My Siamese would announce she had a toy, while it was in her mouth, as though it were a mouse. She’d go all through the house announcing she had one, until she found the room I was in and then she’d drop it at my feet. If it was a toy mouse, dangling it by the tail to play wasn’t what she wanted. Even when she was pretending another toy was a mouse, she didn’t want play. She wanted praise for you catch/gift. If you thought she wanted to play, instead of praising her for catching a “mouse”, she’d leave the room looking like a very unhappy kitty. I do believe they have the ability to pretend, just from watching the various cats I’ve had in my lifetime. They definitely do have emotions too.
My suggestion is try play first. You can tell if that was what s/he wanted or not very easily. If they don’t play and end up leaving, attempt to put your mind into a cat’s world and see what you come up with concerning the toy. For me, it was easy, in that she did the very same thing when she caught a real mouse, years prior in a different house, and she did the same with her toys too- seeking praise for a job well done. Weird, but true.
