The purrfect Christmas present for an old cat

I often buy my old cat a little treat for Christmas, perhaps some cat treats or a little toy. Not that he knows it's Christmas, but pets can often feel left out when their humans are off out having fun or entertaining guests at Christmas, so it's nice to remember them and give them a little extra attention.

My cat Jimmy is getting on a bit, 19 years old, and spends most of his time sleeping, eating or standing in the hallway, miaowing for attention because he forgets that he's already been fed or that we're just in the next room. He hasn't really paid much attention to any toys that we've tried to entertain him with for the last few years, he'll just look at them blankly then walk on by in a dignified manner as if to say "how old do you think I am!" But this year was different.

I had been browsing the internet, looking for hemp fabric clothes as a gift for a friend when I found these pet toys - Shelby the Hemp Mouse, containing catnip. They came in a pack of two, were quite cheap and I thought they would make a fun gift both for my friend's cat and for mine, though I didn't really think Jimmy would take much notice.

I wrapped the mouse up in some tissue paper, wrote his name on it and put it under our Christmas tree ready to give him on Christmas day. However, later that day Jimmy came strolling into the room looking for a comfy chair to curl up on when he got a whiff of something. He stood in the doorway, nose in the air, sniffing around. He homed in on it straight away, sniffing his way all the way to the Christmas tree and straight to his present! I would not have believed what he did next if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes - he picked up the package in his teeth and proceeded to tear the paper off with his claws and teeth until it lay shredded on the floor and he had completely unwrapped his own Christmas present in the space of a few minutes. It was still in the plastic wrapping at this point, so we decided to help him out with that so that he didn't choke on it, and then he had the best fun I've seen him have in years, tossing the toy about like a real mouse and chasing it around the room. Since then he has played with it every day, coming into the room and stalking it, biting it and kicking it around, he is almost like a kitten again, and it's so nice to see him having fun again.

Apparently my friend's cat was equally delighted.