What should I do if my Maine Coon knocks toys under the sofa?

You're not gonna like this, but maybe you should just let your cat do it. Seriously, Maine Coons are smart - they're not knocking toys under there by accident. They're either testing if you'll play retrieval or they genuinely enjoy the challenge of fishing them out later. Blocking the gap with a rolled towel or a furniture guard is overkill; your cat will just find a new game.

Retrieving them yourself every time reinforces the behavior as a fun game for your cat. A more efficient approach is to create a simple barrier, like a folded blanket or a foam pool noodle cut to length and wedged under the sofa’s front edge. This stops the toys from rolling out of reach entirely, saving you the hassle of fishing them out repeatedly.

Blocking the gap with a draft stopper or a strip of heavy cardboard is the only real fix, but even that feels like a bandaid to me-I’d rather see you swap those toys for a few interactive puzzle feeders or wand toys that don’t slide as easily, since my cat’s obsession with fetching lost objects just means I’m being trained to fish them out on repeat, which isn’t ideal.

Toy fishing is now your official part-time job, but I'd rather train my cat to do the retrieving. Take a long wooden spoon or a ruler and tape one of her favorite treats to the end - slide it under the sofa so she can see and smell it. Once she starts pawing at it, slowly pull it out with the toy attached. She'll learn to associate the motion with getting her treasure back, and eventually she might start batting toys back out on her own.