Hunting the elusive housecat can be both educational and fun! Before you get started, you'll need a few supplies:
- Tree Stand (one that can be fastened to the trunk of a tree)
- Several balls of yarn
- Catnip
- A 6' x 6' patch of carpet
- 6' x 6' piece of bark
- Several small bells
Setup
Now, you have to decide where you want to hunt. If you're going to hunt in the city, the tree stand is invaluable. Just put it up about 6 feet high
on a street lamp, or, if you have a balcany, you're already set.
If you're hunting in suburbia, you'll need to get some camos on. First, attach the bells to the piece of bark in various places and heights, then
wrap the bark around you so as to look like a scratching post. You can also use the carpet to wrap around yourself if it's too cold for bark.
Toss a few balls of yarn out around your hunting site. It helps if some of the yarn is lying outside of the ball. You'll also want a pile of catnip
about 10 feet away from where you're going to be standing.
If you're in the city and don't have access to a tree stand, you can dress up as an old woman and start calling, "Here kitty kitty kitty!"
To hunt in a field, it's best to dress up like a mouse.
The Hunt
Start making cat calls after you're all set up. Some effective ones are:
- Hey hot momma!
- Do those legs go all the way up?
- Whistle where the tone goes up, then drops down
- Hey bay-bee! Hey bay-bee!
The cats will come. Now, if you have a gun, you don't need them to get close, although if they hit the catnip they'll get rather difficult to shoot.
A keyboard can also be used, they'll pounce it and won't move.
Since they will be tame, however, you can usually just walk up, continuing to make the cat calls, reach out, pet it a little behind the ears, grab its
head and snap its neck.
Most importantly,
have fun!