How to make a long-dead cat toy interesting again:
Let it get run over by the roomba, then spend 5+ minutes untwisting the string with the end of the string hanging down. The picture was taken after it was unwound and had been reclaimed from Talore.
I thought I’d put it out of reach of the roomba, but not quite. It was under a box which was placed such that I didn’t think it would be moved, and I had part of it under the scratching post base as an anchor anyways (I was trying to get Talore to pull on it and fight the elastic – didn’t work).
The box got moved and the side sweeper brush on the roomba caught the cord, then proceeded to wind it up. It then got dragged around the room (there are little tufts of fur in random places) till the roomba finally decided it was stuck and stopped. I nearly had to take that brush off to unwind it, but it was flexible enough I could bend the brushes to get the cord off. The fur covering for the toy was all bunched up in a tuft around its nose, but it didn’t come all the way off.
Talore watched and attacked the string while I was untangling it, then was quite happy to chase and pounce on the toy after I’d finished. She continued the work of the roomba in nearly pulling the fur loose, but eventually got distracted by the tissue paper she was walking around on (I usually put it back on the floor when the roomba is finished).