Do You Buy Holiday Gifts for Your Pet?

I don't buy them gifts, but I did stitch up some catnip mice and braid up a chew rope out of leftover fleece this afternoon, does that count?

I'm waiting to see if the Ten Ton Calico gnaws thru the wrapping paper.

Woohoo! Go me, I've been added to a poll!

Seriously, I've got enough leftover fleece (from making scarves and hats for all the kiddoes on my holiday gift list) that I've made all kinds of pet stuff. I made a dog blanket out of colored squares for my niece's puppy and I sewed up some catnip mice for my kitties. My favorite, though, is the chewy braid. Take three thick strips of fleece (about 6" by 1 yd), tie a knot in one end, and braid them together. It makes a nice fat braid that's fun to play tug of war with, and you can toss it in the washer when it gets slimy. If you're really digging the pet thing, braid bits of rawhide into it as well. I made one for my dog a while back, even though he's not a chewer, and he carries it with him EVERYWHERE, it's like a security blanket.

We usually get the cats a new toy each to replace one that's on the outs.

But the best "present" is little wads of wrapping paper. We give them that same wonderful gift every year.

But what do you get for fish?

Now you're making me feel guilty for accusing them of sneaking out of the tank at night to take the chocolate covered cherries from the pantry. Cella's, of course, which we have to wait for because they're only available in our area just before Christmas.

My wife still doesn't believe that their little wet tracks dried before she got up.

Actually, we discovered in the past year that our fish will go into a feeding frenzy for dried daphnia which we get at the local PetSmart. We give them that as a treat every other evening. One of the corys actually discovered the treat and took to skimming the surface upside down in order to get to it first before it sank where the other fish would generally reach it. The same cory even figured out that it would gather in clumps against the side of the glass and race along the glass to eat as much as possible.

For a quick cat toy to make, take a couple of old socks, roll one into a ball, stuff it into the other one, then tie a knot in the outside sock. You could probably throw some loose catnip in there to make it more enticing. My cat loves flinging this toy into the air and running after it. Then again, my cat seems to love socks in all varieties, either on or off my feet. I had to chase after him when I was packing because he kept jumping into my suitcase and stealing my socks.

The discussion about the fish reminded me about my nephew's pet turtle (Turtilicus). At first the only food it would eat was frozen cantaloupe, which gets pretty expensive. It kept turning its nose up at the shredded lettuce it was supposed to eat. They finally figured out that it liked whole lettuce leaves instead of shredded. Imagine, a finicky turtle.

TheIT said:

For a quick cat toy to make, take a couple of old socks, roll one into a ball, stuff it into the other one, then tie a knot in the outside sock. You could probably throw some loose catnip in there to make it more enticing. My cat loves flinging this toy into the air and running after it. Then again, my cat seems to love socks in all varieties, either on or off my feet. I had to chase after him when I was packing because he kept jumping into my suitcase and stealing my socks.

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We have a game that we play with our 3 Ibizans called "fishing for dog". We have a heavy duty ocean fishing pole. Attached to the end of the line is a tube sock with a tennis ball in the end of it. We cast the "sock" and they chase after it. It drives them crazy with fun. Everytime that we get the pole out to go play they immediately start jumping and trying to get the sock.

So, if you have a sight hound you might try this as a Christmas gift (free to cheap one).

Kittens in particular like to chase toes under the bedsheets. Of course, they're on top of the sheet and your toes are safely(?) beneath. If you move your foot and then wiggle your toes, it grabs their attention immediately.

You can do much the same with any cat by making a scratching sound on the wall just around the corner from them. It's entertaining watching them creep up and then whip around the corner to pounce only to find no prey there.

You can also get their attention with a paper bag should they enter it. Then you make a sight scratching on the outside bottom of the bag and they'll go bonkers trying to get through the bag to get at the critter they believe is there.

I've had mixed reactions from different cats when playing in paper bags. My one cat, Rex, would try to dig through the back of the bag to get the sound if I scratched on the outside of the bag. Come heck or high water, he was going to get that sound going straight through. He'd do the same with laundry baskets. One of my other cats, Snowfire, was a little smarter, if not so determined. If I scratched on the back of the bag, she'd get out of the bag and come around back to see what I was doing. I think she realized the sound was coming from me and not the bag. Most of the other cats I've owned are a somewhere between the two extremes.

Another great cat toy is a laser pointer, though some cats love chasing the "little red bug", and others could care less. Just be careful not to shine it directly in the cat's eyes.