2-22-14

Posted on by Robyn

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All the items reviewed in this post were provided to me, free of charge. All opinions are mine (well, the cats’ and kittens’), and 100% true.

I was recently offered the chance to review some KONG products, and I jumped at the chance – we’re big fans of KONG cat toys (and George and Gracie have KONGS that I stuff with yogurt and dog treats and freeze in the summer months (confession: I’d do it in the winter, too, but George and Gracie tend to hide their KONGS in piles of leaves, so I forget that they’re there until I happen across them in the spring!)), and so I was happy to add to the cat toy inventory.

We received the following earlier this week:

Crinkle Fish, Straw Balls, a Straw Cylinder, and Soft Moist Cat Treats (in Duck flavor).

I decided to pass out the treats to the permanent residents and see what they had to say. (On a side note, the ingredients were – and this is cut and pasted from the KONG site – Duck, Chicken, Vegetable Glycerin, Cultured Dextrose, Taurine, Cranberries, Blueberries, Mixed Tocopherols.)


Alice took a couple of licks and decided she wasn’t interested.



Stefan ate a couple and asked for some more.


Kara thought they were pretty good and said she’d happily eat them again.


Sugarbutt said “No thanks.”


Corbie said “Go away.”


Stinkerbelle waited until I went away, and then she ate hers.

And Jake?


Jake gulped down the three I offered him so fast that I couldn’t even get a picture of him eating them, and then he loonied at me ’til I gave him some more. I think he would have eaten the entire bag if I’d let him.

We have a Kitty KONG kicking around here somewhere (under the couch, I suspect), so I’ll likely use the KONG treats with the dispenser next time I happen across it – it’ll keep Jake busy and happy, and the happier Jake is, the happier we all are.

So the treats weren’t a hit with everyone, but enough of the cats liked them that the bag won’t go to waste (and honestly, I had to hide the bag in a drawer so Jake couldn’t get to them – I made the mistake of setting it on the bookcase in the front room, and Jake discovered them, pulled them down, and was trying to chew through the bag when I discovered him.)

Now, on to the toys!


Jake thought the Crinkle Fish was pretty cool (catnip + feathers = a big hit with most cats, I’ve found).

But it was the middle of the day and they were wanting to get back to their naps, so I took the toys upstairs to introduce them to the kittens.


Ferdinand said “Hey, what’s this?”

And then there was a kitten swarm.


Ferdinand claimed this Crinkle Fish for himself.


And then Mariette grabbed up the Straw Cylinder and said “MINE.” She proceeded to carry it around the room, growling at any kitten who looked in her direction.


“THIS MINE,” she growled. “MINE.”


“GET AWAY FROM ME, LITTLE STUFFED TOY. THIS IS MY KILL, AND YOU CAN’T HAVE IT.”


Meanwhile, in the middle of the room Ferdinand decided that he not only wanted the Crinkle Fish he’d called dibs on, but he also wanted Angelo’s Straw Ball. Angelo suggested that Ferdinand back off.


And Mariette kept walking around the room with the Straw Cylinder, growling.


Orlando swooped in and took Ferdinand’s Crinkle Fish away, then sat and looked very smug and pleased with himself.


There was some wrestling with the toy.


And Mariette walked around the room with the Straw Cylinder, growling.


Orlando said “She can growl all she wants, but this one is mine!”

I finally took the Straw Cylinder away from Mariette because she was freaking out the other kittens, and she flopped over and watched Maria check out the other Crinkle Fish.


Maria was all “Ohhhhh, Crinkle Fish. I love you! You make me feel so funny!”


And Mariette said “I’ll take that.” When Maria reached out to take it back, Mariette hissed. The NERVE. I guess you could say that Mariette doesn’t share well.


Orlando looked on with disapproval at the hissing, while he gathered a small pile of KONG toys.


And then Ferdinand swooped in and stole the Crinkle Fish, which he proceeded to lick.


“Oh, Crinkle Fish,” said Ferdinand. “You’re shaped like a fish, but you have feathers like a bird. You’re the perfect toy!”

So, in summation: the kittens loved their new KONG toys, which was no surprise to me. I finally gave Mariette her Straw Cylinder back, and she was a little less hissy and growly. They weren’t super interested in the Straw Balls at first, but once they started playing soccer with them, they realized that they could really toss them in the air because they’re so light, and they had a good time with them. Mariette’s going to be taking the Straw Cylinder with her when she leaves here, for sure!

KONG toys and treats can be found at Petsmart, on Amazon, and various other places. They run around $5 (the Crinkle Fish and Straw Balls come in sets of two – the Straw Cylinder comes one to a pack). We’ve always been a fan of KONG toys around here, so will keep on buying them, but I doubt I’ll buy the treats unless they’re on sale for some amazingly ridiculous price.

