Catscapades

We’ve all experienced cattitude in our own cats, neighborhood cats, the feral cats you might tend to down in the baranca. Something occurred to me recently as I was photographing Lily—while the cat’s eyes show immense expression, his or her personality or mood shines through even from the back. Here are a couple of photos I’ve taken and kept of cats who wouldn’t look at the camera.

Can you see a story in these photos, just the same as you could if the cats were looking at the camera? Look at these cats’ stance—way of posing. What do you see in these photos? Can you read their body language?

When you think about it, cats have a unique appearance that can be replicated using only a few lines. Just look at some of your favorite cat motifs and art. It doesn’t take a well-lighted, forward-facing cat photographed or drawn in great detail to be recognizable as a kitty-cat. The only other creature that is similar to a cat in shape and appearance is, perhaps, the owl.

I have a bowl with a sleeping cat carved into it. My friend, the artist, used just a few cuts quite artistically and it is clear to anyone who looks at the bowl that this is a sleeping cat. Of course, I don’t use it, it’s displayed in my home. You’ve probably seen or you own a t-shirt or drawing with a few graceful lines that obviously depict a cat without detail. Likewise, you may have a pair of slippers replicating a cat or measuring cups (yes I have some), serving spoon, jewelry (of course), note paper, wind chime, etc. that are obviously cats but they don’t have dimension or depth. And how many of you sent out Christmas cards (and receive Christmas cards) with cats? Oh, I see a lot of raised hands.

Today enjoy your cat from all angles. One of my favorites is when her tummy is exposed. Ooooh, I think I’ll share a few pictures of kitty tummies next week.

Are you as surprised and pleased as I am to see so many sweet cat videos, photographs, blogs, and websites on the Internet? As we have discussed throughout the week, cats have been big in literature for a long time. But who knew they’d take over the Internet? I wonder if that’s why my Klepto Cat Mysteries are selling so well—the internet has primed people to yearn for more cat stories. I know that Rags has fans who simply devour the Klepto Cat Mysteries and can’t wait for the next one.

You might be interested to know that the first cat video to go viral was in 2006. Grumpy Cat is certainly a prime example of cats gone crazy on the Internet. And you might also be familiar with Lil Bub and what about Nala? She’s the little cat who was left behind at a shelter after all of her friends and siblings were adopted. Finally someone adopted her and ended up going viral with her story and her antics. She has 3.6 million followers.

So why are we so enamored with cat videos and photos? According to experts, they make us happy. I smile when I see a sweet video of kittens at play or a mother cat protecting her baby or an older male snuggling with orphaned kittens or a wonderful adult cat fending off a bobcat through a heavy glass door or making friends with a deer. It’s all wonderful and smile-worthy. These videos make us happy. We feel more energetic when watching them. They touch our heart and our soul. One of my favorite Facebook videos is Simon—it’s animated, black and white pencil-like drawings and oh such reality in the cat’s movements and the cat’s actions. Love Simon!

I hope that cat videos are saving more and more cats as we begin to care more and do more—volunteer, donate, and adopt. There’s a lot being done on behalf of cats, but there’s a lot more that we can do.

In the meantime, here’s a site that tries to explain why cats are taking over the Internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_and_the_Internet

I had fun (and I hope you did too) reminiscing about cat names yesterday and I thought you might enjoy a site I stumbled across in my research featuring cat names inspired by literary cats. Are you familiar with the cat name, Oopsacat or Jellylorum? How about Mungojerrie? Those are some of the cat names in T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats—and that will be portrayed in the movie, Cats, coming out next year. Do you remember Moppet and Ginger in Beatrix Potter’s books? What about the cat named Crookshanks in one of the Harry Potter series? Who among you remember Thomasina? Do you recall the name of the cat in the Incredible Journey? I didn’t. It was Tao. There were Si and Am in Lady and the Tramp. Here’s a site listing some of the more famous literary cats. Who doesn’t remember Lucifer in Cinderella? Sassy was a star in Homeward Bound and the animated Aristocats had numbers of cool cats with interesting names: Thomas O’Malley, Duchess, Peppo….The Lion King has inspired many people to name their cats Mufasa, Nala, and Simba. What about Figaro in Pinocchio?

