Earlier today as I was Googling something, I came across a book entitled, Waiting For Your Cat to Bark? and I wanted to shout to the empty room, "Yes! Yes I am!" The book is actually something about customers and marketing. But I just loved the title.
We have two cats in our home. We certainly are not the owners of those cats. If they could talk, they're probably say that they own us. In that regard, they are normal cats.
But I'm not so sure they are normal cats in every way. And as behaviors emerge from both of them, I wonder if it's something that we're doing that causes them to behave they way they do, or if they are learning from each other. I'm guessing that it's a combination of both.
Our older cat is about four years of age. She didn't begin life acting more dog-like than cat-like. We did have a dog in the house for about a year, though, so perhaps some of her behaviors were learned from him.
What does she do? Well, for one, she can't wait until the humans in the house are finished eating dinner so she can lick the plates or eat whatever scraps might be left. When it comes to cat foods, she's a normal finicky cat. But she loves finding scraps of people food on dinner plates. It doesn't have to be meat morsels, either. She loves macaroni, and even some veggies. Strange cat.
She also loves walking outside on her leash. She waits at the window for my hubby to arrive home from work, then starts meowing at him until he takes her for a long walk. When he's at work, she often sits near the leash and pokes and prods at it as she meows at me. Weird cat.
Our younger cat is in that state that isn't really kitten nor cat. She doesn't require a bunch of toys. Instead, she will entertain herself for hours on end by chasing around the plastic ring from a bottle of milk. Or the plastic milk bottle cap.
This kitty will choose one "toy" as her focus for the entire day and carry it from room to room. As I go about my daily routine, cleaning or putting laundry away, she'll follow me with her toy in her mouth. She'll jump on the bed with whatever plastic doo-daddy she has in her mouth, then proceed to toss it in the air and try to catch it. She'll try burying her toy under the bed covers, then attack it as she finds it. For her, playing does not require any help from humans or from her cat pal.
She's also interested in people food. She will watch intently as food goes from fork to mouth, then jump into your lap to smell your mouth while you're chewing. If it smells like something interesting, she'll jump back down onto the floor and sit there staring and purring. If you ignore her, she'll place her front paws on your leg and ease herself into a sitting-up position, just like a dog begging. More weird cat behavior, if you ask me.
Speaking of weird cat behavior, both cats are sitting by the mailbox at the front door. And meowing. And swishing their tails. I think the mail carrier just delivered something.
No, they're not wagging their tails. That's what dogs do, right? Cats don't wag their tails. And they don't drool. Or do they?
Marilyn Mackenzie has been writing about home, family, faith and nature for over 40 years.
This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.
No comments:
Post a Comment