Funny habits
At night, we shut our cat Cleo into the downstairs rooms (living room, dining room and kitchen) so that she has access to a comfy sofa, her food and water dishes and her litter box. Normally, by the time we’re ready to go to bed she’s happy to have a last bit of food while we’re locking up, then she toddles off to her bed. However, she occasionally gets very playful when we’re going to bed, and refuses to be shut in.
This is obviously no big deal: we can leave the door open to the downstairs rooms, and she’s free to wander as she likes, so when this happens, we just go to bed ourselves. Inevitably, what happens about 20 minutes later (just as we’re falling asleep, inevitably) is that we hear her little chirrups, which gradually become more strident. In the darkness, we see the fluffy tip of a tail moving around the end of the bed, and then a clunking noise as she tries to open the wardrobe doors. She never does this during the day, so quite why it’s necessary late at night I don’t know. Perhaps she can hear Mr. Tumnus calling to her from Narnia? Or perhaps it’s just a convenient way of generating enough noise to get us out of bed. Either way, it works, and one or other of us will get out of bed.
At this point she’ll rub around our legs (the way cats do), and trot obediently down the stairs ahead of us to go into the kitchen. She has some more food while we’re there, then settles down on her bed.
Cats are weird sometimes. Her food (she has a complete dried food) and water is available all the time, her bed is there, and she’s free to roam around the house. So I have no idea why she needs us to supervise her when she feeds (she won’t eat unless we’re there and stroking her), or to put her to bed.
1
Oh dear, you haven't quite got the hang of owning a cat yet have you - You think you own a cat; oh no you don't, the cat owns you, and this is how she demonstrates the fact..........
by Jonathan Briggs @ 11/03/2008 7:38 pm • Permalink •
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Awwww! She just wants a a little snack (with company) and a tuck-in before she goes to sleep. That's adorable!
by Kaivalya @ 11/03/2008 9:38 pm • Permalink •
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Yep, it's the cat being condescending to the staff.
As usual.
Mind you, our one has recently started scratching on a willow chair in the bedroom at night in order to be let out. Little f**ker won't stop 'til one of us gets up and opens the window for him.
Then again, revenge was ours this morning - he wanted out at 4.30, just as the wind was getting up. And then he didn't get let back in (despite repeated yells) 'til gone 7 by which time he was disgusting and wet - but also very, very windswept. I'm sure he'll get his revenge - but for now, it's one-up to us.
It won't last.
by Lyle @ 12/03/2008 11:01 am • Permalink •
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I always have a vision of cats daring each other to see how far they can push their "owners" - boasting "I got mine to...." over a drink of milk or puddle water.
by julian @ 12/03/2008 7:22 pm • Permalink •
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Jonathan Briggs: Oh, I had cats for most of my childhood, so I"m well aware that they own us
Kaivalya: She is really cute like that. I've never known a cat that doesn't dive on a food bowl ignoring all else in the room.
Lyle: Hehe. Cleo is actually very good most of the time. And the kind of behaviour above is funny rather than genuinely annoying. But I'm very familiar with (other) cats whinging to be let out. Or in. And then -- after miaowing non-stop to come out/in for half an hour, they sit on the doorstep while you're freezing with the door open, and change their minds. Cleo is a house cat (and actually shows no interest in going out), so we don't have that problem at least.
julian: Hehe.
After reading LOLCats for a while, I can't only think of cats talking ungrammatically, whatever they're saying. I sometimes mentally insert the O HAI in bold all caps above Cleo's head when she looks up at us, which is very sad.
by bsag @ 12/03/2008 10:07 pm • Permalink •
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One of my dogs is just like that, but you shouldn't encourage this behavior or your cat won't stop doing this.
by Portable Dog Crates @ 13/03/2008 1:12 am • Permalink •
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Yes, when Psycho Cat tries the "I really want to go out" then pausing at the doorway, I have to say I do push him out with my foot. No, not kick him - just push him out the door.
He's learning that that kind of f**king about is just Not Acceptable. He gets the same kind of treatment on the 5am scratching-the-chair thing too - no matter how foul the weather turns out to be, he still gets shoved out.
It's a case of "You wanted out. Reap what you sow."
by Lyle @ 13/03/2008 9:19 am • Permalink •
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Nice post! Thank you!
by Sebastian @ 20/03/2008 8:37 pm • Permalink •
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perhaps, just perhaps, she likes people.
cats have a different language, but they're just as social as dogs and humans, if not more so.
"you don't herd cats - you throw a ball of string"
by Saltation @ 18/04/2008 12:08 am • Permalink •
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