Fun, Cool Games to Play With Your Cats: How to Be Your Own Cat Toy.

Growing up, we always had at least one dog, but cats were usually an afterthought. Occasionally, they would wander into our backyard and we would feed, sometimes adopt them. But, these were primarily outdoor animals, their raison d'etre to eat, sleep, then go outside and kill something. So, I'm not exactly a cat aficionado when Ernie comes to live with me.

Just because it's Marina Del Rey doesn't mean the pigeons are any cleaner or quieter. Ernie is my simple solution to getting these avian assholes off my balcony. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) And, because Ernie will not be going outside unless he learns to sky dive, he and I do develop a relationship. Ernie is very mellow and cuddly, however, I would never submit him as a contestant for the quiz show, "Are You Smarter Than a Pigeon?"

So, I still have the pigeons, and now a useless, but lovable cat.

There is a delicatessen in the bottom of my building and on weekends I like to go down there and leisurely breakfast over the Sunday papers. One morning about three weeks after Ernie moved in, my reading of the sports section is interrupted by a, "Meow!" I look down and, huh? There is a black and white kitten under the table, his little gray eyes staring up at me. Nobody seems to know where he came from, the only logical explanation being someone just tossed him inside the restaurant, hoping for the best. The deli owner balks at me sharing my breakfast with the Kitten, so I take Butch upstairs for an extended pigeon boot camp.

Now I have two.

B.J. (Barbara Jean) lives down the hall. We meet one night when I am frantically punching the down button on the elevator, explaining to her that I just dropped my cat down the trash chute. ATTENTION! - Not a cat game!
Ernie had climbed into the kitchen wastebasket and fallen asleep. I had staggered in well past midnight (don't ask) and for some reason decided to take the trash out, not noticing the cat until I saw his orange tail disappearing eleven floors down. Fortunately, his fall was cushioned by the nearly full dumpster below.

B.J. and I become friends. She's a few years younger, a Registered Nurse at St John's Hospital in Santa Monica. B.J. also has a feline roommate, Bogart. He's a big, muscular, Siamese mix, who, in one of his past lives must have been a Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker. B.J. works long hours and Bogey regularly comes to hang at our place. Surprisingly, he is not aggressive towards Ernie and Butch, the three of them get along just fine. However, the pigeons never see Bogart coming. The first day, he just strides out to the balcony and backhands them off the rail. The pigeons file a protest with the tenant's committee, but it goes nowhere.
A few months after we meet, B.J. gets a new job closer to downtown and has to rent a place that doesn't allow animals.

Now I have three!

To this day I have never been without a squishy hairball or shredded sofa. As I write this, Cecil, a red Abyssinian is sleeping in my lap and my left leg is numb.

If you already have cats, then I'm sure you've heard of at least one of these games, but remember I was new to cats back then. If you're a cat newbie, please note that you can play these games for free...Oh, perhaps except for the doctor bills.

CAT GAME # 1
One cat game where you become a human cat toy is called, Finger Under The Covers. This consists of me in bed, moving my finger back and forth under the blanket. All three cats sit on top, staring homicidally at this moving lump, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Once in a while I pop the tip of my finger out from under the edge of the blanket, daring them to take a swipe. They love this game because it plays into their hunting instincts and incredibly quick reflexes. This cat game can go on indefinitely, but usually ends when I can't staunch the bleeding from my finger.

CAT GAME # 2
One day I am playing, wrestling with Bogart, and on impulse get up, run into the other room and hide in the closet. A few moments later he finds me and squeals with delight. Then he turns and strolls away. I think this is a cat's typical way of saying I don't want to play anymore. However, about a half hour later, about to make lunch, I find him hiding in a kitchen cabinet. (He had long ago learned to pull the doors open. ) He immediately jumps out and sits, looking at me patiently until I realize that perhaps it is my turn again.
It is.
We play this game a lot and he always wins because he is smaller and can find better places to hide.

CAT GAME # 3 -
This is one of the most fun, fun games to play - and it comes with a satisfying bonus at the end.
Bogart is the smartest animal I've ever known. However, his favorite cat game is a simple one which I will entitle, What The F--k Cat Races!
As you might already know, cats are even more curious when they are forced to be indoors. Occasionally, late at night or early in the morning when there are not a lot of people around, I let them all follow me out into to hallway as I take the garbage to the trash chute. It is a contained environment and easy for me to scoop them up.
Bogey, big and athletic, loves to gallop from one end of the hallway to the other. One time very early in the morning, when I go to pick him up he scampers away. But, only a few feet and then he sits, waiting. I know that look, so I take a guess, turn and run down the hallway. Yep, here he comes, easily passing me. At the end, he again sits and waits. I'm wondering if he's grasped the concept that this is not just indiscriminate running, but a race. So, I take off the other way and the same thing happens. We now begin racing back and forth and I am huffing and puffing, giggling, having the best time - until one of the apartment doors opens and this guy sticks his head out, sees a man and a cat running down the hallway and exclaims, "What the f--k!"
Frankly, I'm not all that concerned because I'm pretty sure this is the jerk who has been stealing the morning newspaper from in front of my door.