The idea for a new interactive cat toy began after we noticed our semi-senior Siamese was becoming a sedentary cat...a slow and sleepy Siamese…showing little to no interest in solo-play and a declining enthusiasm for our interactive cat play sessions.
As with any noticeable change in behavior, the first step was to take Britches to her vet for a check-up. With nothing medically out of the ordinary found, the next step was to observe Britches activities a little more closely. As we did, we realized that she was just going through the motions of her day.
She wasn’t a lazy cat, but seemingly, a bored cat.
In hindsight, it actually made sense. You see, we had transitioned Britches from a stray cat into an indoor housecat. From what our neighbors shared with us, we knew she had been abandoned and lived outside, on her own, for four years before we bought “her” house and she accepted us as her guardians.
During her four years, we were told, she would have nothing to do with people (except to eat the cat food placed out for her). She could be seen walking the neighborhood, making her “rounds” and stalking unseen prey…a true hunter.
With that insight, we did our best to look at things with a cat’s perspective.
Even though we had been providing interactive and solo cat play opportunities, we needed to find a toy that would really awaken Britches’ hunting instincts. Something to get her thinking... watching…stalking…feeling like a cat.
Whatever toy we selected needed “move”... to give the feeling that the “prey” Britches was seeing in the house was “alive”...something to awaken, excite and fulfill her need to hunt and capture.
The time had come to venture out and discover a new type of cat toy.
Our decision on selecting the SmartyKat Speed Chaser Mouse Cat Toy came about after being unsuccessful in finding a truly motorized “action” cat toy that Britches would respond to.
After a few “misses” we realized that for Britches, the motor noise in the cat toys we had given her made her wary, and thus, reluctant to interact with them.
The chance discovery of the SmartyKat Mouse Cat Toy resulted from my habitual-ritual “toy aisle crawl”. You see, when I was a little girl, if a store where my family was shopping had a toy department, without a doubt, I could be found walking the aisles!
Fast forward to today, and the only change is the type of merchandise found in the aisles…Where there are cat toys, I too shall be! You never know what you will find…unless you look!
I was drawn to buy this new mouse toy for a few reasons:
When a cat has an energetic, enthusiastic response to a new toy, it’s pretty obvious when it’s a hit. But what about when the response is not so clear? Before hastily chocking the new toy off as a “miss”, take some time and watch for the Cat Talk Cues…subtly spoken through your cats body language and movement.
Had we not looked for the subtle cues in Britches response, we might have considered the Speed Chaser Mouse a “miss”…and we would have been wrong!
Maybe Britches didn’t fly across the room in the wild flash of excitement that a kitten would, but this rolling mouse cat toy became a hit when, as it zipped across the floor, it sparked an alert and engaged response from Britches:
Her head snapped up, ears rotated forward and her eyes trained in on the little fuzzy figure. With the second pass and the mouse speeding under the dining table, Britches whiskers pushed forward, her tail twitched and she tensed with concentration…at last, the mighty hunter had returned…if only in the wilds of the kitchen!
Though being a semi-senior feline, Britches may not have played quite the same way as a kitten or young cat, but in her own way, she played just as much. As we had hoped, the small size of the mouse allowed Britches the satisfaction of capturing her prey, biting, bunny kicking and swiping it with her claws…only to send it flying up into the air!
Thankfully, simple has won over computerized and complicated. This cat mouse toy is a keeper!
The Speed Chaser Mouse Toy Should Appeal To:
Generally, cats of most any age, temperament and toy preferences.
Kittens and young cats with strong playful curiosity should find this toy quite irresistible!
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