This knucklehead is named Mitzi. We got her from the pound when she was about 10 weeks old. Did the usual neutering, couple trips to the vet, buy a bunch of toys, and so on. But her favorite toy is the plastic rings that come off when you open a fresh gallon of milk. Mitzi will drop whatever she’s doing when she hears that z-i-i-i-p! sound, and come running. She’ll half-crouch, anticipating, never taking her eyes off the ring, waiting, waiting for you to throw the ring. Then she’s on it like a shot.
The latest trick with milk rings is to bring one to me when I’m watching TV. She’ll drop it on the couch and then just wait, staring at it or at me. I throw it off into the next room, or into the corner, or behind the TV. Zoom, off she goes to find it. In a minute or so, she’s back, and the game starts all over again. Sometimes this lasts 5-10 minutes.
Normal behavior for a retriever, you say? Well, yeah, for a canine retriever.
But Mitzi is a cat. Domestic american shorthair, grey tiger striped.
Next up is tennis balls. If that works, we’ll try a rolled up towel, and eventually work our way up to grouse and pheasant. I’m gonna be the scandal of the kennel club…
Better be careful to not let Mitzi swallow that milk tie. She sounds like a great cat, be a shame for her to go out in such a horrible manner.
Cecil forgive me! I’ve submitted the same thread twice. Mods, please, feel free to clobber, close, and dispose of either this one or that one.
Dad? Is that you?
My dad’s cat does the same thing. She waits for him to throw it and fetches it for him. Dad doesn’t walk well without lots of help so when she wants to play, he tells her to go find her ring and she will go get it no matter where it is.
Now my dog Buck loves the milk jugs best, any size. He also likes empty 2 liter bottles. I rinse them out and take off the cap and let him have it. He can chew on them for hours befor he does any real damage to them. Then I just throw them away until the next one comes empty.
Not unless there’s something your mother isn’t telling me, Mermaid…
I haven’t tried telling Mitzi to go find the ring yet. But she’s only about 9-10 months old, so she has time to learn that.
I work with a woman whose dogs love using heavy cardboard tubes as chew toys. The best are the tubes that rolls of carpet are delivered on. She has to cut it into short lengths, or they’ll try to go through doorways with the tube held sideways in their mouths, a la Three Stooges.
Amedeus, thanks for the warning. We had a scare with the other kitten soon after we got them. Fortunately, things were resolved without surgery, but we were close to authorizing it. Once like that is enough!
My cat Spaaz would do this. But only with little balls of paper.
One of his most impressive tricks was when you would throw a little paper ball against the wall and he would catch it in his mouth before it hit the ground. 
I’m not sure what he thought he was, but Spaaz was quite certain he was not a cat.
I had a siamese mix that loved those milk ring things. My present cat likes Q-tips and socks. If I leave my sock drawer the slightest bit open I’ll come home to find either a half empty sock drawer and a pile of socks under my bed or the toes of a bunch of socks peeking out from the drawer (if I didn’t leave it open enough).
Why? Who can say, I gave up trying to understand cats a long time ago!
Yeah, folded socks are fun for these two also. I throw a pair on the bed in the morning, and they pounce on them. Then when going downstairs, I slide them down the bannister. They fit perfectly in the gap between the bannister and the wall, and slide well. The cats chase them down and attack them on the floor at the bottom for about 3 seconds, and then saunter off like they’ve just defended us from some vicious varmint. Funny little beasts…
Yeah, Ralf, my cats love those things too.
My one cat loves rubber bands but she doesn’t get them 'cause she eats 'em.
My other cat’s favorite toy is a small handfull of dried macaroni tied up in a sandwich bag.
Cats are weird.