Why do cats play with things that are nothing like prey

[likelysuspect]

A small piece of plastic pipe from when we had the rads done recently. No bigger than the top of my thumb

Why

She has gone completely mental for it, almost deranged, flinging herself around, whining, snapping, chirping, chittering.

Looks nothing like a mouse or rodent or fish or anything that would be prey in cat land.

Our last cat particularly loved playing with those little vials that came in lateral flow tests in the Covid era. She wasn’t a “playing with toys” cat, but she couldn’t get enough with those. Similarly the boy we have now enjoys those individual eyedrop vials and likes to batter them under the hob, then cry until someone lifts it up to get them back.

You know the answer: because they are cats!

Sellotape ! Rolled into a ball - something about the smell when I’m using it - she goes mad for it to be thrown and then brings said ball back to me in her teeth and drops it to throw again.. and again ! Pawsome! 🐾 💕

One of mine is obsessed with pens. So much so that we have to remember not to leave them lying around. Every couple of weeks we pull out the washer and fridge and find all the ones he’s kicked under.

Cats are fascinated with movement.

Rage...

I trod on it this morning getting out of bed. Painful. I think she put it there on purpose

Ours like bottle tops on hard floors, works like a hockey puck