Pet Care: Ratty Pinata

I'm always looking for ways to make my ratties lives more exciting. They tend to be a little withdrawn, and they don't much like coming out of their cage. So, when I can find ways to do something to enrich my ratties sheltered lives, I try to take advantage. Tonight, I made my rats a pinata of treats from instructions I found on this site.

 

This is about as far as my ratties will venture outside the cage.

So, to make a ratty pinata, I needed some treats, paper towel, string and a length of tape. I opted for corn and black-eyed peas as the treats for my rats. My rats haven't actually had these as treats, but I've read on the internet that most ratties love them.

First, I spread some corn and black-eyed peas in the middle of the paper towels. I used two paper towels for a little bit of strength.

Next, I bunched the sides of the paper towel up creating a ball at the bottom where all the treats rest. I wrapped the length of tape around the bunched up part of the paper towel at the top to secure it.

Next, I wrapped some string around the taped part, tying it into a secured knot. This string will act as the anchor to hang it in the cage.

Finally, using the long pieces of string, I tied the pinata to the top of the cage. It's still low enough that the rats can reach it when they stand on their back feet, but not so low that it's too easy for them to rip it open.

By the time I went to bed, the ratties still hadn't explored the pinata, but I'm sure it will be a great treat for them when they are ready for it.

Pet Care: Cat Glove

For as long as I can remember, I have had cats in my life. I have come to love their aloof way. And I'm quite used to cats gracing their owners with affection instead of giving it freely. If ever there was an animal worthy of being part of the social elite, it would be cats. In other words, cats can be quite snobby.

I'm blessed with having two of these fancy felines in my life. Misser Kitty is definitely the more social and pleasant of the two. He comes on command and loves to give and receive affection. Bingbong, on the other hand, does things on his own time. He can be very affectionate, but it has to be his idea. And he has the most seniority of any of our pets, although he often wonders why we never ask his opinion before we add other members to our menagerie.

So, today's pet care post is for my shedding furballs. Until now, my other pet care posts have been about treats for whichever pet I feature. Well, cats are very finicky, so I didn't want to attempt a treat with them. Instead, I wanted to make them a toy. I got the inspiration for a toy for them from PetSmart.

This bundle of kitty fun retails for $8.99 at PetSmart. Really? It's just a glove with dangly things. I knew I would be able to make something similar that my little cougars would love. And trust me, when playing with Bingbong, you definitely want to incorporate gloves. Otherwise, his Freddy Kruger claws have no problem flaying the flesh from your hands.

In my enormous bedroom clean-up this weekend, I found a pair of gloves that I never wear. These would be perfect for the new toy. I'm going to start with one, but I'll have a backup in case I want to engage in ambidextrous play in the future. So, I went on a hunt for some cat-friendly dangly toys. I managed to find a couple of things that would work.

I clipped off the arms from the orange toy and removed the big eyes. I also clipped the white feathery thing away from the stick. Then, I turned one of the gloves inside out and snipped off the tip of each finger.

After snipped the fingertip, I fished one end of the toy inside the glove and through the snipped hole.

Next, I fed each finger through the sewing machine to secure the dangling toys to each finger.

I used the legs from the orange toy and the long, white feathery toy for three of the fingers. I still needed to use the goggly eyes, but I needed something long to attach to them.

It just so happens I had some elastic available in my sewing kit. After I sewed the elastic to the remaining two fingertips, I pulled out a needle and thread. I begin to hand-sew the goggly eyes to the free end of the elastic.

And voila! Just like that I have a brand new kitty toy.

 

And it looks like it might have gotten the Bingbong approval.