When Meow was a kitten, I tried to play with him by holding and jiggling one end of a rope, so the other end danced just out of Meow’s reach. Meow jumped and ran after the wiggly end – but only for a moment.

He looked to see what was causing the loose end of the rope to wiggle. Then he leaped up and grabbed my end of the rope out of my hand, and ran away with it.

After he laid the rope on the floor, and it no longer moved, then he would lose interest.

Meow liked to play with a plastic straw. This was easy to swat and chase, and to catch and hold and bite. Meow also enjoyed a Ping-Pong ball that he hit and ran and chased, and never could catch under his paw.

These straws and Ping-Pong balls often went under the couch, where Meow was found laying down on the floor and reaching his arm as far under the couch as he could, to get the straw or ball back. When he cried, I knew he was upset because he did not reach the toy and needed my help, so I would lay down beside him and try to reach the toy – sometimes I had to use a stick.

We were not always able to get the toys out, so I brought home more and more straws and Ping-Pong balls to play with. Later, when Meow was grown up and no longer played with his kitten toys, the couch was moved and we found all the lost straws and balls.