For some years, I kept all the cat toys in a large plastic bowl, which kept getting moved around from bookcase to end table to chair. Slowly, as they "grew up," the cats stopped playing so much, and new toys got tossed on top of old ones.

When Gizzi arrived, I bought him a bunch of new playtoys, but the old bowl was pretty much forgotten. It sat, in all its splendor, atop its last resting place, the encyclopedia bookcase.

Yesterday, in a frenzy of cleaning, Louise pulled out the little bookcase in order to mop behind it. She looked around for a place to set the bowl and finally dropped it behind the cat tree, where it was again forgotten.

Gizzi didn't find it until about 10:00 PM. Well -- that cat thought it was Christmas! He started out by taking one or two toys out at a time, but soon tired of this and dumped the bowl! Toys spread out in every direction and Gizzi was beside himself with joy!

He had such a good time! He went from one toy to another, besotted with fun! He played until 1:00ish, with a few short stops along the way to catch his breath. Then he threw himself down on the nearest soft spot (an area rug) and went to sleep -- absolutely exhausted!

Toys are still spread out all over the entryway, and I'm going to have to make an effort to start picking them up (a much more complicated procedure than you can imagine!). I don't care how difficult it is or how long it takes -- it was worth it! That cat may never again in his lifetime have so much fun!

Copyright © Renee Darvin
October 9, 2000