When Pippin joined out little family (as seen here) it was a lot of stress. In fact we just really wanted to put her in the bin (figuratively, not literally.. or maybe both). She was so naughty – hissing, growling and attacking my poor Cookie boy. Cookie became so stressed he even got very very poorly for a couple of weeks (hence the lack of Insta snaps of the fur ball, he did not appreciate having a picture of his sweaty chest taken). Thankfully, Cookie’s feeling himself again but it’s still not ideal – he likes his territory, his peace. Pippin likes to repot plants (hence the soil everywhere in the pictures!), jump on Cookie’s head when he’s not looking and bite his fluffy tail when he’s asleep. That’s why we’ve introduced bonding sessions.
Our bonding sessions are full of playing, sharing of treats & equal division of snuggles. That’s why when Paw5 asked us whether we’d like to incorporate their Rock ‘n Bowl (click here) – part bowl, part puzzle in our playtime I nodded excitedly – that’s exactly the kind of toy that these two will love! Recently they got a food dispenser ball from RSPCA (click here) which is very little (a one-cat size if you like) but they have been playing with it every day nonetheless. Rock ‘n Bowl works similarly but is much larger – so the two of them can play together rather than against each other! Originally aimed at the pooch population, it works perfectly fine for cats too. Pippin mastered it straight away – she’s a naughty monkey but pretty damn clever when she wants to be. Cookie took a little longer – he explored the toy with more grace & patience, as you do when you’re a fluffy cat-bear! After a couple of days the growling and hissing stopped completely when around the bowl. They don’t even fight over the treats anymore! Hurray!
We are still on a look out for more bonding toys – fingers crossed they will have something fun at the National Pet Show (click here) at the NEC, Birmingham where we’re off to tomorrow!Have you got any bonding tips for cats? What’s your cat’s favourite toy?
? The fancy toy was sent to Cookie & Pipps by Paw5 (thank you!), the eyes big with excitement, incredibly naughty feline habits & yummy treats were provided by us.