Have you ever named a cat after a literary cat? Tell us about it. In the meantime, Check out this fun site. https://www.findcatnames.com/literary-cat-names/

First let me say that I apologize for getting this too you so late in the day. My computer monitor crashed and it took longer than it should have to replace it because my 97-year old mother needed some help. So for what it’s worth, here’s today’s post:

Some would say it doesn’t matter what you name your cat; he won’t come when you call him, anyway. The fact is, many cats go through their entire life without a name. But names matter to us. Humans name their cats, dogs, horses, goats, goldfish, and even that big old spider that builds his intricate web in the old oak out back each year. Heck, some of us name our cars. I haven’t heard of anyone naming their cell phone, but I imagine it happens. I mean this society is extremely dependent on personal cell phones. There surely are people who’ve named their constant phone-companion.

How do you name your cat? Do you dig up a name you’ve held in reserve for years? You know, the name that if you’d had another child you’d have used it—the one you’ve saved for just the right pet. Do you use the name the cat came with? Or do you get to know the cat before naming her—is she rowdy, graceful, shy, impish, funny, sweet, gentle…? Are you the type who labels cat based on her purr-sonality?

I usually choose names I’ve had on the back burner for a while—if it applies to the cat. Sometimes that name doesn’t fit the cat, so I choose one that fits him or her. Currently, we have a short-hair tortie. When she came to us at 10-weeks-old from the streets, I immediately thought she had a rather old-fashioned, classic look to her and a sort of elegance that went along with it. I chose the name Sophie to fit that impression. (Now I realize I wasn’t all that original in my naming of her because Sophie/Sophia is one of the top names these days for baby girls.)

It took me longer to come up with a name for our second kitty. She was only about seven weeks old when she came to us. She’s a dilute tabby with soft smudges of orange and her fur is medium length—she’s actually quite fluffy now. Her demeanor, to me, seemed soft and gentle—a sweet spirit. Most of the names I had in reserve or came up with seemed too strong for her. Eventually, it came to me—Lily. (One of the top names used for cats today.)

Well, Lily really does seem to know her name. But then, she doesn’t want to miss out on anything—food, a treat, extra petting… It just occurred to me that maybe she doesn’t know her name all that well because she comes even when I call Sophie.

Other names I’ve used for my various cats have also appeared on the top 10 or 20 lists for popular cat names, so I guess I’m not all that original: Molly, Mandy, Crystal, Rosie, Carly, Callie, Daisy, Max, Gus…and some were not on  any list—Winfield, Dinah, Snowflake, Braveheart, and PomPom.

Here’s a fun site featuring how to name your cat. https://www.catster.com/cats-101/cat-names-and-how-to-name-your-cat

These two sites feature rather unusual cat names. Enjoy: https://www.catnamesmeow.com/unusual-cat-names.htm

Cats are genius at generating smiles and oftentimes laughter. Who doesn’t get a chuckle out of a cat’s antics, whether she’s dancing on her back legs trying to catch a moth or draped over a chair totally relaxed and oblivious to what’s going on around her? You bring in new toys in order to entice a reaction from your cat and she seldom disappoints. Oh there’s the occasional cat who will take one look at the goofy stuffed veterinarian toy you gave him and walk away. But generally he will go bonkers when he sees something new in the house even if it’s an empty bag or box.

It’s easy to read the body language of a cat at play. But what about some of the other poses a cat may display? If you want to know what’s going through that furry little head, pay attention to his eyes, ears, tail, stance, and even his whiskers. Here’s a pretty good rundown of what your cat’s body language indicates. https://www.knowyourcat.info/info/bodylanguage.htm

Some say that a cat does not communicate verbally—but if you’ve been around cats for very long, you know that they can get their point across quite well using sound. Ever heard a cat purr or growl? Some cats are talkative and will actually look at you and meow or meh or mew or prrrt or make some other cat-like sound. When you put that sound together with the cat’s body language you can often figure out exactly what she’s trying to tell you—“I’m hungry.” “Pet me.” “Bird—do you see that bird—I want that bird—oh, this is so exciting!!!” “Leave me alone. Go away.” I’m sure you can add many other cat phrases to this list.

