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Dear Nanny Fran,
I have one kitten and he attacks, plays
and in general won't leave me alone unless he is sleeping. What
can I do to entertain him?
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Yoda Groteke scratching on a catnip covered Turbo Scratcher. Two more scratchers are lying on the floor awaiting a good “scratch attack.”
photo for Tropical Breeze courtesy of Francene Mattucci
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The first thing you need to do is get
another kitten. Yes, another kitten. Kittens NEED to romp, stomp,
pounce, run, attack, play and chew in order to hone their basic
kitty skills! If you are the only mammal in town then... you ARE
the only game in town!
It certainly would not be fair or right
under any circumstance to deny your kitten his kittenhood! One
cannot expect a kitten to act like a relaxed, confident,
set-in-his-ways wise older kitty.
My 86-year-old aunt recently got a new
kitten and then started bemoaning the fact that he was pouncing on
her, biting her -- and she said that his claws were drawing blood.
All I could do was laugh heartily. Yes, I laughed heartily and told
her that her HUGE mistake was not getting two kitties at once. I
told her that I was sure that I had donated a pint of blood over
the years due to kitten scratches and bites... yes, all because I
thought at one time or another that my hand was faster than a
kitten's paw. WRONG... nothing is faster than a cat or kitten! I
learned my lesson well.
In lieu of acquiring another kitten I sent
her a kitty/aunt care package. I put a Turbo Scratcher in the box
with catnip to sprinkle on the cardboard insert. This wonderful toy
encourages kitties to scratch on cardboard instead of your
furniture. I also included Da-Bird which is the very best kitty toy
ever invented. I have charmed and delighted at least a hundred or
so kitties over the years with this fantastic toy. I packaged
everything and put in Styrofoam disks for cushioning and then
sealed and mailed the box.
My aunt and her kitty were delighted with
Da-Bird and the Turbo Scratcher. She could not believe how he wore
himself out chasing Da-Bird. Then a few days later she told me of
her recycling efforts. She placed the box with the Styrofoam in her
pantry awaiting recycling. Then one morning she walks into her
kitchen to find a blizzard on her floor. Her kitty was flying
around chasing and batting the Styrofoam disks in pure delight!
Roaring with laughter I told her that I
had given her the gift that kept on giving! I said that I imagined
that she would find those Styrofoam pieces for the next few months
even though she made every effort to pick up every last one. I also
was laughing because the Styrofoam disks seemed to be as
tantalizing to her kitty as the cleverly manufactured toys invented
by us humans.
Imagine the delight two kittens would
share playing in the "snow"!
© 2008 Francene Mattucci. All Rights
Reserved.
Francene Mattucci founded Never Say Good
Bye Pet Sitting Service in 1994. Call 727-512-3206, visit
www.TampaBayPetCare.com or email
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with
questions for this column.
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