Ginger Kitty's play habits

Ginger Kitty has some definite tendencies in her play habits. She does play, but probably not enough. We encountered this with Nike, but he was very treat-motivated, so we gave him a treat when he put in some effort and things eventually improved. G-Kitty isn't really into treats or catnip, so I'm kind of at a loss.

She loves chasing a laser pointer or a length of ribbon, but loses interest if it go up too high, she prefers her prey on the ground.

She will sometimes play with a tiny mouse-shaped toy, but doesn't show much interest in most others, especially if they're too large. She'll watch one of those hex bugs toodle about, but I haven't seen her pounce on it.

For a few minutes one afternoon, she was into shoelaces.

For a week, she was all about disemboweling one of the stairs.



The first time she saw bubbles, she stared wide-eyed at them from another room and backed away. The second time, she was a little more interested in swiping at them. The third time, she actually batted at a few. This time, she didn't go crazy for them, but she meowed at me when they stopped. I think they've grown on her.



She will sit in every cardboard box exactly once.

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Ginger Kitty is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!

Ginger Kitty's eating habits

Ginger Kitty has some definite tendencies in her eating habits.

She doesn't seem to care about treats or canned food or catnip (dried or fresh), so instant rewards aren't much of a factor in her life.

She loves kibble. So much, in fact, that I've been using puzzle feeders to keep her from hoovering up her day's rations all at once. We already had a spherical food/treat dispenser, and it took her a couple tries to get it, but she likes it. Getting that might actually be the high point of her day.


It also took her a few days to figure out the dispenser feeder that we got (she kept trying to put her face in the paw slots) and I don't think she likes it as much, but it does slow down her eating, which is what we were going for. From her build I think she skews a little toward the tubby if left to her own devices, and I want to keep her healthy.


We've been giving her canned food in the evenings, but most of it goes to waste. She likes the gravy from canned food (just the gravy, of course), but I suspect when she does eat the solid bits she does so because she's either bored overnight or a little peckish because the kibble is gone. I don't think she'd miss it if she didn't get it. New experiment: reducing canned food to every other night to see if she appreciates it more.

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Ginger Kitty is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!

Ginger Kitty asserts herself

At first, Ginger Kitty was very shy and easily startled. But since she's gotten more comfortable, I'm more often surprised by things that don't freak her out. Loud noises, new rooms, sudden movements. Most of the things that sent her running under the bed at first don't phase her anymore.

Dropping glass bottles into the recycling bin in the basement will have her running out the door, but only a few steps away, where she will groom herself (possibly a symptom of her FHS) and wait for the scary noise to stop before she goes back in to explore. And then usually she'll follow us back upstairs because she likes to be in the same room as people.

She isn't crazy about being picked up, but Husband likes to push boundaries. And when he does, she deals with it better than I generally expect. Sometimes she even purrs, but usually after about 10 seconds she'll either push at his face with a No Thank You paw or put her teeth on his hand.

Put me down. Right now. Please.

I say "put her teeth on his hand" instead of "bites" because she is technically biting him, but she doesn't really commit to it. I don't think she's broken the skin, it's more making her wishes known very clearly.

Although, to be completely honest, the followup to being picked up and held too long is sometimes to nip at feet or ankles in the same way. Not a hardcore attack like some of our previous fosters, but still not something I want to encourage.

And as cats do, sometimes (usually late at night) she will also get the I'm-going-to-pounce-this-ankle laser focus on the ankles when she wants to play.

On the plus side, in both of those scenarios she's easily distracted or redirected by a ribbon, laser pointer, or brush.

Note: no claws, she has not claw-swiped at us in anger or frustration. She is typically more inclined to flight than fight unless provoked. (Also note: belly is a no-fly zone, base of tail can be as well)

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Ginger Kitty is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!