cat dragging around a toy while meowing loudly

I'm not sure if this is the right forum ("cat behavior"). What I'm about to say is a cute behavior and I'd like to know why!

So my young female cat always likes to drag around a particular fishing rod toys while meowing loudly (only this toy despite she has another similar one and a bunch of smaller toys that are easier to be picked up, and she does not even like to play with fishing rod toys. She also picks up other toys but never meows like that while doing it). Since she's picking up the toy with her mouth, the meowing is so particular that the moment I hear it I know she's doing her "dragging it around" thing. It sounds a little like mating call, like she's in pain. But there is absolutely nothing else that shows she's not feeling well. Sometimes she brings the toy to me like she wants to play it with me. But when I do that she steps aside and is not interested in playing (as I said, she's never a big fan of such toys). I thought maybe she wants attention/petting or food, but when I pet her/show her where the food is (she always has access to a food ball with kibbles in it) she's again not interested. Sometimes she will just drag the toy onto the sofa/bed and sleep on it. Maybe she's treating it as her newly hunted food (she's clearly not a hunter though) and she brings to me as a gift to share? Then why this particular toy that she does not even like, and why the meowing?

She also likes to howling around our apartment with a similar tone as she's dragging around her toy, but this time with no toy in her mouth. It usually happens at nights when we're sleeping and she knows that it won't bring her attention. There are sufficient food/water and everything she needs in the apartment. If she were not fixed, I'd think she's doing her mating call. It's a little like that but it last only 1-2 minutes (we do have a young fixed male cat at home but he does not care for her meowing at all). Why is she doing it? Is it related to the dragging-toys-around-while-meowing behavior?

Some cats just like to carry around toys and meow One of my cats does it but only after I have gone to bed and only with a specific toy. The behavior doesn't mean that there is something wrong with your cat. Just a strange quirk your cat has.

Haha, yeah, some kitties just do that. I have a male who does it now, he likes those sparkly pompoms best. When I was a kid we had a little female who dragged around a stuffed dog that was bigger than she was. . ..

Glad to know many cats do that! But why is she meowing like that (very high pitch like in pain) while dragging things around? Is it a way to call my attention? What should I give her in return when she comes to me like that?

Tippy had a pink fuzzy pompom that he did the same thing with it.  Had it in his mouth and sang to it.  A couple of minutes or more and than that was it.  Sometimes we had repeat performances during the night.  I miss it. 

Lily does this, too, especially when I leave the room. I've always thought she was lonely and thought I had left, but after reading your posts, maybe that's not it. She's doing it right now as I type.

Sukie has a little "bandaged bear" that was given to us after we donated to a transfusion service. She used to carry it around with her when she was playing, and used to shake it until it started to leak a white material from its shoulder and was looking very forlorn. We sutured the bear and gave it back to Sukie.  It now appears all over the house, sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in our bedroom, sometimes the hall.  We have renamed it "massacred bear'.

With regards,

Geoffrey

Link does that with these little fuzzy caterpillar toys. We have provably 6 of them scattered throughout the house that he will pick up and yell at us with it in his mouth. He also leaves them in key places, food dish, favorite sleeping spots, doors, windows. Luckily they are pretty much interchangable so I can just buy more when one gets too worn.

My Pushy does this too, and I think it's very endearing. He only ever drags the one particular toy around, and he usually does it when one of us leaves. It's like he's crying because his human has left. :touch: