Catscapades

As you may know I include a lot of facts in my fiction stories. My writing goal is to teach, inform, entertain, inspire, and delight through my cozy cat mysteries. So I do a lot of research. One day I decided to include a freckled cat in a story. Hmmm, a freckled cat. Is there such a thing? I didn’t know, so I looked it up and found that some cats have a genetic “disease” that gives the appearance of freckles. It’s called Vitiligo disease.

From what I learned, this is something that can affect humans, dogs, cats and other animals. It’s basically a loss of pigment in the skin, which can be seen on human skin. On cats, however, while it affects the skin it shows up on the cat’s fur. A black cat may start turning white in spots or blotches. It’s really rather interesting to see. Here’s a site showing a cat with Vitiligo disease. There are many other sites with pictures in case you want to pursue your own research on this malady. https://www.inspiremore.com/elli-vitiligo-cat/

Don’t try to deny that your cat doesn’t have interesting, strange, charming, annoying quirks. All cats do. In fact, you can love many cats over a lifetime and never have two with the same odd quirks.

For example, we had a cat that drank water with his paw. Winfield would dip his paw in the water bowl and lick the water off his paw. That’s how he drank. Speaking of water, and I’ve heard of several cats like this, Lily preferred drinking fresh water out of the tap. We had a morning ritual where I’d run a small trickle of water from the bathtub spigot for her and she’d get in the tub or lean over from the edge of the tub and ever-so happily lap it up.

Sophie loved paper. As a kitten she’d hear the fax machine ring, and she’d run into my office to grab the paper that came out of it. She’d then take it into the living room and shred it. She liked shredded paper beds, so we’d give her the wads of paper that come with shipments and she’d make herself a nice bed from it.

Some cats love having their tummy rubbed. Others will viciously attack anyone who comes near their underside. I knew a cat who liked to have her face washed with a wash cloth each morning. Lily greeted me every morning with one or more of her stuffed animal toys. She’d pick one out of her basket, bring it to me, and drop it at my feet.

Max used to push small toys under furniture and even the refrigerator, then wait eagerly for me to come along with the yardstick and fish it out for him. You might think your cat has lost a toy, but they usually remember where they last saw it. Olivia will sometimes greet me in the morning by staring under the dresser. I’ve learned to get the message—“Oh, you found one of your missing toys, did you?” I get down on the floor, dig around under there, and usually out pops a toy, which makes for a very happy kitty-girl.

I knew a cat that rode on her owner’s shoulders when he’d go for a walk.

Olivia goes through spells where she’ll bring me a special toy to throw for her over and over. Yes, she plays fetch. Olivia also plops. I’ve never seen this before. When least expected she’ll plop over onto her side. Sometimes it’s right next to you as you sit on the sofa, other times it’s in front of you as you try to walk across the room. Plop!

When Olivia wants to look out a particular window, she sits in front of it peering through the blind slats. When you come into the room, she meows. If you don’t pay attention, she starts climbing through the blinds. That’s when you’d darn well better raise them or you might have a disaster on your hands.

There are cats with superpowers. They jump seemingly several times their height. Olivia likes to attack imaginary things on the hall walls, jumping, sometimes several feet high. Other times she’ll leap against a wall and kick off with her hind feet, always screeching like a banshee.

Our Himalayan, Katy, wouldn’t sit on me, but she often sat next to me, always with one paw on me. And she put me to bed every night. Once I was settled, she’d go off to parts unknown for a while, usually returning to spend the rest of the night with me.

Some cats open cupboards and help themselves to their treats (or their owner’s treats). They’ll hide their toys or their owner’s jewelry or money or…

What interesting things do your cat do?”

I can’t believe how many new cat breeds keep coming to the forefront. Have you ever heard of the Black Bengal? Wow! What a beauty. Here’s a site showing a Black Bengal kitten where the spots show through. Stunning. https://bengalcatrepublic.com/what-are-melanistic-black-bengal-cats

You might also be interested in knowing that these cats are extremely rare and expensive. While they reportedly make a wonderful pet in some ways, don’t expect a cuddly lap cat or a quiet home after purchasing one. They are highly active and independent and do not like to be picked up or held. And they are vocal—evidently loudly vocal. Some say these are specialized needs cats because they are so energetic.

There’s also another very interesting cat I don’t recall hearing about. It’s known as the California Spangled Cat. This cat is a cross between many breeds including the Abyssinian, a Siamese, American short hair, British, Shirt hair and Angora came about as an attempt to create a leopard-like domestic cat in order to raise awareness of wild leopard poaching for their pelts. And they priced them extremely high in order to fund projects to protect endangered species in South and Central America.

The California Spangled Cat was first introduced through a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog in 1986. They’re so rare they are not recognized by any breeder association. Now these are good-natured cats that evidently make excellent pets. Se photos and learn more here: https://www.petguide.com/breeds/cat/california-spangled 

It’s common knowledge (or is it?) that your local fire department won’t come out simply to remove your cat from a tree. Some will under certain circumstances. Others will suggest that you call a tree trimming company or a company with a crane, and  I’m pretty sure they will charge you

But here’s a sure way to get help from the fire department when your kitty-cat is really stuck in a tree. At least this is how it worked for a young man in Indianapolis.

He climbed up into the tree to help the cat get down and he got stuck. Someone called the fire department and, of course, they came out to help the boy. In this case the cat was evidently incidental in the rescue.

Best case scenario, keep your cat inside. It’s healthier for the cat and the local bird population. If your cat loves the out of doors, build or buy him a catio.