Fun and collateral damage

Have you ever watched a cat get into playing with a toy? I mean really get in to knocking it around, tearing at it and 'ripping it a new one?'

We have three girls who love their little mice. Just little nothing dollar apiece toys...and I don't even think there is any catnip employed in the process of making them.

They are fairly realistic in the size and shape - right down to the little leather tail and felt ears sticking out from the head...but they are not catnip toys. Yet, Beana, Flop and Cleo could care less about anything except getting their paws (and jaws) on one and batting the daylights out of it all around the house. Usually one of the girls will romp around while the other two watch in delight. So we bought three mice, just to keep it fair (and fun).

One day we realized a mouse or two had gone missing, so several more specimens were purchased and added to the lot.

I should mention we also have a fairly large jar of catnip, and we try to keep the stock of mice 'steeping' in the jar when not in use. Makes the cat-n-mouse games so much more interesting for us, and delicious for the girls.