Conference misery::feline_v1

    Winston fetches too, but he prefers wadded up paper balls to anything
    that remotely resembles a real ball.  He likes us to throw it down
    the hallway so that he can catch it after it hits the wall at the
    end.  Sometimes he bats it all the way back to us, other times he
    carries it, but he always wants to "do it again".
    
    Jo

    Bailey does this with nerf golf balls too.  But only if no other
    cat gets in the way to distract her and only after you've thrown
    it a few good times and made the treck to go get it yourself.  She'll
    never do it if you're trying to show someone that she will.
    
    Jan

    
    My Kitty used to do that when he was younger.  He would do it with
    the bizzy balls until he was literally panting.  It was a little
    scary at first, but he loved it.  He would bash into the walls in
    the kitchen and run back with the ball in his mouth and put it at
    my feet.  I loved it.  We had part dog to satisfy my boyfriend at
    the time.
    
    Kitty would also play softball w/ the bizzy ball.  I would throw
    it at him and he would hit it back at me.  He would do that until
    his paw got tired.
    
    Kitty's 7 now and has a little devil as a brother- so needless to
    say he's mellowed out a bit.
    
    Sonia

        
        
        C.C.  also retrieves a bizzy ball (a plastic lattice ball with
        a bell in  it  -  she can pick it up in her teeth easily), and
        will bring it back  and  forth until she's panting as well :^}
        But rather than softball, she plays soccer with it, batting it
        across the kitchen floor from paw  to paw.  The other cats sit
        there and watch her with an expression  that conveys, 'what is
        the matter with that cat?'
        
        

    
    Forget the dumb ball!  Puffin used to retreive and carry around a teddy
    bear!  I would throw it for her and she would go tearing after it, pick
    it up by the neck and bring it back to me to throw again.  It was
    sooooooooooo CUTE!  Now that we have Buttons, Puffin would much rather
    beat her up than the teddy bear. 
    
    Joanne, Puffin & Buttons
    
    P.S.  I used to feed puffin in small margerine dishes and one night
    while I was watching TV, she had picked that up in her mouth and
    carried it to me like a dog would when they are hungry.  Boy, the times
    you wished you always had your camera ready.  Of course mine wasn't.
    ;-)
    

    When Pounce was a little boy, he would fetch a paper wad. But
    he always chose the time when I was sitting in the floor doing
    exercises. He'd sit right in my crotch basically waiting for
    big throw....  So I'd throw the paper wad to get him out of
    my way, and right in the middle of toe touch, here he'd come
    and blop the paper wad right in front of me. It got really
    annoying when I was doing one of those arch your back type
    exercises, and he'd go underneath me! What a pest! 
    
    

    You know how dog owners will throw a frisbee in the air and their dog
    will jump up and catch it?  Well, Benjamin does that with those little
    green and white catnip balls (his favorite toy) and snow balls.  He'll
    jump at least 3 feet to catch and/or bat the stupid things!
    
    Mary
    

    When Schnitzel and I lived in a tiny 3 room apartment in Hudson, I
    would throw a pink curler from the living room to the kitchen (it was
    a REAL tiny place) and she'd scurry after it and bring it back and sit
    patiently while I threw it again. If I threw it in the bedroom she'd
    just look at me as if to say "Mom, that's no fun.  I can't run fast
    then slide on the floor!" 
    
    P.
     

    Catching a foam ball is the joy of Nikki's life!  He likes me to
    throw it up high and he will jump up and catch it between his two
    front paws.  He is really VERY good and hardly ever misses - the
    only thing is that he doesn't return them to me - I have to go
    and gather them all up and start again.  oh well 
    
    It's fun to watch him -  he really loves doing that.  Gee, 
    Nikolas will be 7 in August!  hmm.   He still thinks he is
    a kitten!  The younger ones must keep him young.
    
    E.T.

    re: .7  Mao likes the little superballs (Jack calls them her
    "cat balls")  She'll make some amazing jumps to catch them or
    bat them back to me.
      And she's 10
    

    
    	Rosie loves those little gift bows that are about two inches
    	wide (she has one in every color...). She will catch them in
    	her front paws when I throw them to her. She bats them back
    	in my direction, but that's as close to `fetch' as she gets...
    
    	Sherry
    

    Billie likes the foam balls, golf balls, and paper balls.  If you roll
    them to her, she has a wicked right hook that zings them right back.
    If she's in the mood, she'll go bucketing down the hall (especially
    the stairs) to pounce on them.  Her favorite is the "roll the foam
    ball down the stairs;  I play with it, and then Mom has to come down
    and get it for me!" game.
    
    Recently I bought her a tiny mouse covered in real fur that she adores.
    It's small enough for her to carry in her mouth, and she gets a big
    kick out of that.
    
    I think her favorite fun is making ME chase things down the hall!!
    
    Jane
        

	I'll bet nobody has a cat that fetchs BEER CAPS!  T.K. will
	come running at the sound of a beer opening and wait for
	you to throw it for him.  He usually brings it back unless
	you open another one right then (he's greedy!).  He has
	quite a collection of them and will bring me one whenever
	he wants to play.

	His second favorite is wads of paper, then toy balls, then
	my roommates ponytail holders (no wonder her door is always
	shut).  He also used to steal my old roommates 2 inch teddy
	bear.  He even gave it a bath once in the water bowl.  Come
	to think of it, I often find toys in the water bowl.  

	Does anybody know why cats (or is it just mine) like to
	dunk their toys?

	Karen

    Luther loves plastic bags knotted into a ball. When he was younger,
    1-2 years old, he would leap into the air to catch it. He could
    leap all the way up and practically touch the ceiling. But alas, he's
    older (and either wiser or slower) and just chases after them.
    
    nancy

    re .13
    
    	My Sava made catnip tea with her toy mouse one time.
    	She was acting awfully strange that day...
    
    
    	Kim

    
    
         well, my fuzzface, Frank, catches a little "stuffed" ice cream
    cone when I toss it to him...he likes to catch it so the "cherry"
    is on top...so he can chew on it before he gives it back....
    
      BUT...my friend's cat Clyde, is the best "fetcher" I've ever seen,
    better than a dog!...he started out with rubber bands, fetching
    and retrieving, but soon advanced to the little plastic caps from
    non-aerosol products. All he has to do it hear me tap the plastic
    cap on the counter and he comes running!!...he'll fetch it for hours
    playing with it a little and sometimes dropping it in his water
    dish, so it's full of water when he brings it back!!!