CatMom Game - Catch Me if You Can

I play this game with the cats on our stairs. My 2 young cats understand I am not as fast as they are. They have that concept down pat. When I do catch them, it is either because they have tired or want me to catch them. I don't always play by the rules. If I am tired of chasing them, I will shut a key door. Usually though, I do play by our established rules.

So, I stand two-thirds up our stairs. I call them. I ask them to run up the stairs. With just one this works, or with two. I interact more with one cat when it is just one. It is really fun. I call. I tell them, "Mom is going to catch you. Run by and see if I can catch you."

They always run. They race by me. They may push it a little bit up to either two stairs below or above me and then they turn on after burners. They take off. I try to catch them. I have caught them, but infrequently. I have to focus. They always look back at me with pride. "Huh, you could not catch me!"

This started when Martius was a kitten. He was stuck with three older cats. I really wanted to bring home 2 matching kittens that day. His brother or sister had been taken. So, he was alone. Especially when he was alone, he tore up and down the halls and up and down the stairs.

Seeing the value of stairs to cats, I decided then that as long as I have cats in my home, I need some carpeted areas for them. It is so much more expansive than just a cat tree. Carpet gives them traction to launch into high speed, like a rocket launcher. That is, if the cats have claws.

CatMom gets limited exercise this way. She always gets some. She loves her cats, so she gets some walking and just going to pick them up. The outdoor cat supervision is much more intense.

Afternote: Have you ever picked up your cat and had them velcroed to the carpet? Then, you use your nail effectively unhooking each little claw till they are all loose and you can then give them a hug. It has happened here.

This game is also why I can run Lucius up and down the hill by our house. It is the same game with the rules expanded greatly. We have a huge area in comparison. He runs 60 feet in a go. He understands all the commands. It just sort of makes sense.

When he has done this 20-30 times, he has really gotten exercise. When he gets in, Lightning Paws Lucius can be seen not streaking across the 3D space we call home. You can see him. He would not be a blur in a photo.