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A Toy for the Cat
I don't really remember where this idea came from, but to test it, one needs something similar to a life-buoy. Several holes should be drilled in this "something", with each hole's diameter a little bit less than that of a ping-pong ball. Then actual ping-pong balls should be put into the holes, and the cat is supposed to spend long hours trying in vain to squeeze the balls out of there.
The problem was to find a "something", able to keep its shape after the holes have been drilled. The solution came out of the blue: strolling around the "Home Centre", I found myself near the department selling plastic pipes. I laid my hand on a piece of a pipe and...that was it! According to the original idea, the "something" should be transparent, but well...You can't get it all, can you?! The pipe walls were about two millimeters thick, the material itself - rather soft. I was therefore afraid I wouldn't be able to smooth the edges of the holes. So, in addition to 4 corner-shaped pieces of plastic, I bought a flexible pipe intended for securing the potentially rough ed.
To prevent the pieces from reaching too deep into each other, I covered the narrow end of each piece with a thin layer of a Scotch tape. Then I drilled two holes in each piece, made a cut along the thin pipe and covered each hole with it.
To tell the truth, my cat has never cared much about ping-pong balls. However, chocolate wrapping paper and candy wrappers are a sheer delight to her. I put some of those inside the new toy, and the restless Vicky immediately paid attention to them.
Mission accomplished - the cat has approved of the toy! One problem hasn't, however, been fully solved just yet. While a ping-pong ball could have stayed inside the construction forever (because the only way to get it out of there would be taking the whole thing apart - and Vicky is not educated enough to manage that, at least, not for the moment!), all those paper balls and mice get ruthlessly drawn out of their nests within a couple of minutes. I hope, my pet will learn how to throw them back in - just like she has learned to bring them in for our inspection. In the meantime, we have to load the toy with the paper balls every time - and then sweep those balls from under the sofa. I must admit I have cheated a bit - at least a couple of the balls can't part with the toy, be what may! Don't you dare sharing this revelation with my cat, though :-) My expenses for this project amounted to 40 (4 plastic piecesx 10 NIS) + 8 (a thin pipe) = 48 NIS
P.S. The currency, mentioned throughout these articles, is Israeli Shekel. According to the current exchange rate, 1$ = approximately 4,4 Israeli Shekels.
P.P.S. For those who have some spare time and speak foreign languages which these articles haven't yet been translated to : I would be very grateful if you could do the translations. Besides, if you find errors in the articles, do me a favour by helping me to get rid of them Recommended links: Best regards. (5 April 2004)
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