In early 1999, only months after adopting Kako and Kazon, Derek and I went on a shopping spree at Cat Connection, returning home a few hours later with all manner of new toys and goodies for The Kids.  Some of those toys included a handful of feathers.

Each of The Kids got a feather, and boy-oh-boy did the fun begin.  Feathers were flying and cats were spinning and leaping and hunting and talking up a storm.  Derek and I laughed uncontrollably as we watched the mayhem unfold.

Sadly, the photos I took were with a very old film-based camera and is evidenced by the quality of the pictures.  That also means I did not get any video.  Irrespective of the lowbrow method of recording the fun, attached are some of the pictures I took that day showing the feather beasts and subsequent bedlam.

One thing you will notice in the photos is that this happened two or three weeks after Grendel‘s hip surgery.  That is why his back-right quarter appears to be new hair growth: it is.  They shaved a large chunk of his body and the photo shows it in an interim state of regrowth.

Loki put the feather inside Derek’s sneaker, then promptly attacked the sneaker with vicious abandon.  He loves playing with shoes even if there’s no toy surprise inside.

Hip surgery or not, Grendel was a wild man with the feathers, rolling around and talking excitedly the whole time.

Kazon loves feathers and had a hard time finding one to play with.  Each time he did, one of the feathers his siblings had would catch his attention.

Kako pounced on the feather and took great joy in conquering the beast before it could do more harm.