The kittens received a Christmas gift from their cousins. My dear nephews are experts when it comes to battery-operated toys and of course they (their mom) found something for their furry cousins.
A little motorized butterfly cat toy!
My sister knows the frustration of gifts without batteries and she made sure to put batteries in it before it went under the tree. She also noted that it came with a spare butterfly. Which was a good thing because that first butterfly barely lasted a week. I kept straightening out the wire and picking up little bits of pretend butterfly wings. Once I found the whole contraption flipped over and another time, it was no less than three feet from where it had been. Mr. Man found the whole thing shoved inside of the cat tunnel one morning.
Eventually, Mr. Man changed out the batteries and put on the spare butterfly. Then he got on Amazon to see if he could find replacement butterflies. Fortunately, he did, and they come in a six-pack! The box says, “Recharge Papillons” which sounds so much more fun than “butterfly refills.”
The base of the toy has a little button to turn it on and off. Les chatons have figured this out and will turn their toy on themselves when they are ready for playtime. I’m impressed that the little motor has lasted as long as it has since it has run for hours at a time. And especially because sometimes they will just grind that poor papillon into the carpet and then leave it stuck there.
Anabel really likes when her cat tunnel is lined up with the papillon. She likes to shoot through the tube to preserve the element of surprise for her attacks upon the poor, motorized butterfly. Sometimes she will charge back through the tube after she pounces, other times she leaps to the far end of the tube, turns, and zooms through again.
But by far, the most adorable part about watching Anabel and Sally play with this toy is the way that they take turns. No, I am not exaggerating. Yes, it is hilarious. Sally will sit back and watch while Anabel takes a few passes at the poor thing. Maybe 3-4 times. Then she will take a few steps back and settle in to watch Sally go at it. It’s kind-of like a kitten break dance battle. They get their licks in, then sit back to let the other guy take a few swings at it.