Long Island cat Loki fell in love with a balloon on a thin rope. The mischievous tabby lives with his brother Diesel, the orange kitty, who is his wrestling partner. After first appearing on social media, you could see that Loki as a kitten liked to pull around a blue balloon on a thin rope, and that obsession has remained ever since. He also frequently wears a lion’s mane and ears, which he sometimes carries around.
Note: Although cats love string, they shouldn’t play with it, especially unsupervised, since swallowing it can be dangerous. Even rope toys can be a problem if they manage to chew it apart and eat the threads. A popped balloon could also be ingested, so we would not recommend trying this at home unsupervised at any time.
Loki proudly wears his lion’s mane and ears. Images, media via Instagram/loki.doestricks
Loki was well-named, living up to the name of the trickster god. His Mom says, “Loki’s sweet, but a psycho.” He’s a “klepto kitty,” stealing sweaters and food from the countertops or inside closed cabinets. He carries his lion wig around and has stolen Dad’s lunch too. In general, he doesn’t think the rules apply to him and is super outgoing and as happy as can be. He can do high fives and even jumps through a hoop, so he’s quite a clever little guy.
Below, you can see Loki and Diesel his buddy and the first time he played with his blue balloon.
“Fresh Princes of New York”
Loki and His Blue Balloon
There was that one time Loki fell in love with a potato he found in the kitchen, but his first love was the balloon. We aren’t sure if he’s popped one yet, but if so, he still loves them. They always seem to be blue ones but maybe he’ll have a potato balloon someday?
Note: As strange as it may seem to us humans, potatoes can be toxic to animals, so keeping them away is best too!
Is Loki Looking at His Balloon in the Mirror?
You can see how much Loki loves these balloons below. Interestingly, he loves them so much that he seems to enjoy looking at himself with his balloon in the reflection on the glass sliding doors too!
Loki the tabby plays with a balloon and looks in the reflection on the glass door.
Another video focuses on how Loki looks at himself with the balloon in the glass reflection.
“Tale as old as time…”
The Mirror Test
So, does this cat passed the mirror self-awareness test? Scientific studies suggest cats and dogs don’t actually recognize themselves in the mirror. Some animals shown to recognize themselves in a mirror include dolphins, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, elephants, and magpies. Recently, studies have shown that crows and other corvids like ravens, jays, and magpies are self-aware too! Octopuses and cephalopods have been declared sentient in the UK and may have a sense of self. In general, animals are probably much more aware than many of us have traditionally given them credit for.
Maybe Loki is responding to seeing the balloon’s reflection, not his own. On the other hand, he repeatedly brings the balloon to the glass as if he knows it’s related to the reflection, doesn’t he? Whatever the case, he’s definitely having fun.
Loki may be his Mom’s favorite, but her husband found a workaround to get Loki’s attention; we can fully endorse this trick.
“My husband was jealous that the cat always sits with me, so he found a solution.”
Aside from attention, his balloon, his lion’s mane, and turkey sandwiches purrhaps the only thing Loki likes better is Taylor Swift’s music. Who knows, maybe he’ll catch her eye one day, but for now, he has his blue balloon and the reflection to keep him happy.
You can see more of Loki on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
