Cat Views

Tigger

There once was a cat named “Tigger”
Who imagined himself very much bigger
A bully he became
Loving the new game
Until he met feisty little miss
He could not scare with his hiss
She turned on him with a growl
That, really made him run and yowl
What an awful scare she gave him
He ran and his in his cat condominium

We have big gray and white tomcat named “Squeak”, a name which was really only applicable as a kitten. He loves to sleep in and on high places, especially the ironing board. The problem with this is the stress he puts on my mother! Every time she enters the room where he is sleeping, he rolls over toward her and off the edge of whatever he is sleeping on. He expects her to catch him and she has to rush over and grab him before he hits the floor totally limp. It is quite a problem for her at times but we found a solution. A lovely cat hammock to sleep in and he is so comfy in it he quit playing his game and mom no longer has to rush and catch him!

Everyone knows some dogs love to tear up mail, newspapers, magazines and even clothing! In this same mindset, cats claw furniture and curtains, and will even dig in plants. It is a cat’s nature to sharpen their claws to hunt prey. They love rough textures such as wooden furniture, bamboo, wicker, sea grass and fabrics. Having owned 6 cats at once time that all had claws we took a few defensive measures like protecting the furniture with clear plastic and upholstery buttons. This worked for all but one cat who felt he was a personal paper shredder and would go to great lengths to get into the office and attack the paperwork. It was sometimes quite a battle to keep him out of there. Our solution was to order several cat scratchers from My Cats Heaven. They all loved them, especially our “shredder”! Our furniture and paperwork got a welcome reprieve!!

I was sitting in my chair reading a book and my big white cat usually joins me on my lap, and she didn’t at least not right away. Suddenly, she came rushing in the pet door, into the room, and immediately started circling around the chair. She raced around and around the chair and paused several times and then continued to circle. Finally, she gave up, jumped in my lap, and settled down for a snooze. That I thought was the end of it, and wondered what had gotten her so stirred up. The next day, I found out what it was! I was in the kitchen running cleaner through my coffee maker and had placed a sandwich bag on the counter in preparation for use. Paying attention to the coffee maker I heard a rustling sound alongside me. Knowing that the sandwich bag was flat and wasn’t rustling, I ignored it the first time. The second time I heard it I turned just in time to see a small tail vanishing into a partially opened stack of saltine crackers on the counter. Oh no, I said to myself NOT another lizard! Grabbing the package by the top and pinching it closed, I saw the culprit. A little tiny MOUSE! So, mouse and crackers were removed from the premises to the outdoors. I realized she had brought it in to play with and that was what she was chasing around my chair. Enough of this, I decided it was time to go to My Cat’s Heaven and order her a cat gym to keep her busy and no more hunting for live toys!

A mother cat will often catch prey (usually a mouse or lizard) to teach her kittens how to hunt. Once she has the prey she takes it to her kittens and turns it loose for them to learn to catch. Older cats will catch small prey for food or sport depending upon their circumstances. Our household pets consisted of 6 active cats and one very large dog. One afternoon I walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find all six cats in a circle in the middle of the floor. They had a little mouse running around in the middle of the circle. It was quite a sight and they would bat at it as it came near them. I am standing there wondering what to do about the situation when all of a sudden I yelled, “will one of you guys catch that mouse and take it outside”! Well, the smallest of the cats ran and grabbed the mouse while the others just sat and looked at each other. He scooted out the door with the mouse and that was the last we saw of it. As a reward for his cooperation we bought him his own personal Baza Hammock which he loves and is very protective of.

