Pansy's running!

Great news - for the first time last night, Pansy ran and pounced when she played!

Because of her tremor and poor state of health we really believed that she couldn't run. She's unsteady on her paws and is prone to falling on the wool rather than actually pouncing but she's still quite quick and certainly enjoys herself. Her little eyes are alight with fun.

She still can't play for long but it's wonderful to see.

Any suggestions for toys and special (non-harmful) ways to play for a kitty with poor balance and a bit of a shake?

Also, we were told she is 5. Could she be younger or do cats play like this all their lives?

All this is making us so happy.

Yeah Pansy!!!!!

Oh thats brilliant!!

What toys does she have at the moment?. Rosie and Sophie bat their balls about, and i also throw them up the stairs for them to chase after but that might be too soon to do yet for Pansy.

Can you buy one of those fishing rod toys anywhere you live because their good as well!.

Also any soft toy that has catnip inside so she can have a good bite and kick at!

Thanks!

At the moment Pansy has a length of wool (her favourite) a cotton reel and a shop-bought toy, which is a soft ball with a bell and feathers on the end of a long string.

I'll look out for a fishing rod but I haven't seen one at Pets at Home, do you know where they are? Lincoln is a pretty good shopping centre so we're likely to have it somewhere.

Why do cats like catnip so much? Because Pansy doesn't know what a scratching board is, I've got a catnip spray to try out tonight and see her reaction. If she likes it I'll get her a soft catnip toy.

Grooming salon tomorrow morning - nervous

I'm going to sound a numpty here, but are you in Lincoln USA or Lincoln in the UK?

Mine wont use the scratchboard that they have, so they have a small horsehair footmatt that they claw on and that works just as good.

I use the catnip spray as well and often spray their toys just to freshen them up with it, but they prefer the dried catnip like these pictures show......




They get covered in it but they enjoy it!

Don't worry about tomorrow because it'll soon be over for her and she'll look lovely, so make sure you have the camera ready!!

I would also suggest fishing type toys - they will improve her coordination and exercise her muscles. You must be really happy to see how well she is responding to care. Just a cautionary note - don't let her play with wool or string if you are not there - she might swallow it and it can cause terrible internal injuries.

Hi,

What gorgeous pictures - your cats are beautiful!! I'm Lincoln UK

Pansy's toys are put away whenever she's alone. I saw a programme where a cat had to be openned up as she swallowed cotton and her intestines couldn't cope. Thanks for the warning though, we can't be too careful with our little bundles of pleasure!

Grooming all done - her tummy and back legs were shaved, except for little socks up to her ankles - unbelievably sweet!

Will she be frieghtened of a flash camera? I haven't liked to try it yet. The one I used before doesn't flash but is stationary, hence the poor quality. To capture her little booties, I will need a good old fashioned sort.

She's watching me type now, likes to see my fingers moving. She may pounce ...

So glad to hear Miss Pansy is feeling better! I bet she looks adorable with her little furry socks! Can't wait to see pictures!

Furry socks?! Ha how sweet! I cant wait to see that !

I would try her on the dried catnip because i'm sure she will love it!

She should be ok with the flash of the camera because just look at all the little beauties on this site and it doesn't bother them

Can't wait to see her! Was she ok at the grooming parlour?!

Hi,

The ladies at the Grooming Parlour said she was brilliant but she was clearly very tired and a bit stressed. That's not surprising because it took from 10am to 3.30pm, with plenty of rests for her. Goodness knows what torutres she thought we had left her to endure. If I'd been her I'd have taken days to forgive us but today she is back on form - loving anf playful. Just had my hair grabbed! I'll take a pic of her socks for you to see - cuuuuute!

Jack tried to join in her play just now but Pansy is still too wary of him. Well, he must look enormous to her. It's such a shame because Jack is so gentle and would have loved to play, bless him. He brought her his Jumbone and put it at her feet. Well, HUGE bone, tiny cat - she looked, sniffed, then looked again. No way could she hope to lift it. So he picked it up and ran off, hoping she'd follow but she's never played with another animal before and just watched. He takes it all in good part and wasn't offended. Animals are so understanding, much more so than people.

She's warn herself out and is dozing at my feet now. ZZzzzzzzz

Good grief i didn't realise she was their for that length of time, bless her

You know i can see Jack and Pansy becoming the best of friends before long

As for age, some cats do play all their lives. I have an older cat (we think he's about 12) and he's quite playful at times.

Hi everyone!

Rather than asking one of you lovely ladies to post the pics I've taken of Pansy I've given her a page on this site. I'm just waiting for the administrator's OK. It has three pictures - Pansy and Jack, Pansy grooming her white, shaved tummy (bless) and Pansy's furry socks. All very cute - well, I would think that! As soon as her page is up, I'll let you know and you can take a look at her.

You were absolutely right, only the first flash made her jump then she got used to seeing mummy with a plastic box in front of her face!!

I had a 4th photo of Pansy playing but only three can be posted so I will change one at a later date. It's good to know cats play well into their senior years. Maybe she is five after all.

I'm really hoping Pansy and Jack will become best friends. He acts like her big brother, watching over her ... and she lets him! When she goes into one of her little sleeping places and we can't find her, we just say to Jack, "Where's Pansy?" and he sniffs around till he finds her. Then she looks at him as much as to say, "Oh, it's you again, sniffing loudly and waking me up." Sometimes, she stretches a paw towards him and separates her little pads. He likes all this and his tail is wagging.

Take care of yourselves and a kiss for your little ones X

Oh brilliant i can't wait

Awww they sound so sweet together