Question: “Why does my cat dunk her toys?”

Ginger writes,  “Kiss-Kiss (a gray tabby domestic longhair cat) will be a year old in May, so she's still a kitten. She was "dropped off" across the street at a city park last July 4. The kids next door and I shared caretaker duties until a week later when I let her inside the house.  She was very relaxed and full of love so I named her Kiss-Kiss because she loves to give kisses.

 

She has been sporadically bringing her favorite "mouse" toy and depositing it into the dry food bowl for about a month now.  This past week, she has decided to include the fishing fly at the end of a short fishing rod. She drags the fly with pole attached to the water bowl and deposits the fly IN the bowl, so it is completely soaked. It's really cute to watch her determination and I have no qualms about "sqeezing dry the fly" (oops - a poem, no less). Could you please explain what she is doing with this behavior?  And why? I checked with Kiss-Kiss's intellectual property attorney who granted permission to use her behavior but she wants credit for it.”  

Amy’s Answer

This behavior (Courtesy of Kiss-Kiss *s*) highlights the fun and unique personalities and behaviors of our cat companions. Veterinarians and behavior specialists look at the cat’s physical and emotional health, as well as traits of instinct to help figure out what’s going on and find solutions. Think of this as the H.I.S.S. Test, which stands for health, instinct, stress, and symptom solvers.

 

H=Health

You don’t mention any changes in health status and it does not appear to be a behavior related to anything other than good health.

I=Instinct

Cats are hunters by nature. Some behaviorists argue that feline play serves solely for honing hunting skills. More recent research points to play as rewarding in and of itself, as an emotional and fun release.   

S=Stress

Any behavior change can be brought about by stress. Change of the environment and housemates certainly can impact this. Play also can work wonders as a stress-buster, and cats are pretty good about “self-medicating” with play.

S=Symptom, Signs & Solutions

Since Kiss-Kiss brings her hunting bounty (mouse) to the food bowl, it appears she does associate it with the food aspect. I’ve heard of cats who swiped the owner’s jewelry or other objects, and deposited them in or near food bowls, which strikes me as a measure of how much the cat values that object. Food, of course, must have the ultimate value especially for a feral or stray kitty who may have gone hungry in the past. 

My cat Seren enjoys buggy prey (crickets lose their legs very quickly at my house!), but the play aspect trumps taste for her. Another cat owner once described her cat’s behavior of swiping makeup sponges, soaking them in the water bowl, and then dropping the soggy bombs on her unsuspecting dog friend from the top of doors. 

 I suspect from what you describe that Kiss-Kiss also simply enjoys floating the fly in her water bowl, and then “fishing” for it. Fishing behavior is a very typical cat play behavior. However, the determination of dragging an entire fishing-pole toy is unusual and unique to Kiss-Kiss. Thanks for sharing your kitty’s inspiring and fun personality!