Catscapades

Olivia is a year old. She has plenty of toys and interesting cat condos, tunnels, furniture to play on. She has perching places at several windows where she loves to watch the neighbors, their pets, and wild birds. We’re here with her practically 24/7, yet she sometimes seems to be bored. In fact she will come into my office while I’m working and attempt to entice me to take a break. Most times I can’t resist her—she can be persistent. But we all know some cats are more needy than others and when we work from home we have to set boundaries.

Well, I often tickle her fancy when she wants to play and I want to work. I usually do need the break and the laughter and she evidently needs the connection and the workout. She likes me to throw her chew sticks and toys up and down the hallway for her to chase.  Occasionally she’ll bring me toys to throw—yes, she will play fetch. But sometimes she just seems bored. Nothing I suggest to her interests her, so I try to change it up—come up with something new and interesting for her. It’s called enrichment.

I’ll hide her treats around various cat condos and toys and encourage her to find them. I’ll reconfigure things—tip a cat condo over, make a tent for her—toss a blanket over the tunnel or a chair. I’ve created temporary cat condos out of boxes with doors and windows. That’s always a popular distraction for the cats and entertaining for us.

Catnip is a real mood booster for Olivia. Our 17-year-old cat, Sophie, also enjoys a little catnip. And don’t forget about the plain old paper bag. With toys inside and out and a little participation on your part, a bag can entertain a cat for a long time.

For Olivia’s and my entertainment sometimes I’ll toss wads of paper into the air and watch her jump after them. She loves catching or swatting them in the air. And boy can she jump.

Have you tried an app on your phone designed to intrigue cats? I used to have an adorable program on my computer where you could play with kittens, feed them a bottle, pet them and hear them purr. It was so much fun for me and for my, then, kitten, Max.

Entertaining a cat and being entertained by a cat is what it’s all about. Shame on any of us for ever letting our cats become bored.

Have you ever wondered why your cats are so suspicious? They sneak up on things—even toys they’re familiar with. They sniff their food and treats before eating it as if they suspect you’ve laced it with poison or something. They stalk a piece of new furniture or a package delivered by Amazon or a bag of groceries as if it’s going to transition into an enemy monster. And boy does a cat become suspicious of you when you seek her out for some reason. You might want to simply pet her, but she seems to fear the worst—a trip to the vet, a bath????

Although cats have been domesticated for around 10,000 years, they still carry their wild ways with them—they seem to not fully trust us—at least not all the time. Many of us are now rescuing cats that may be one or more generations feral, and trust can be an issue for them. Sure, Olivia and Sophie (both rescues) will curl up on my lap and purr contentedly as if they don’t have a care of a fear in the world. But let there be a small earth trembler, a rumble of thunder, or the doorbell rings and they become their ancestors—feeling a sudden rush of deep embedded fear.

Cats are also curious. What may appear to be a suspicious streak in a cat might actually be the cat acting on his inbred curiosity, in a bit of a suspicious way. But beware. While she’s sneaking up on something or carefully and cautiously examining something, if the item were to fall or something leaps out at her or she hears a loud noise behind her, she’s apt to jump straight up in the air, bolt, and hide out somewhere safe for hours. Your best course of action—get out of the way and leave her alone.

Do your cats have unusual fears? Sure a cat might be afraid of a boisterous dog—but certainly some cats make friends with the family dog. Loud noises and unexpected sounds are high on the list of things cats fear. A cat will often run and hide when a loud or unusual noise breaks the silence. And most cats have a go-to hiding place where they feel safe. A sudden sound can be startling. Even we humans will flinch when we hear a loud, unexpected sound, and we might duck or run away from it.

Where does your cat hide when she feels like she might be in danger. For our snow-shoe-type cat, Max, it was under the covers in my bed. Lily (our sweet tabby girl) evidently thought that was a good idea because she learned to hide with him. The two did not interact much and they did not snuggle, but they did hide together under the covers when the gardeners were here, it was raining hard or hailing, and especially when there was thunder. Lily was terrified of thunder—Max, not so much.

Olivia has worked through some of her fears—the sound of large or noisy vehicles, for example. She loves sitting at an open window and watching the neighborhood activity each afternoon, but she’d run when a loud truck rumbled by. Now, however, she runs to the window to watch the garbage truck or a fire truck drive past. She still hasn’t come to terms with motorcycles, though.

One day recently my, then, year-old twin great-granddaughters were here and they were crying. That freaked out Olivia. For several weeks after, she’d run away upon seeing a child on a bicycle out the window or in a stroller or walking past. She’d panic when hearing a baby on TV crying and she’d run into another room. She has worked through that fear as well. Now she watches children play outside through the windows out of curiosity, as it should be.

A kitten or a new rescue might jump off your lap and run when you sneeze. Max never totally conquered that fear, although he got to where he’d just flinch and look at you strange when you’d sneeze or cough.

What about fireworks? I’ve come to really dislike them because of the fear they cause in so many animals. We had a large Akita show up in our yard one July 4^th and climb into a friend’s lap for comfort during a fireworks show occurring a mile away. Our cats have all learned to tolerate those fireworks as long as we remain calm.

We learned recently that Olivia is afraid of earthquakes. We’ve had two small ones lately and they really upset her. She didn’t seem to know what to think and she ran into one of her comfort zones—my bedroom closet. When she finally returned, she appeared suspicious and very, very cautious. Experts believe that animals can sense or feel an earthquake before we feel it, and perhaps stronger and louder than we do. Whatever she senses or hears or feels, it sure does cause panic for her. What is your cat afraid of?

Cats love to hide and they’re good at it. Your cat might hide during a play session with you so she can practice her hunting maneuvers—you know, the one where she jumps out when most unexpected and attacks a toy or your hand or your ankle.

But sometimes they hide from you for hours at a time—maybe not intentionally. They might just need to get away from the household sounds and the bright sunlight coming through the windows and just curl up alone in the dark.

Smokey, (my mothers cat and my model for Rags in the Klepto Cat Mysteries), used to hide in the garage. And he was good at it. He was an indoor/outdoor cat. Sometimes Mama would call for him to come in for “supper” over and over again with no response. Finally he would appear on his own schedule. Other times she would spot him tucked amidst her flowers in the backyard, or in the rafters in the garage. Once he somehow got closed in the car in the garage. That was puzzling. And there were times when she was sure she saw his form in the garage rafters, so she closed the kitty door, only to have him show up outside at the sliding door meowing to be let in.

Does this sound familiar to you? I think we’ve all had similar experiences with an indoor/outdoor kitty who was supposed to be indoors by dark-time.

But cats hide in the house, too. Just when you think you’ve discovered all of your cat’s hiding places, she will find another one. Cats love to hide. I think they enjoy knowing they have the power to drive us crazy looking for them. Don’t you feel a bit silly when you’ve spent several minutes frantically calling for and looking for your cat, only to finally see her crawl out from under a sofa you were sure she no longer fit under or from atop the refrigerator?

Cats bring many things into our life and many surprises. Just after writing this, I saw Olivia trot to the office door which opens into a hallway. She crouched and waited there for a few seconds, then leaped out and attack our older cat, Sophie who Olivia evidently heard walking slowly down the hallway. Oh! Olivia.