Tell me more…” she said.
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
“What’s the verdict?” Probably from experience, the Man knows that an expensive, seemingly “sure-fire hit” cat toy must be examined and judged by the Boys. Fancy testimonials on the packaging aside, it’s when the toy meets the paw that the decision is made.
Jump around like crazy after it = two paws up. Sit there staring at it and then you then sauntering off to play with the box = two paws down.
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
Okay People – now you need to buy two more and wave them around at the same time so each Good Boy has his own toy. Hmmm, that means the Woman or the Man must wave two at a time. Oh, wait but then the Boys will all want the same one. Until they want the other one. No, the first is best. Until they notice the third one …
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
Puck needs to make us a chart showing how this toy is better than perfect. I assume he has some kind of scale of perfection.
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
Panel six = kitty mesmerization.
wolfiiig over 5 years ago
That toy should last a full three minutes.
poppet bear over 5 years ago
My feather wand toy lives on a shelf at the top of cupboard so furry paws can’t get it – they adore playing with feathers and will chew them to bits if they’re left out. I got a wand which has replaceable feather attachments – for when they inevitably destroy it – though I have had to tie the cord back together a few times too.
Lady Bri over 5 years ago
Hehe, even the Toddler wants it! ♥ The sixth panel—love it! That bewildered, stunned look in their eyes before they realise they’ve got to get their paws on this magical thing of beauty! haha!
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
I love the way Lupin is (ever so slightly) leaning in on panel four.
cat19632001 over 5 years ago
By the last panel, it’s ECFH – Every Cat for Himself.
rs0204 Premium Member over 5 years ago
Another seduction by the Feather On A Stick. No Kitty can say no.
Zoomer&Yeti over 5 years ago
And Pucky in Panels 2 & 3 slightly “one-ups” Elvis. Better than perfect — Love it!
ladykat over 5 years ago
Good morning and happy Sunday/Bunday, orbsters and orbabies! Such a wonderful strip today. Yum Yum loves feathers, when Paul and I go walking on the beach, we bring back seagull feathers for her to play with and she loves them. When we move the couch to sweep under it, we invariably find a few feathers, and I’m pretty sure she has a nest under the bed!
Happy, happy, happy!!! Premium Member over 5 years ago
Fastest way to bring out a basic instinct.
It’s moving! Kill it!
When i was volunteering at the shelter as a cat petter i loved socializing the kittens. The half feral ones were the most challenging, but if you could get them to play you were half way there.
Laser pointers and string were the best choices to start with. Get one or two out playing and others would come out, even if to only play with a different toy.
Getting them to come out while a human is in the room goes a long way toward socialization.
LadyPeterW over 5 years ago
We took a small rectangle of blue jeans, cut the short ends into strips, rolled it up and tied it with 35-lb test fishing line. Then tacked it to the doorway b/t the kitchen and living room. They batted that poor lil “spider” to pieces!!! But, it was a “renewable” resource, so we’d just make a new one. But we did have to roll it up and put it on the bookshelf every night! Patches would sit and look up at the shelf, until we got it back down!! And, once, I tied a lil catnip into the roll…Patches got so drunk, he sprawled on the floor, but he wouldn’t quit batting at it, except every time he did, he’d end up rolling in the direction of his swing!!! Off the catnip, he was the most dignified of cats, his full name was Patchouli, to match his perfect tuxedo markings…James Bond didn’t fit. And later, we did get a James, so I’m glad we had the name available!
clementinelittle over 5 years ago
I never got any cat toy’s, my cat Marcus would play with anything we dropped on the floor. He was an indoor-outdoor cat, so he mostly entertained himself by bringing us dead animals.
Andrew Sleeth over 5 years ago
First time I introduced one of mine to Da Bird, he easily cleared four feet vertical off the floor going after it. The novelty wears off, eventually. (After all, those four-foot jumps are hard on a cat. I sure couldn’t do one.)
MDMom over 5 years ago
. . . Yesterday, Georgia had a live broadcast last night to inform us on Facebook, that she is going to have another comic on this site and it will tell a very different story. Here is a “rerun” from yesterday and in her own words!
