Live (sort of) Prey

We found a new cat toy that the boys go crazy for. It's made by OurPets, and it is a "Play-n- Squeak Mouse". The mouse contains a microchip that causes it to squeak with a VERY realistic sound when the mouse is batted around. Brilliant! It fascinated our cats for a long time and while they are no longer playing with it 24-7, they still play with it a great deal. The gray mouse with pink ears and tail and plush fur comes alone or in two "interactive" versions that we've seen: on a string attached to a hand-held wand, and on a string that hangs from a door-hanger. We have all three but have not yet opened the wand - the boys are busy enough with the door and "stringless" versions! The prices are amazingly reasonable for such cleverly-designed toys (yes, the microchip alone makes these toys very innovative). The mouse itself is $5.99, while the interactive versions are each $7.99. The photo above shows Boo with the mouse. Ah, we forgot to mention that these toys all contain catnip. Luckily, our boys respond strongly to cat nip (not all cats do). They love it!

After a visit to the OurPets web site, we see that they also offer the Play-n-Squeak Mouse with a rod and reel. That's a great idea. We have a "CatFisher Rod and Reel" made by Bamboo and Ivan and Boo just love it. That's the toy that they beg us to get out every evening. We can sit (or stand! We're not always lazy!) and cast the mouse lure for great distances and reel it in quickly, slowly, in spurts, or not at all, depending on the boys' moods. We have not tested the OurPets rod and reel, but we can tell you that the Bamboo version is well-constructed and relatively easy to repair when the fishing line inevitably gets bunched up in the reel (fishermen know that this happens with "real" reels, too, so it's not necessarily a defect in the product). We've had the Bamboo rod and reel for a couple of years and use it a lot, and it's still hanging in there. We have had to replace the lures, which can be purchased separately. The Bamboo CatFisher Rod and Reel currently sells at PetSmart for $19.99. It comes with two lures. The OurPets rod and reel (above) is $17.99 and comes with the Play-n-Squeak Mouse as the lure.

By the way, Ivan and Boo also love the "string" that attaches the Play-n-Squeak Mouse to the hand wand or door hanger. They've always been fascinated by snake-like objects, and the string on these toys has a weight to it that makes it move "snakily". They can't resist it.