Ever feel guilty for throwing out a toy or anything?

[Tina B and crew]

Willow has this box that she gets in and hides and she has had it for ever and a day. She has rubbed on the edges so much they were worn down and to be honest, rather gross (she rubs her nose and mouth on them)....so I decided to throw it away. I picked it up and she looked at me with this look of despair...so I put it down closer to the door and she ran (I mean RAN) and jumped in it. Then she started rubbing in it and wouldn't get out...when she got out I picked it up and moved it even closer to the door. What does she do? Run and get in it again!!

I finally distracted her with a toy and got it out the door....wondering if she will despair over her missing box

So please tell me I'm not the only one to ditch a worn out cat toy or box or anything? I don't want to be a bad momma!!

[Traci]

I do throw out boxes, but rarely, toys, unless they are so frayed they are dangerous. I can't use toy mice anymore, since Chevy ate one once, thankfully I got it out of his mouth in time I still have some toys and collars from 1980-something

Just get Willow a new box and all will be well again!

[momPaws]

Tina, I understand the box thing...of a lot of the toys I got Angel her little boxes are favorites.
When my dog, Honey, was alive she had a stuffed dog named Princess. She played nice with it for a loooong time and eventually it lost all it's stuffing and was just a piece of fake fur. We did get her another Princess and threw away the old one, but was never the same for her. Now I have some of her favorite toys around & a bag of them upstairs that I just can't bear to throw away.
She loved McDonalds little stuffed toys and I have one next to her picture...it is a little squirrel and we always called it "Nutsy"- she loved that thing and would get it if you asked her.

[E's]

Sorry Traci, but I don't agree. Could be wrong of course. Wanna bet Willow won't use the new box? She made a very plain, intelligent statement that she valued the item. Sorry, Tina, but I think this smart, sensitive cat should have been allowed to keep her special box.

IMO: after eons of intolerance from the general population of humans, now that they are kept indoors and cared for as valuable creatures, cats are evolving rapidly as sentient domestic pets - I have seen some of this evolutionary 'spurt' just in the last few years...

Anyhow, Tina, you did as you thought best, as I would've done. Please let us know how it works out, okay?

db

[Tina B and crew]

Oh, if it's a box, any box, Willow will take it over. I could have 10 boxes around and she'd love each and every one. The corners of this one were downright disgusting though, where she'd rubbed and slobbered on it. In fact she had what looked like a cut on her nose once and I can't help but wonder if she cut it on the cardboard. She rubs her nose so hard on corners!!

I had set it out in the yard and the butterflies are enjoying it now. I'm guessing there are minerals on the box where she rubbed it or something...

She doesn't seem to be in too much despair. As long as she has her Mr. Wormy toy she's happy. Now I think she'd despair if Mr. Wormy disappeared

I found an old stuffed toy of Gizmo's in the shed the other week and didn't have the heart to throw it out It still sits in the shed.

[E's]

Glad to hear Willow likes all boxes! Speaking of favorite toys: Q has always been "boss pet" - he helped raise `Eowyn the gsd (who came to us when she was only 6 weeks and weighed 10 lbs.) Q really liked that sock toy and would not let the dog even touch it. The levee break took everything on the ground floor, and I have not seen another of those sock toys anywhere - tried making one but Q wasn't interested; must have been something the original was stuffed with besides catnip...

[Traci]

E's, cats don't tend to need "security blankets" as much as dogs tend to, or at least, as much as their owners think they need them, least of all a cardboard box (a special toy on the otherhand they may play with on a usual basis or sleep with may be a different matter). As a matter of fact, most cats' attention spans are short, so if you take the decrepit cardboard box away and replace it with something new, my guess is 9 out of ten cats will use the new box. Besides, saliva and accumulated "gunk" is just not sanitary, for the pet, or you. (bacteria and all that stuff).

[Tina B and crew]

Besides, saliva and accumulated "gunk" is just not sanitary, for the pet, or you. (bacteria and all that stuff).

That was what was bothering me about the box most of all...yuk.

Willow has two of those kitty tubes to hide in, one with crinkle noise, so she still has places to hide...and they don't accumulate gunk (or at least can be wiped clean with a wet cloth if needed)...she does love her crinkle tube. Hides in it and waits for me to toss her Mr. Wormy so she can bat it back out again.

Willow in despair

[Traci]

She's soooooooooo beautiful!!!

Glad you said she has crinkle sacks, was just going to suggest one of those or the new "tents", like MomPaws got for Angel not too long ago. (MomPaws, that was a tent, right? Or a little boxy-thing?)

[Tina B and crew]

The crinkle tube is the greatest! The other one she has is bigger and doesn't crinkle but she still likes to play in it. I have one of the tents too but don't have it out for Willow. It was Gizmo's and I still haven't had the heart to bring it out. Giz loved to sleep in it....one of his favorite places. I miss that boy