Sachiko gets bored.

It’s not surprising. The older cats spend much more of the day sleeping than she does. They curl up on the bed, leaving her to wander around downstairs and amuse herself.

We expected that, so we made sure she’s got plenty of toys. Catnip mice (and other objects–she often steals ‘Nuki’s Magic Banana). Balls of several sizes and textures. Puzzle toys. Even a few “object on a string” toys, though she only gets to play with those with one of us–feathers don’t lend themselves to unsupervised play.

But no matter how many toys we buy her, she insists on finding and making her own. Pens. Folded bits of paper (credit card receipts are apparently especially fun). Her collar and her siblings’ collars when she can snag them.

Every time we think she’s exhausted the possibilities, she comes up with a new toy. Earlier this week, I was in the dining room and she came trotting in with her latest toy in her mouth.

Fortunately, those are frames awaiting lenses, not anyone’s current glasses. I say “fortunately” because this is how Sachiko plays with her toys:

Entertaining as the show was, I explained to her that the glasses were not actually a toy–even if they are cat’s eye frames–and took them away from her. She disappeared under the table to sulk. A few minutes later, she came charging out from under the table with a screwdriver in her mouth and disappeared into the living room to play. It’s a good thing none of the furniture in there has easily-accessible screws…