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A Mouse Under the Sofa
While watching my dear pet, I noticed that she likes to play with little balls. She would drive a ball under a sofa - only to try and reach it there while twisting and stretching her body at all angles. If she succeeds, she starts the game anew, playing it over and over ageain. No wonder that after several attempts she kicks the ball too hard, and it sails too far and vanishes under the sofa forever.
The problem is, therefore, to hide the "prey" under the sofa but not too far - and ensure that it would return to its original place lest it gets lost under some other sofa or couch. To make it return, I used a yo-yo mechanism - a wristwatch spring hidden inside a reel and attached to a piece of thread. It's easy to unwind the thread , and, when loose, it returns back to the reel in no time.
As to the sofa, my Vicky wouldn't spare it her claws while mice-hunting. That's why I had to construct an altogether special "sofa" for her hunting purposes. Luckily, I found a П- shaped bar. Then I simply wrapped a little rag tightly around the bar and affixed a piece of metal to its centre - all that, to provide the mouse with an axis to run around.
The construction was almost ready but for one improvement. I decided to make it a little bit more difficult for the hunter and took advantage of the fact that my "sofa" had an open access from both sides. I connected the yo-yo to an empty toilet paper cylinder. That enabled the "mouse" to spin under the "sofa" and get out of the cat's reach.
So challenged, Vicky would be forced to use her mental faculties and dash to the other side of the "sofa" in order to regain the pesky "mouse".
The whole project took me about an hour or so to accomplish while the cat was napping peacefully elsewhere. The job done, I woke up my pet and positioned her on the "sofa". Being familiar with the "sofa" cover (the same upholstery was used for the CATHOUSE), Vicky immediately started sharpening her claws against it (it goes without saying that she would combine this activity with yawning and stretching). In the meantime, I brought the "mouse" from under the "sofa" and let it loose. Vicky needed no further hints...
Having played to her utter satisfaction, the cat returned to the top of the "sofa" and gave herself a good licking. From time to time she would cast a glance at the "mouse" to ensure that it hasn't sneaked away
If I had to buy raw materials, the project would cost as much as 13 shekels (6 for the yo-yo, 5 for the wrapping, and 2 for the metal piece). However I happened to have all the necessary components at hand.
P.S. The currency, mentioned throughout these articles, is Israeli Shekel. According to the current exchange rate, 1$ = approximately 4,4 Israeli Shekels.
P.P.S. For those who have some spare time and speak foreign languages which these articles haven't yet been translated to : I would be very grateful if you could do the translations. Besides, if you find errors in the articles, do me a favour by helping me to get rid of them You can comment it here: http://dandrey.livejournal.com/8816.html
Recommended links: Best regards. (3 august 2004)
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