Catscapades

We all think our cat is pretty darn smart. Most of them know how to ask for food. They may join you in the kitchen and walk around in circles meowing hoping you’re smart enough to know they’re hungry. Some wait at the designated feeding station for you to bring their food. Most cats will give signs when they want to go out, play, be petted, or when one of their toys has slipped under the door of a closet, for example. That’s pretty smart. But some cats, at least some of the time, show signs of super-cat intelligence. Is your cat really smarter than the ordinary cat? Maybe sometimes and in some ways.

Here’s one expert’s suggested for testing your cat’s intelligence: Try to teach kitty a “trick,” such as “sit” or “give a paw,” using small food treats as motivators. If he accomplishes the tasks, you have a smart cat. If he can’t be bothered, you have a typical cat.

Some cats teach themselves or call on instincts to express what we might consider intelligence. Sometimes Olivia brings me toys. I toss them and she fetches and brings them back. Sometimes. Cats seem to have a sense of timing and agendas. They react to what they hear or see on the TV, for example and seem to know when it is time to eat or go to bed or play.

Cats are  pretty good with routines and they often don’t like it when a routine is changed by a phone call or you having to run an errand or sleeping in, for example. A cat might be used to you getting up every weekday morning at a certain time for work or a walk. Some cats are puzzled when you don’t get up at the usual time on a Saturday morning. And you wonder why they do their best to wake you up at the usual time. Is this a sign of intelligence?

Here’s an interesting article on cat intelligence. I think you’ll come away from reading this with a greater appreciation for some of your cat’s smarts. https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/how-smart-your-cat

What are some of the smartest cat breeds? Abyssinian, Bengal, Balinese, Burmese, Siamese, the Savannah and others.

Guess what, you get to hug your cat some more. Last week we celebrated National Hug Your Cat Day. Tomorrow is International Hug Your Cat Day, so I’d recommend continuing to give your cat precious hugs and snuggles (if she’ll let you) all week long.

Olivia isn’t a real hugger. She’ll rest an affectionate paw on me and she’s a great snuggler—but like most cats and especially most calicos, she snuggles when the mood strikes her, not necessarily on my whim. I have the kitty-cat snuggle whim all day long.

Here’s a link to some of the most adorable cat hugs you’ll ever see. Each hug even has a name, like the best-friends-forever hug and the impatient-kitten-hug (soooo cute). There’s even sleeping-cat-dance hug. Enjoy. https://www.entirelypets.com/hug-your-cat-day.html And in case you’re interested, here’s a site listing the most affectionate cat breeds. Yes, this is worth checking out before you get another cat. https://www.rover.com/blog/most-affectionate-cat-breeds/

If your cat isn’t much of a hugger, make them look at these sites with you.

Frankly, while Olivia is a snuggler, on her terms, the only time she really hugs me is when she’s wresting with my arm—kicking it and biting like I’m one of her kick-toys. Sigh.

Today I’d like to celebrate our adopted cats. Actually most of them are adopted, unless you’re a cat breeder or your cat had kittens and you kept one. What are some of the ways to adopt a cat? I’ve personally, I’ve bought cats at pet stores, I bought one from a breeder, I’ve adopted cats from friend’s litters and I once adopted one from a litter born at a nursery. Mostly I’ve adopted cats from local shelters.  I’ve also rescued cats I’ve found roaming free, and I’ve found cats in the most unlikely places.

Max’s mother brought him and his siblings over the back fence into our woodpile for safe-keeping. I took over with those kittens when they were weaned in order to keep them from becoming feral, like the mother cat. I kept Max and adopted out the other two.

Pom-Pom was a shelter kitten when I found and adopted her. Dinah and Maggie were each adults in shelters when I took them in.

I’ve had a lot of cats over my life and each came with a different story and in a different manner. And each of them brought something special into my life.

Isn’t it fun to reminisce about the cats you’ve loved? And by the way, if your home is too quiet and you’re not laughing a lot and tripping over a sweet fur-being, this might be the time for you to visit your local shelter and consider adoption one more time.

I mean who needs to be reminded to hug a cat? Isn’t it a reflex action? When your cat saunters up to you or you see a beautiful cat out and about, you just want to scoop them up and snuggle. At least you want to run your hands over that plush fur.

But every cat is different in their hugging or snuggling preferences. First, they choose the time for a snuggle. Some cats could sit in a lap nonstop all day long every day. Others stay out of laps, but want to be close enough to touch you—lean up against you or just lay a paw on you.

There are cats who hug their human’s neck, ride around on their shoulders, or just want to snuggle against their cheek. Ohhh, that’s sweet. And some cats show their affection from a distance. You try to hold them and they squeeze out from your grip like a water balloon. These cats might love you oodles and gobs, but from a distance. They sit close and stare into your face, doing the slow blink to show their affection.

Most cats are probably a combination of these things depending on their mood. Well, tell your precious fur-baby that today is National Hug Your Cat Day and you intend following suit and getting in at least a couple of yummy hugs.

A lot is changing in our world and it is affecting our wild animals—those whose environment we have encroached on. It’s probably safe to say that every one of us is living where wild animals once roamed, and we’ve managed to kill off some species. Here, it is the bald eagle (and other birds of prey) and the grizzly bear. The grizzly never had a chance, but we have been successful in reviving the eagles—to a point, anyway.

Lately, animals that have lived hidden away in the wilderness are coming closer and closer to civilization. Here, we’re seeing the condors flying overhead, bears are visiting backyard trash containers, and there are more mountain lion sightings than ever before—closer than ever before.

This might be because of wildlife cameras. They might have been taking shortcuts through neighborhoods for years without us knowing it—except for a very occasional sighting. But now we are aware that large wild animals are coming close and they’re causing trouble and concern.

They’re wild animals, after all—doing what they’ve done for centuries—whatever they can to stay alive and well-fed.

Today I’m sharing some of my fun and fascinating wild life photos of cats in captivity. Yeah, it’s sad to see them behind bars. Is it worse to see them alongside the road, hit by a car?