Do you speak cat? Do you wish you could understand what your cat is saying? There are a lot of theories as to why cats are vocal and what they’re trying to tell us. One is that cats do not use their voice when communicating with other cats. They purr and growl, but they evidently don’t meow. Have we taught them to speak?

Often, a cat will start meowing whenever his person is on the phone. Why? Some say it’s because the cat think the person is talking to them. The cat doesn’t see anyone else in the room, you must be talking to her.

Why are some cats so much more vocal than others? Evidently breed has a lot to do with it. Cats with Siamese background can be chatty. There’s a little part-Siamese cat in our neighborhood who certainly lives up to her chatty reputation. The more you talk to her the louder and more talkative she becomes. It’s charming, but I wouldn’t like to have such a vocal cat in my house 24/7.

Our tortie, Sophie, is a quiet cat by nature, but she meows frantically whenever Dennis goes outside. He’s her person and she doesn’t like it when he’s out of her sight. She claws at the door and meows until he returns. This is not the case if he drives away in his car, but only if he goes out into the yard. It could be that she’s telling him to bring her some grass.

Because of the drought, we no longer have a lawn, but an occasional rain will bring a few weeds. Once several months ago Dennis caught Sophie nibbling on a houseplant. He reprimanded her, then went out and found a bit of devils grass for her. When she cries and carries on about him going outside, he sometimes brings her another piece of the weed. So that could be why she cries for him, she’s yelling at him to bring grass.

Last week I walked up the steps to a quaint feed store here in town where I get my kitty litter and was greeted by Sterling, the shop cat. She walked across my path meowing and meowing. Of course, I stopped and greeted her. Then I saw what she must have been trying to tell me about. There was a dog in the store. I think his name was Hank. The employees were fawning over Hank—a rather large lab—and they were feeding him treats. I think Sterling was complaining about the fact that Hank didn’t even work there and he was getting all of this special treatment. Cute.

Lily speaks when she brings me one of her stuffed toys. Out of the blue I’ll hear her announce loud and clear that she has captured a stuffed bunny or bear or moose and she’s bringing it to me. She doesn’t talk much, but occasionally, she’ll look at me and meow. I respond, “I love you, too.” Then I realize that she might have been saying, “Get up—I want that warm spot on the sofa,” or “I’m hungry—what are you going to do about it?”

If your cat could talk, what would you like to hear him say?

Now wouldn’t that be an interesting TV show—cats dancing gracefully across the stage, displaying an occasional chasse, dos-a-dos, or feather step with a graceful leap now and then? Or what about a show featuring people dancing with their cats? In our house—especially in the kitchen—we engage in a dance of sorts with our cats as we attempt to get a drink of water, prepare dinner, or fix a sandwich. Lily has all sorts of moves she uses to make sure we know she’s there and hungry—Lily’s always hungry. It feels like trying to walk through Jello as Lily winds her way around my ankles and leans against my leg as I try to take a step. I do know a trick or two that deters her, however. Either I put her supper bowl down before I start a kitchen project or I pull a roll of tin foil wrap from the drawer. She hates the sound of tearing or crumpling tin foil and will usually leave the room.

Experts say, “Give your cat something to do.” “Spend more time playing with her.” The premise is that she won’t be so needy and in your face and in the way. But I believe there are some cats so fixated on food that there is no way to keep them out from under foot, except a closed door (how cruel). Even stepping on Lily’s paw is only a temporary solution. Of course, I don’t do that on purpose and it breaks my heart when this happens. But you’re bound to step on a paw once in a while when the cat becomes Velcro around your ankles anytime you’re in the kitchen.

It’s a good thing cats are so cute and endearing. As annoying as it can be to have a cat underfoot, I KNOW that if Lily stopped this activity, I’d actually miss our kitchen dances.