In the Cellar

I went down the cellar to do laundry and heard a distinct animal sound but couldn't locate the source. I sent the kids down to figure out what was going on, hoping it was a toy.
As they walked down the stairs I hear:

Sam: "If it's a cat, I call dibs!"
Vivian: "That's not fair! Fine. I get it if it's a squirrel, or a dog."
Sam: "I don't want a squirrel anyway. And Viv, it's totally not a dog."

When I went to check they were well prepared.

Forty-five minutes later they came up holding a small stuffed cat that Vivian had rescued from the rain earlier today. I had told her to put in downstairs to do through the wash. It had never made a noise before, but since it was rain soaked, apparently it set the batteries off.