“Hello! I will be live on Facebook to announce some good news (the news I hinted at yesterday!) at 5pm Pacific Time—so, in a little under a half hour! Tune in and say hi!.” :D. . . WATCH NOW . . . https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDunnStudio/videos/497485480663759/
. . . though, the live video is over, I believe that you can still watch it from the beginning. FYI, Georgia is adding a new comic, “SwanEaters”, which she had before, though this will be added here. Fortunately, she will continue to have BCN here. Enjoy. :)
. . . here is some information on Ms Dunn’s latest project, which is actually one of her previous projects that she had on the back-burner. :) http://www.swaneaters.com/
There are so many followers on this site and so many comments, that you might have missed this from late yesterday. Here is your “second chance”! Enjoy! :)
YatInExile over 5 years ago
anomalous4 over 5 years ago
Zoe was never a “player.” You could wave anything in front of her & she’d just sit & watch it.
Smokie over 5 years ago
Trouble’s favorite toy is a large plastic spider from Halloween. She bats it around, carries it in her mouth and sleeps with it, too.
davanden over 5 years ago
The Man has the Baby in a sling.
willie_mctell over 5 years ago
It’s shiny. It moves unpredictably. It smells great.
Erin Pierce over 5 years ago
“where art and design meet technology and innovation” <===anyone else hear Don LaFontaine or Thurl Ravenscroft?
miscreant over 5 years ago
I make our kitty wands with 3’ long macaw tail feathers. Yes I wait until they shed the feathers first. I’m not crazy enough to pluck a tail feather from a bird that could bite my finger off if I irritated it.
johovey over 5 years ago
You realize, of course, this is a fishing rod for cats. Pull this out and you’re going to catch one. GUARANTEED! (lol)
Edward over 5 years ago
Did I miss the announcement, or were you trying to hide your second book from us?
https://smile.amazon.com/Breaking-News-Scene-Georgia-Dunn/dp/1449495222/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534699262&sr=8-3&keywords=breaking+cat+news
j-wo over 5 years ago
Jake’s favourite toy is the Catfishing Pole…a cord from a hoodie tied to the end of a yard-stick. If you ever want to find the cat, just start casting into the middle of the living room rug. Soon the catfish will be bitin’!
Kit'n'Kaboodle over 5 years ago
Kaboodle has one of those wand toys… She had to really be in the mood to play with it, though. Usually a little rattle-ball is her favorite. She hides behind a door or under a bed while I roll the ball past her, then pounces out for the kill. Once that one is “dead,” she hides again and waits for another victim to roll on by….
anne o over 5 years ago
How timely! Today was tick and flea med day so, to sweeten the blow, after all the putting bad stuff on the neck was done I got out the feather on a string. The guys love it. Most of mine are older and get so excited and the exercise is good for them. For Dymka, the young male, it’s just a bore and he likes to grab the feather and sit on it and upset everyone.
Nuliajuk over 5 years ago
Don’t need a cat toy today. We went away for two days and within 5 minutes of arriving home and opening the door to the back yard, Little Cat brought in a mouse. Now she’s watching while Big Cat chases it around the downstairs landing. Sigh. Hope he doesn’t leave too much behind when he finally dispatches it.
Mx Crazy Cat Person over 5 years ago
I crocheted a similar style toy, making sure that each dangly bit was different (for interest). I tried to play with my three kitties. I received the following reaction from all three, in no particular order: look of disdain, turning away, curling up and going to sleep, and general disinterest.
Daeder over 5 years ago
Fishing for kitties! I think they’re biting today.
Font Lady Premium Member over 5 years ago
We called one of my former cats Buffy the Vermin Slayer because her mission in life was to kill anything that moved, living or not. Leaves were dispatched every autumn and any mouse unlucky enough to enter her domain would lose its head in a hurry. Then she would play with it. My daughter made me some feather earrings and when she found them, they were destroyed in a matter of seconds.
skipper1992 over 5 years ago
We have something like that. Ember loves it, to the point that she will complain loudly when we stop playing with it. Our son took to hiding it so it would be out of her sight once he was done playing. Problem: she saw where he put it. She will still occasionally look up and meow in its general direction when she wants to play. However, with me being a little person and my wife being in a wheelchair, I think she has at least caught on that neither of us can reach it.
mistercatworks over 5 years ago
Colette enjoys playing with one of these while she is in the bathtub. She coincidentally shreds the cheap inner shower curtain. Such cat fun!
spyroclub1 over 5 years ago
Awww, my cats just the same! :)
lim95 over 3 years ago
Smalls’s fish is just like this, but without a string. My other cat, Mallory, has a pickle she likes to play with. It’s fricking adorable.
leopardglily almost 2 years ago
Is this a remake of an old one?