“Cateristics “of the Turkish Van . We all know that the majority of cats do not like to be wet! These gorgeous Turkish Van cats love water. They are beautiful white cats with red spots on their heads a red tails. They also breed true to their color. Turkish Vans or just “Vans” as they are called have unique personalities.  They are very intelligent and playful cats. Some Vans love to fetch and retrieve and will play with anything they find around and socks are a favored item. Opening cabinets and doors are no problem for them, and if they can’t do it easily the will work out a solution. Dog-like, they will follow their favorite person around. These cats are very adaptable and get along well with other kinds of animals such as dogs, birds and reptiles. Once they meet the other household pets and become a family member they readily establish themselves as the Alpha pet! They do not like being held, but will lie in your lap. Petting and stroking is always acceptable but prefer to have all 4 feet on the ground. Their most distinctive characteristic is the love of water! They love to swim and will swim in streams, ponds, pools, and lakes and even water troughs. Some people will even provide a kiddy pool for them to swim in. After exercising they love to curl up in a cozy cat bed.

Have you ever noticed how cross-eyed some cats are? Siamese are notably cross-eyed, but it is so slight in some that we take no notice of it. When we acquired our delightful little four month old Blue Point Siamese kitten we often remarked about how “klutzy” he was. His wacky antics were very entertaining and always good for a chuckle at the surprised look on his face when he would go to jump from one place to another and fall short. One of his favorite things to do was jump up on the table and join me for an early morning “cuppa”. We did this for some time with no mishaps until, one morning he missed his target destination! He landed right next to my coffee cup (freshly poured and piping hot) and accidently dipped his tail in the cup. Startled, he almost literally flew across the room thus ending our morning coffee breaks! After this incident we really looked more closely at what we had thought were his “klutzy” antics and discovered that he was slightly cross-eyed. We decided we needed to provide a safer place for him to play and purchased a cat gym on which he enjoyed many hours of delightful and safe play.

We hear many stories about wonderful things pets do for their owners and are very complacent about them. Usually, we just take our animals for granted. We read about dogs being trained as “sniffer” dogs, rescue dogs, service dogs and so on. What do we read about cats? They always seem to have to be rescued from some situation they have gotten themselves into. However, cats have saved their owners by alerting them to fires, robberies, even to attacking the perpetrator, and finding help when their owner is in distress. In a recent newspaper article there was a cat who had just been certified as a Service Cat. Truly these are wonderful animals! There are dogs that can even sniff out cancer.

Cats seem to instinctively know when someone is dying or very ill and will gravitate toward this person and their family. The cat will stay as long as necessary to provide comfort. A warm, purring presence next to you can be very comforting in times of stress. Just sitting and stroking their soft fur can provide you with a feeling that you are not alone in your grief. Our pets have a lot to give us and we need to pamper them in return. Cozy pet beds provide them with a comfortable place to curl up and nap, (when not on duty), and cats love condos and perches as well.

Over the years we have had 7 cats (all at one time) but the first two created many memories with their quirky antics. Alex was a big black ALPHA male cat. He was the first cat; our second was a darling Blue-point Siamese named Pye. When Pye first joined our family, Alex was furious!  After several months they finally decided to just barely tolerate each other.  Pye still continued to try to make friendly advances and was always rebuffed by Alex. Two years later we moved to a new location, and shortly thereafter Alex broke his leg. The vet put a metal loop cast on his leg and naturally Alex kept trying to get it off. Finally, as a last resort we put him in a waxed chicken box with holes all around the sides and tied the lid down. He was placed in there when no one was available to sit and hold him. Whenever he was in the box Pye would go and peer into the holes. Every time he did, a big black paw would shoot out and bop him on the nose. Pye would just shake his head, and go right back and try again always with the same result. He would then wander off and curl up in his cushy cat cave keeping a watchful eye on the box. Once Alex was healed and the cast removed the two became really close friends and peace reigned in the household.

There once was a cat named Missy
She was not at all a sissy
She’d take on a dog at a moments glance
The poor dog knew he had not a chance
Little and fierce she was, feisty too
The melee she caused was a big to-do
The poor dogs always left in defeat
She was proud that she couldn’t be beat
So into her cozy cat condo she’d climb
Feeling she’d earned her rest sublime.