Inkie is on the prowl. His tail is down, his ears swivel with purpose, determined to catch the smallest sound and his impressive tummy is so low it’s practically brushing the carpet. This is a cat on a mission.
Inkie’s adopting his best hunter cat impression because the postman has delivered an exciting package. It’s not Tic Tac’s treats: they arrived yesterday, or tuna, which, though exciting, comes in tins. This one's a replacement filter for the coffee machine.
We accidentally threw the used coffee grounds together with the filter and were too groggy to notice because it happened early morning.
The postman poses a problem because the cats are unanimous in their opinion that he is a suspicious character. He comes round every day, rattling their front door and infiltrating their territory with letters and small parcels.
Target and Inkie vanish as soon as he walks through the gate, but brave Tic Tac peeks from the window.
It’s never occurred to Tic Tac that a pure white cat sitting in front of blue curtains is hardly covert so the first time the man waved and smiled at her, she shot off and hid too.
But our girl is a warrior princess at heart. Ever since that day, she’s doggedly kept vigil but she bushes her tail, ready to vanish whenever he has the temerity to repeat his scandalous waving behaviour.
Inkie hides shamelessly, but the second he hears the rip of tape, he turns up, dead curious to see what’s going on. If it’s bubble wrap, his tail droops and he goes back upstairs to report to Target that it was a bust.
But if it’s a box packed with paper, Inkie stiffens with pleasure. Our tuxie is a fiend for paper.
The second I take it out, cheap thin and brown, his tail lashes with pleasure. He drops his belly and stalks, waiting for the fun to begin.
As I act nonchalant, scrunching it up, the small sounds drive Inkie wild. His fur ripples and a little hackle appears. When I roll the paper into a ball, he makes a small chittering sound. It’s a declaration of war.
In the wild, cats hunt mice, birds and other small prey that dart, flutter and move quickly. Paper folds in odd shapes is light enough to bat around and can be clawed, bitten, patted and carted about – just like prey.
Active listener
Also, cats are built to listen for tiny squeaks and hidden movements. Hunter cats can hear a mouse moving through leaf litter and a bird trying to sneak through a bush.
In fact, in Australia where a they have invasive feral cats killing off their native wildlife, researchers are building better cat trap cages by harnessing this.
A study published in July this year by researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia, reported that feral cats are particularly attracted by 13kHz, a frequency very similar to rustling leaf litter.They’re thinking of building more attractive cage traps by adding a rustle to them as a lure.
Inkie would die of fright if he met a tough feral cat but in our house he can play imaginary games to his heart’s content.
As paper crackles when it’s crumpled, a cat with a decent imagination can pretend it’s a mouse, bird or lizard which makes the pouncing and clawing much more fun.
So I make the paper crackle until I see his tail lash with delicious anticipation. When excitement piles up, and he begins to wriggle, I ball it up and toss it in the air. It lands and Inkie throws himself in the air, reaching up like Magic Johnson, and batting it across the floor.
Toys that stay the same are dull; toys that keep evolving are fun.Paper moves when you paw it, makes different sounds, changes shape, can be slid across the floor or tossed in the air and best of all, it can be shredded like confetti.
Inkie rips, tears, bites and then skids over the floor, growling and snarling as he bunny-kicks the paper ball. It’s massively violent fun; our tuxie tiger is in his element.
I’m slightly less in my element because it’s me who has to pick all paper shreds off the floor later but to see his joy is really worth it.
Also, when the other two hears the excitement, they come down and join in the fun. Sometimes Tic Tac and Inkie wrestle over who gets to kill and sometimes they bat the ball to each other like small furry professional footballers.
For Inkie, Tic Tac, and even the occasional dignified paw from Target, brown paper turns every ordinary day into an adventure.