Edited to add: The Straw Cylinder lasted about three weeks – I walked in one day to find straw strewn all over the room as if a tiny bomb had gone off inside the cylinder. The Crinkle Fish are still around, but most of their feathers have been chewed off. I assume the Straw Balls are around here somewhere (probably under the bed or behind the cat tree) and still in one piece, but I can’t swear to it!

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Previously
2013: “Halloooooo, laydeez!”
2012: Okay, drama queen, dial it back.
2011: Fingers crossed!
2010: No entry.
2009: I wish they didn’t get nervous and run back upstairs if I run into their general direction, like they think they’re in trouble.
2008: No entry.
2007: Smackdown at the Anderson Corral.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

Comments

31 thoughts on “2-22-14”

  1. Oh I love Kong products, but I had no idea they made treats! Leo won’t eat treats, he acts like we’re trying to poison him.. But Star will take your arm off for a treat! We might have to see if we can find the Kong ones around here.
    I love Jake, love love lurve him! Love that he can get more treats out of you by giving you the loon look!
    How many circits of the room did Mariette do before she got her toy taken away? That had me seriously giggling!

  3. “and then he loonied at me ’til I gave him some more”- this made me laugh so hard I got funny looks from my cats.

    I like KONG products. They are a little expensive, but they are pretty durable.

  5. One quick note on the straw cylinder toy. I bought that for the cats a while back, and woke up one morning to find it obliterated on the stairs. One of the cats had managed to break the straw in half and little pieces of straw were all over the stairs. I’m sure some was eaten, but they were super tiny pieces so it wasn’t a huge concern and I’ve seen no lasting effects from it. So they may not hold up well to really fierce cat playing.

    1. Oh, thanks for the heads up – these kittens are rough on toys, so I’ll be interested to see if they end up destroying it!

        1. So far, the cylinder is intact – they’re chewing the feathers off one by one, though. These kittens apparently strongly believe that feathers should not be attached to toys.

    2. The cylinder has held up fine here, but the feathers were dispensed with in a matter of hours. Without the feathers, there’s no interest in the cylinder. But, full disclosure, most toys with feathers or fur rarely last more than half a day here; and we have only one cat!

      Her favorite toys are empty corn cobs from our popcorn, wine corks, wrapped throat lozenges or hard candy, ball point pens, pencils and anything else sitting on a surface that she can roll/push off.

  6. My George is a toy destroyer. I think that tube only lasted into the second day before he chewed it in half. Those fish have survived well, though.

  9. Great post! I loved seeing all the kitties’ reactions to the new loot.

    On a side note, does anyone have suggestions for good non-catnip toys? One of my cats is a teetotaler when it comes to the nip, but it’s nearly impossible to find toys for cats that aren’t somehow infused with catnip…

    1. Mylar Crinkle Balls and Cat Crazies, and ping pong balls came immediately to mind, Gretchen. They’re all favorites around here (and I’ll add more to the list as I think of them!) You can find the Mylar balls and Cat Crazies at Petsmart (and, I assume, Petco), as well as lots of places online.

    2. Gretchen-when my cat was first acquired, I had nothing. I needed something. I am somewhat of a hoarder and had some baby toys down in the basement. I went through and found a rubber ball, some bean bag type animals, and a great rattle type toy that was made with fabric. I figured that anything that was safe enough for a baby, big enough not to be swallowed, soft enough to chew on a bit, and sturdy enough not to come apart and release pellets of some sort was a good cat toy. She loves the rattle duck. She also loves the plastic balls with bells inside that I acquired later on but they are all lost under the couch right now. 🙂

    1. Holly, I checked out that link when you posted it, and now every time I go to Amazon (which is like 1,000 times a day), they show me baby toys! 🙂

  11. And where was Dennis during all the toy-testing shenanigans?

    So thrilled to get a Saturday post — two weeks in a row! It’s like getting two helpings of dessert!

  12. Okay, if the Kong people have any brains at all they will totally buy some rights to your photo of Stefan’s happy treat face to be their poster child! The smiley cheeks! The blissed eyes! The licky tongue!

  13. * tongue in cheek *

    I feel so sorry for those fosters and permenant residents. They never get any toys or treats or special anything.

    Obviously they’re not loved or catered to by anyone. No one cares what they think or like.

  15. His Looniness himself should be a spokesperson for Kong Treats, his pleading loony look is absolutely adorable!

  16. In the picture “Orlando looked on with disapproval at the hissing, while he gathered a small pile of KONG toys.”, wow…what gorgeous strips Orlando has on his legs!!!

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