It’s Just Not Fun Without You

Dear Mr. Pants:

I have to admit I have a pretty good life. My humans feed me on a regular basis and sometimes I get delicious tuna! Even when they are home I get to sleep on their nice warm bed. For Christmas they bought me one of those big bags of twenty cat toys! So why is this spoiled feline writing to you? I really don’t want to complain - I truly don’t. I love all my toys, but in reality it is no fun playing with them by myself. Yeah, I can flip the catnip mouse up in the air a couple of times but it not the same as when my human throws it to me. And then there is that laser pointer….ohhh….I love that but I definitely can’t play with that by myself. Can you remind humans that all the toys in the world can not replace the time they spend playing with us?

Sincerely,

Coco the Queen

Dear Your Highness,

First I can tell you deserve all the toys and treats that you receive. In fact all pets should have the kind and wonderful humans that you do. But you are correct. It is not as much fun playing with toys by yourself. Just like it is not fun being in the backyard by yourself. We pets want to be actively engaged with our humans. You are everything to us and spending even short periods a day playing with us makes our lives so much better.

So here is a trick that I have mastered. My humans keep a basket full of toys for me. When I want them to play with me I pick up a toy and bring it to them. If they are not interested in that toy, I assume they find that toy objectionable, so I drop it and bring another. If there is still no response I bring another and so on and so on until they just give up and begin playing with me. Since you have a bag of twenty toys, there has to be at least one that your humans will like. Once they see how much fun it is playing with you, they will be sure to keep it up! Have fun!

Mr. Smart T. Pants