The Domestic CAT: Feline at its finest!

[knitwit45]

yeouuuuuch! but in all fairness, MJ, the cat put it there for you, in case you needed it in the night......

(Refer back to the title of this thread....cat was doing her job!)

[MichiganJ]

Hi Nancy,

As Nick was nestled between my legs under the blankets, Nora was certainly the "generous" cat who left Asta for me to step on.

She's a peach, that Nora. She has one whisker that curves forward out from her pushed-in face. It's quite adorable. Except in the middle of the night, when she likes to lay on my chest. Frequently she extends her snoot to smell my breath as I sleep. That curved whisker inevitably finds its way up my nostril. Not a very pleasant way to wake up....

[Ollie]

Back among my chairs this morning, after I'd gone to the river and brought in fresh-fish for the cats' breakfast. After two months of absence, I was thinking they may not notice the grilling out in the park. But no, right on time, the cats arrive, using all their seductive powers to make me think they'll be oh-so-pleasing.

An hour later, I'm downstairs and here they come, ready to resume their wanton destruction of my sensibilities. We've got a large bathrooms upstairs and down, and they have stone floors with 3 bathmats in front of the shower, the tub and the sinks. The cats seem to think these are THEIR sleds. Not MY bathmats. When they disappear and are still IN the house, I can almost certainly find them sliding them into corners, piled up like car crash scenes. And then I can drag them back out and stretch them flat again, only to find them once again piled up in cat-sledding jumbles in bathroom corners. Blasted critters...

Of course, when I catch them in the bathroom, they act like they can't understand me or any tone I'm spewing. Waving my arms, using semifores, even tapping out Morse code - the dumb cats act like they don't understand. NOR DO THEY CARE! They sit there on the lip of the tub, flicting their tales dangerously, staring mostly at each other, and only occasionally feigning interest in my general direction.

Then I relent, straighten the bathmats out one more time... then leave... and Wifey will yell out 30 minutes later, "The cats have been playing in the bathrooms again..."

Yes, yes, I know. Blasted critters.

[Birdy]

Ollie,
It's so cool that you realize you have subservient role to the royalty visiting your household.
As I type, the one on my lap keeps trying to bite my arm (she doesn't like anyone reaching in front of her).
Why is her face between my body and the keyboard, anyway?
Owwwww
Birdy

[Ollie]

During our two-month sojourn, one of the two unfriendly cats has officially disappeared. Long-haired, older cat. Maybe he/she/it's died. That would be OK, but everyone watched for it, and it never appeared. It's "owner" wasn't too concerned, and still isn't - the cat was unfriendly for 9-10 years. That neighbor will probably snag another cat from the shelter one of these days and hope it can make its niche in the neighborhood pets.

The single unfriendly cat behaves just as it always has - a solitary morning and afternoon visitor, coming into the house, scouting around, "Yes, I'm here - stay away" and then heads back out. I'm not sure what kind of benefits the cat gains from this behavior. Does it have a need to 'check up' on everyone? Perhaps, because he/she/it visits all the park houses, just like the 3 friendly cats do. Walks in, walks around, leaves after 10-15 minutes. Sometimes it'll jump up on a couch next to someone, or on someone's lap, and everyone has to pay attention to 1 or 2 petting strokes, and then quickly lift up your hands in terror for fear of being bitten or racked with razor-claws.

The 3 friendlies, however, still sleep with my wife. They'll wake me up in the morning, pounce on me, play tag and cat-bats over my sleeping body until I wake up, then they shove me out the door so I can catch their morning breakfast. Then they return to our bed and sleep with my wife. Grrr... oh, and she tells me all about it, every morning! All the details. "They're piled up on my pillow and purr until I go back to sleep" or "They warm my toes unlike that worthless husband o' mine..."

Terrible!

Our dog (joined us in June) isn't a lot better. He'll play chase and cat tag with the critters. And he's gracious enough that, when he jumps into bed with my wife, at least he's wagging and happy and makes sure she's wide awake. She'll moan and cover her head, then reach out and drag him down. I come back in from fishing and find Wifey with a dog and 3 cats piled around her. "So THIS is what's going on while I'm putting food on the table!!"

[charliechaplinfan]

Ollie, who do all these cats belong to? I think they think they belong to your family.

[Ollie]

No, the cats belong to four neighbors along our park. The cats wander all over, as do the 4 dogs, and all 18 of our houses have kitchen-door dog-flaps that dogs and cats wander in and out of. The dogs generally follow their owners, but the cats call on everyone, and most of us get twice-a-day visits. "Hi, how are ya? Just checkin' up on ya" kinda things. The cats do play a lot at our house, and I used to think they played MOSTLY at my place. But no, everyone will roll up a ball of paper, toss it down a hallway and the cats give chase, batting it back and forth, chasing each other, leaping and pouncing. The sound of cat-bodies bouncing off of walls is familiar to all of us.

