Catscapades

Wednesday we talked about smart cats. Just like humans and members of every species, cats will sometimes do something dumb. In fact it’s the clumsy accidents and oopsies that has made the cat so famous throughout the Internet. You’ve all seen videos of cats falling, missing their footing when leaping from one spot to another, being frightened by a small lizard or mouse, and so forth. And you’ve probably busted up laughing at your cat when she does something that’s less than becoming of her. Cats are dignified creatures, which is why it’s so hilarious when they take a tumble or get caught up in a precarious situation.

Years ago, while on a long tether, my shaded silver Persian, Crystal, fell into the pool. I saw the whole thing happen. She slipped, hit the water, and somehow amazingly flipped her body into the air and landed back on the cement. She was, as you can imagine, dripping wet and very embarrassed.

I’ve watched kittens fall asleep soundly on the back of a sofa or on my desk and roll off onto the floor. One of my cats landed in the waste basket in my office once. Why they choose to sleep on the edge with half of their body hanging over, I’ll never know. I’m always scooting a cat over so she won’t tumble off the edge of my desk.

Lily once rolled herself up so tightly in the newspaper that she couldn’t move to get herself free. I must say I laughed while unwrapping her, but I didn’t have the foresight to take a picture. Suffice it to say she made an awfully cute little kitten burrito.

Our cat Dinah loved a lap, even when the lap didn’t belong to a human. This was another laughable moment, walking into the house and seeing the calico curled up in a dummy’s lap. Why did we have a life-size dummy in our house? We were involved in theater for a while and one of our stints was making costumes. In this case, they needed a dead guy for a scene in a play, so we created one. I think Dinah actually missed that guy when he left our house to become an actor.

We all like to think our cats are exceptional, and they all are in their own way. Some, like Rags in my Klepto Cat Mystery stories, perform some amazing and unusual feats. A cat might surprise us with their ability to unfasten a latch on a pen, for example, make friends with an orphaned baby bird, find a toy you’ve hidden from her, or express an interest in something cats usually dislike such as riding in the car—or making friends with a vacuum cleaner.

Did you ever see a cat climb a ladder, ride a horse, walk

Winfield Finds a Warm Spot

around the block on his human’s shoulder, ride contentedly in a pet stroller (or doll buggy)?

The truth is, some cats are smarter and learn more quickly than others. Most cats are teachable. Have you seen the uTube video showing cats ringing a bell for food? Cute as the dickens. Cats can also be taught to use the toilet. Some cats figure this out for themselves, but there are also training tools for teaching your cat to do so.

Homeschooling Lily

My mother is convinced that her cat, Smokey, understands her words. And she may be right—she talks to him all the time and she uses key words. She has named the rooms in her house and, as she moves through the house slowly using her walker, Smokey walks along with her and she’ll tell him, “We’re going into the tea room,” and that’s where he’ll lead her. Or she’ll say, “It’s time to go to bed,” and he’ll walk ahead of her into the bedroom. At feeding time, she’ll say, “Let’s go get your supper.” Yup, she says, he trots into the kitchen and waits by his dish.

Our cats seem to know when it’s time to start bugging us for supper based on what’s on TV. Sophie will perk up when she hears certain voices or theme music. She’ll stare at the TV for a moment, then begin hovering at the kitchen door waiting for one of us to go in there and get her food.

Which cat breeds tend to be smarter? Some say it is the Siamese, Bengal and Savannah. Others throw the Burmese in there.

Here’s a site you might enjoy on this topic.

https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/how-smart-your-cat

What’s the smartest thing your cat has ever done?

We’ve reported on an island where cats are practically the only residents, we’ve talked about the cat train in Japan, but here’s an unusual story of cats renting their own apartment in San Jose, California.

Evidently the space was going to be used as an AirBnB. The rent is $1,500 a month for the apartment, which includes everything a person (or a cat) would need except a kitchen. This unusual arrangement came about when a man, who was caring for his daughter’s cats when she went away to college, moved in with his girlfriend, he had no place for the cats. So he rented them their own apartment. I just hope someone spends time with them. Poor little rich kitties.

Here’s an interesting story countering the claim that cats are totally responsible for the decline in and the extinction of some birds throughout the world. https://www.animalwised.com/cats-killing-birds-separating-fact-from-myth-1366.html

Late this year Cats the movie will hit American theaters. I’m excited to see it. I enjoyed the play and I’m curious as to how they recreated the story on the screen. If you’re interested in acting cats, you might find this story fascinating. The behind-the-scene stories are always curious, especially when cats are involved. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/movies/animals-acting-movies-tv.html

Here’s a feel-good story about a North Carolina woman who retired from her work as a corrections officer and jumped right into helping feral kittens. She started by volunteering to feed abandoned kittens and now runs a shelter where she cares for forty cats at a time. Read her story here: http://www.reflector.com/News/2019/01/02/The-cat-s-meow-Snow-Hill-woman-provides-home-for-felines.html