A Kitten's Guide to Retrieving Toys from Very Small Spaces
Mice, spiders, fir cones, pens and small furry toys all love to be chased - it's a well-known fact. And sometimes they hide in very small places - like the tiny gaps under furniture. Today's Kitten's Guide looks at how to get them out.

First up we have Kai - a kitten of a slightly portly disposition - showing some surprise, a modicum of shock, and a whole bowlful of doubt upon learning that he'd been chosen for the 'crawling under the chest of draws in front of you' exercise.


Yes, kittens, even a stunt kitten of Kai's stature can have doubts. Especially after a heavy meal. But just to show that even the larger kitten can squeeze into unexpected places, here we see Kai demonstrating the 'low walk' - the classic method of inching into small gaps.


Note the head pushed in as far as it will go, the low shoulders, the flattened chest and the back legs pushing from behind. Here we see the same shot from a different angle.


Note the left leg tucked under the body for extra leverage.

But sometimes - for really small gaps - the low walk just doesn't cut it and you have to get splayed. No, come back, I said sp-l-ayed not spayed. And to prove it here we see Kai employing the 'flat cat' position and posting himself into the gap.


Now, I expect some of you are thinking 'doesn't Kai look kinda stuck?' How can he get his claws on anything to drag back out? The answer is, of course, he can't. The whole point of the 'splayed cat' manoeuvre is to convince your human to get down on hands and knees and retrieve the object for you. And nothing does that better than a wedged kitten with back legs splayed.

And, finally, just to show that no kittens were harmed during the filming of this guide, we show Kai snuggling down next to Xena for a well-earned rest.