Catscapades

Not all feral cats keep to themselves and out from under foot. In fact, some can be quite assertive and cranky and downright dangerous.

It’s evidently commonplace to receive alerts about dangerous animals on the loose in Florida—but these alerts generally refer to bears, escaped tigers, snakes or alligators. Recently, however, the alert pointed at a cat—a feral cat on attack. That rascal actually put two people in the hospital.

I don’t want to give cats a bad rap, but even beloved pet cats can become aggressive and even attack their humans. One woman claims her cat was misbehaving and she told him she was going to put him in his room if he didn’t straighten up. What did he do? He rebelled and attacked her. She had to call the police. That cat, as I understand it, soon found himself as a ward of the local humane society.

There’s also the story of a cat going berserk in the cockpit of a plane. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be that pilot. A berserk cat is not a pretty sight.

How do you handle an angry and aggressive cat? Most experts recommend prevention. In other words, provide plenty of entertainment and stimulation for the cat. Do not engage in rough play that might provoke the cat. Learn the triggers and avoid them—yelling, aggressive behavior of your own, etc. Here’s a sight with some good ideas for dealing with an aggressive cat. https://www.wikihow.pet/Make-Your-Cat-Stop-Attacking-You

If you’re into celebrating cats, today should be a good day for you. Not only is it National Take Your Cat to Work Day, it’s also National Garfield Cat Day.

National Take Your Cat to Work Day. Now that’s an interesting concept. How many of us have a cat that would enjoy or even tolerate being taken to work at an office downtown or a hospital or gift shop or restaurant? How would it work out in your work environment? I can’t think of any cats I’ve ever had that would allow it—and think of the chaos an unwilling cat could create at a workplace.

But many of us with cats work at home, so cats are in our workplace all the time, every day, twenty-four hours.

Most of the writers I know have cats. Writers and cats just kind of go together. It works for me and it has for fifty years. But there are many other types of “cottage” businesses where cats reside and watch over the work their people do. With the advent of the pandemic and isolation, millions of workers brought their work home amid busy households with children, dogs, gerbils, and, of course, cats. And for many of them there were definitely adjustments to be made.

However I also know a couple of cats that would enjoy accompanying their person to their workplace. I’ve never been blessed with such a cool and calm cat.

Then there are cats with jobs—cat greeters in bookstores, feed stores, nurseries, and other places of business. There are therapy cats working in nursing homes and places of high stress such as airports. Have you heard about Duke Ellington Morris? He was found starving in a cat colony and rescued. When his FURever family realized what a special cat he is, they decided he could be a helping cat and he is. The Duke is now part of the WAG Brigade at the San Francisco Airport as a therapy cat for passengers. He’s so adorable in his uniform.

There are a lot of stories about this cat on the Internet. Here’s one with many pictures. https://coleandmarmalade.com/2023/06/15/duke-ellington-the-therapy-cat-with-over-a-decade-of-experience-gets-his-wings-at-sf-airport/

Meanwhile, please let me know if you took your cat to work today and how that went for you.

If you read everything that comes across your desktop or laptop about the abilities of the cat, like I do, you’re surely developing a new respect for them. I mean, look at the myths and former scientific studies about cats that have been blasted in recent years. Scientists and animal behaviorists are discovering what many of us have known for years, that cats—at least many of them—are affectionate, thinking (conniving), intelligent beings.

Here are results of another study about the cat’s brain power. Some researchers have decided that cats have a more profound mind than thought. Yeah, how many of us who’ve lived with cats for twenty, thirty, and more years could have told them that?

But this study is about the map of the cat’s mind. Researchers seemed surprised to learn that cats carry a map in their head of their home—each room and nook and cranny. Outdoor cats have an even wider map—a map of their neighborhood. They know where they can go safely and where there is danger—which houses have kind people and which have scary dogs, where the best hunting grounds are and what to expect at certain times in certain places—children outside, someone with treats on their porch, a bowl of water, butterflies…

Yes, now experts say that cats picture the invisible in their mind. They can actually see a diagram or maybe a more detailed picture of places that are familiar to them before they actually go to that place. They carry the picture of it in their mind. This puts a new spin on the term mind-mapping, doesn’t it?”

I think this subject is fascinating as are so many things about our cats. As you notice, I use the mind-pictures aspect in my stories quite often—where the human characters rely on mind pictures to communicate with a cat. Ever try it? Don’t knock it until you do. I’ve sure had it work in very interesting ways.

I predict that you’ll be looking at your cat this week from a very different angle.

Do you have pangs of guilt when you walk out the door to run an errand, visit someone, go jogging, or, heaven forbid, leave on a trip? If your cats are like mine, they know when you’re getting ready to leave and they react—most likely with those sad stares that you interpret as, “You’re leaving me? How can you do that? I’ll be all alone…” And if you’re like me, you tell your kitty, “I’ll be right back. I love you.” Or “Mommy has to go get your food. Okay, I’ll bring you a toy, too. I won’t be long. You go take a nice nap and wait for me.”

Or “Yes, honey-britches, I’m going on a trip. Mommies have to get away sometimes, but I’ll be back. Kathy and Valerie are coming to visit you,” I say cheerily. “You’ll have fun. They’ll play with you and pet you and feed you. You’ll be just fine and I’ll be back, I promise.”

How much of that do you think your cats understand? Well, it makes me feel better.

Do you think your cats wait patiently for your return? Do they sit on a window sill watching for you or do they curl up and sleep. I envision Olivia curling up in a ball and mourning us.

Some cats become terrors when their people are gone—getting into all sorts of mischief like teens left alone.

How do they react when you return? If they peer at you from under a chair or from around a corner, it’s possible that they have been into some sort of mischief. Don’t worry, you’ll find it—eventually.

Maybe they avoid you when you return—snubbing you, wriggling away from your overtures?

Or do they greet you excitedly when you walk in the door? Yeah, that’s our dream, but they are cats after all.

 When I return home from an errand or walk or trip, I get something in between these. It depends on how long I was gone. Sometimes Olivia is waiting at the window when we return. Other times we don’t see her for a couple of hours after we get home. She has a spot under the bed where she likes to hang out when she wants to worry us or make a statement. One thing that seems to be consistent with a cat is that they aren’t—consistent that is.

If your cat’s like Olivia, you can’t second guess her reaction. You don’t know which purrsonality you’ll find when you return home after being gone. All I do know is that I love coming home to Olivia no matter her mood. She eventually comes around and forgives.