Obsession with a stuffed animal

Sucko&Kiddo

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Hello everyone!

I have two wonderful male cats, one is 1 and a half years old and the other is just one year old.
We bought some stuffed animals for cats (small mice) and my older cat is obsessed with one of them. He played with many of these toys but with just this one he keeps having the strangest behaviour: he carries the toy around the house all the time, inside his mouth, but has two special spots where he plays with it. The "problem" is that he keeps meowing all the time, it sounds like he is not happy but never leaves the toy. It such a strange "relationship".
Is this behaviour not so strange? Is it something healthy cats do sometimes? The other cat does not have such behaviour.

Thank you for your help!!!
 

Tibbs&Olive

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It could just be a phase. A similar thing happened with my 2 cats. Tibbs carried around his "pet" for weeks while Olive just played with hers for 5 minutes and then ignored it lol. Tibbs no longer does this.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi! Way back when I first got Feeby (2ish), I gave her a mouse that she carried everywhere with her and was constantly hiding it to 'protect it'. I was having some work done on my mother's house and the workers were moving furniture when they came across the mouse. Feeby was indignant that they moved the mouse's hiding spot, came in picked up the mouse, meowing at the workers the whole time while she hid the mouse under another piece of furniture - only to have it happen all over again! She did not necessarily meow with the mouse otherwise but might occasionally do so when carrying it from one location to another.

She (now 18+ yo) still has Mr. Mouse, but could care less about it, and has never had another 'toy' that she ever treated like that since!
 

ArtNJ

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My youngest cat (3) did this for a while too! Maybe it means "look, I killed this thing, I am a mighty hunter!" Or maybe its just something some cats do ;)
 
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danteshuman

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It is the gloating look what I caught meow. 🤣 My advice? Pet him and praise him on being a brave hunter then play with him using a wand toy. See if that shuts him up.
 

lolagoldie

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Hello everyone!

I have two wonderful male cats, one is 1 and a half years old and the other is just one year old.
We bought some stuffed animals for cats (small mice) and my older cat is obsessed with one of them. He played with many of these toys but with just this one he keeps having the strangest behaviour: he carries the toy around the house all the time, inside his mouth, but has two special spots where he plays with it. The "problem" is that he keeps meowing all the time, it sounds like he is not happy but never leaves the toy. It such a strange "relationship".
Is this behaviour not so strange? Is it something healthy cats do sometimes? The other cat does not have such behaviour.

Thank you for your help!!!
It isn't a problem. The relationship with the toy is like the relationship with a prey.
Toys get cats into their hunting mode, and they feel they have made a catch for you (her family). It is meant to be a nice gesture on their part. They also want recognition and attention, so that is where the meowing and yowling comes from.

Love it when my cat does this. It's the cutest thing ever
 

danteshuman

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Jackie does meow with his favorite toy in his mouth as he carries it around; it means he wants me to play with him.
 

Mr. Mojo

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So far my boy Mojo doesn't exhibit this behavior with his stuffed "chirping" bird toy. I gave it to him during playtime and he picked it up...shook and smacked it around. I will get him a mouse toy and see what happens. He likes when we play with his wand toys more.
 

artiemom

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When we got Pumpkin, she was the runt of the litter and sick, as a tiny kitten. My mom and I made a box for her with a wind up clock, and gave her a small stuffed teddy bear. That teddy bear, lasted as long as she did.. It became her baby. Every time she thought she was alone, she would cry and cry and cry.. Then, she would find her baby. She had another 'baby' also---- a small beanie baby crocodile--- before beanie babies were a hit... That was her baby..
When she thought she was alone, she would go to either. Every morning we would wake up and find the crocodile in a new place.

Yup, when she was a kitty, the teddy bear was larger than her; yet, she managed to carry it around in her mouth..
The crocodile was precious to her. She licked it to death. We had to get a replacement; rubbing the old one on the new one, for her scent.
Pumpkin lived to be 14 years old, along with teddy bear and second crocodile...
 

Docs Mom

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My Boggle, was an only kitten given to a "dog" dad. He was lonely so they gave him a little stuffed puppy for company.

I was lucky enough to take 3 month old Boggle in, when he didn"t fit their travel plans. That stuffed puppy came with him and was rarely out of his sight...
FOR NINETEEN YEARS !

Boggle is my Rainbow Bridge angel now. I think of him, every time I see his puppy that I put in a special place.
🧸
 

D_H

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One of my cats does it, and just like you - at first we were confused and concerned - but as mentioned above, it's theirway to announce (or show off lol) that they've caught something :)
 

Lulu&Finn

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Lulu has “Ollie the Ostrich”. She brings Ollie up to my bedroom at night and down to the family room in the morning. She uses a strange meowing kinda sound the whole time she’s carrying it. It’s the cutest thing ever and she’s been doing it for 3 years now. I hope she never stops.
 

amarshall0919

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I have experienced this with two of my cats!

King, my childhood cat, is 11 years old now. When we first brought him inside, one day I left home with my parents, and when we got back he had somehow gotten into my toy box and there were stuffed animals all throughout the house!! I kept one out for him, a Valentine’s Day bear with sweethearts all over it. From that day on, he has loved his bear. It is gross now because he always bites it in the same spot lol! He will drag it all throughout the house. I moved out last year, and he still does it. I believe he will do it as long as he lives, and I’ll never be able to get rid of that bear.

A previous cat I had, Smoothie, started doing this right around the time her first aggressive behavioral issues started. There was no correlation though. She was so cute and would drag her string toy all throughout the apartment. Up and down the stairs.She would do it with some other toys too, but her string toy was her favorite. I considered her my little baby.
D0292C2D-EBA6-4842-AAED-A1425123C923.jpeg
 

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Meekie

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Hello everyone!

I have two wonderful male cats, one is 1 and a half years old and the other is just one year old.
We bought some stuffed animals for cats (small mice) and my older cat is obsessed with one of them. He played with many of these toys but with just this one he keeps having the strangest behaviour: he carries the toy around the house all the time, inside his mouth, but has two special spots where he plays with it. The "problem" is that he keeps meowing all the time, it sounds like he is not happy but never leaves the toy. It such a strange "relationship".
Is this behaviour not so strange? Is it something healthy cats do sometimes? The other cat does not have such behaviour.

Thank you for your help!!!
My recently departed little old man developed a similar relationship with a little stuffed tiger. He didn't play or cuddle with it, he just carried it around and yowled loudly. At first it bothered me because he sounded like he was upset or sick.

I noticed he always carried it around by the throat, so I imagine is was some kind of predator behavior. Also, he only started doing this after his housemates passed and he was an only cat so I wonder if that had anything to do with it.
 
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