I've got several carpet-covered pillars that the cats like to claw and climb up on, with little ledges, or else that are connected to the shelving 'systems' and they can go from room to room on the shelves - and duck thru the model-train-holes in walls. (I mean, you can't have a model train in only one room, right? Why not cut a hole in a wall and have the tracks go from one room's shelf, thru that "tunnel" and out onto the shelves in the other room? I mean - how ELSE do you get pastries and coffee, juices, etc. delivered from the kitchen? You don't REALLY stand up and walk all the way to the kitchen and back, do you?!! OF COURSE NOT!)

And the cats use those tunnels to go from room to room. Sometimes they'll spend an hour with us, sometimes only 30-40 minutes, then head back out. Sometimes in the heat of the day, they will stay in our house or someone else's and snooze. None of us feed the cats IN our houses (supposedly!) so all feeding is done at our picnic tables in the park. The park has perimeters of bushy thickets and live-oak trees, giant jasmine bushes and thick jungle grasses, perfect for cats to hide in and stalk any of our 80 million dove that constantly coo-coo-coo in our park.

These cats have always visited the park infants, too - which we've got a new little girl a couple of weeks ago, turning my long-time drummer into a First Time Daddy. Wheee... the cats sit around and supervise his best efforts, he claims, usually in condescending looks and tail-flicks. "Watch it, buster - that's an infant you're about ready to drop - is that what you'd do to US?!!" Ah, well, n-no, of course not...

The park cats and park dogs are wonderful additions to all of our families. We hope the next 'pet addition' will be socialized to fit in just as well. We don't know exactly how that's done. I am chagrined to see the 3 cats have all learned to push me out of my high-backed chairs - always pausing long enough for me to warm up the seats. Darned critters...

[charliechaplinfan]

Cats go wherever they please and are more social than given credit for, looks like they go around looking for company.

[Birdy]

Last Sunday I heard a ruckus in the dining room and knew the cats were on the trail of more than a fly. Sure enough, they had a mouse trapped under the china cabinet. I chased it out and after the cats chased it around a few rooms, I cornered the mouse and slammed a coffee can down over it. (Mr. B carried it outside and I don't know what happened after that.)

The cats got a lecture. As in, 'Why am I feeding you if I'm the one who has to catch the mice?'

I guess it paid off; the results were in the middle of the room this morning.
I'm so proud.
I think.

(Please don't think I'm a terrible housekeeper. All country people fight mice during harvest.)

[silentscreen]

Well it's happened. My friend Donna's cat, whom she got from a rescue group, and had probably been mistreated in the past, has finally warmed up to me! Last time I was over, he laid in my lap for a long period of time. Most animals warm up to me right away, but this little guy was a tough nut to crack! Just goes to show that our little animal buddies have long memories and abuse in any form can cause long term trauma. I think he's come over the hurdle!

[charliechaplinfan]

I once rescued a feral cat, she was beautiful but had been mistreated in a house full of students. She never warmed to anyone but me, thinking about it now, she was the perfect pet for one person. She'd never let anyone else near here but she was happy, she had Claude who we got at the same time as her to play with. She was a big hunter and gift giver, usually mice, sometimes birds and once a seagull, now that's one big bird and I saw her do it otherwise I wouldn't have believed it. She'd go up trees in terrible storms and be swaying about, never scared of the elements, just people.

Charlie now 5 and a half months needs castrating, he's mad as a hatter but Claude is just too old to be jumped on and play fight everytime he moves. Charlie goes hell for leather, doesn't hold back, he doesn't get that Claude is in his dotage. I spoke to the vets this morning and they said once he'd been done he would calm down.

[silentscreen]

Valentino is a big lover, but usually only of one person-his master. But this year he's begun to let other people near him, and doesn't run away when they show up. He's a Manx/Tabby, and a really beautiful cat.

That Charlie sounds quite the character Alison.

[charliechaplinfan]

Valentino, what a unique name.

Charlie is a character, he's very funny, he carries things around the house and has dens where he collects his things, he's very soft too, his favorite belonging is Claude, we all belong to him but Claude gets his fullest attention. When Claude was 5 and a half months old he wasn't interested in playfighting but in mating with his sister who was the same age. So perhaps this is better.

[silentscreen]

Valentino, what a unique name.

Charlie is a character, he's very funny, he carries things around the house and has dens where he collects his things, he's very soft too, his favorite belonging is Claude, we all belong to him but Claude gets his fullest attention. When Claude was 5 and a half months old he wasn't interested in playfighting but in mating with his sister who was the same age. So perhaps this is better.

Yes, I'd agree.

[charliechaplinfan]

I sent Chris a text massage after speaking to the vet's nurse yesterday, remember he is a high school teacher. My message read. 'The problem is puberty and the only solution is castration' It was the cause of laughter in the staff room.