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Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Efficiency...
When Huck wants to be fed, he engages in two kinds of attention-seeking behavior, having dimly connected "receiving attention from a monkey" and "getting fed" in his pointy little cat head.
Attention-seeking behavior #1 is knocking stuff off Bobbi's desk with his paws.
Attention-seeking behavior #2 is hitting Rannie.
Note how he is efficiently combining both behaviors at the same time in this photo:
I remarked to my wife this morning when I sat up on the bed and put my feet on the floor and in short order was swarmed by two heavily purring orange tabbys: "food bowl must be empty".
Ours do the run around the house like hooligans thing sometimes too.
The Pacific Northwest's wintercloud appears to have settled in for the season. It is therefore time for me to observe, once again, that a cold cat is a friendly cat.
WHile it would be foolish to underestimate Huck's "huckness" and ability to carry the frontal assault I have to think Rannie has the edge here by being at the top of the gravity well.
What amuses me is that very few bits of body language translate from species to species, but the drawn-back "I will bitch-slap you into next week" gesture is the same in feline as it is in primate...
"What amuses me is that very few bits of body language translate from species to species"
Heh, have you ever seen a cat express embarrassment? Usually happens when their planned graceful leap turns into a slapstick failure or in one of those rare moments they lose balance and fall off a perch.
I think it's ingrained into the orange tabby genetics to attack the poor tortoiseshell girl when you're bored. Full magazine out of the Nerf Nitron disc shooter usually does the trick though, just spin up the motor and Simon takes off running!
Unfortunately, it seems like Lila is picking up more and more bad habits from the orange beasty every day.
We also have a large-ish cat, and for a while one of his attention-seeking behaviours was to knock over the footstool by charging at it, leaping and hitting the top edge with both paws. Then he'd hurdle over the resulting devastation and hurtle off to a safe distance.
All very amusing when it was just the footstool, but one day we discovered he could take out an armchair too...
Lady cat sits on my foot and glares at me. This is if laying in the doorway being loaf-cat and giving me pitiful looks doesn't do the trick. If the foot-sit fails to produce food, she goes for the knees.
Our tortoishell -- Nikita -- will do the attack on us. She'll ambush me, but my wife seems to be lower in rank in the cat's mind, so she'll follow her through the kitchen, slapping her legs and feet. Sappho, our brown tabby, issues a gentle, lazy slap as the food human (me) walks by: usually on the foot or leg.
A couple of my dogs just sit on the floor and STARE at me. Usually works, since it is the only time they use this body language with me. I think it is some kind of doggie mind control....
Nermal knows to knock books off the headboard. (my kids call him "Sam," but he truly looks like Nermal and is ridiculously cute) It really ticks my wife off when the books start falling, so that she picks him up. Lo and behold, he's getting some hand contact and purring like an old small block. My wife falls for it every time.
I remarked to my wife this morning when I sat up on the bed and put my feet on the floor and in short order was swarmed by two heavily purring orange tabbys: "food bowl must be empty".
ReplyDeleteOurs do the run around the house like hooligans thing sometimes too.
The Pacific Northwest's wintercloud appears to have settled in for the season. It is therefore time for me to observe, once again, that a cold cat is a friendly cat.
ReplyDeleteWHile it would be foolish to underestimate Huck's "huckness" and ability to carry the frontal assault I have to think Rannie has the edge here by being at the top of the gravity well.
ReplyDeleteEither way I wish there was video.
BGM
i love Random Numbers' coloration
ReplyDeletewait...which is which? Did the one knock the other off the desk?
ReplyDeleteHeh, going for the twofer is going to provoke SOME reaction from you, just not necessarily the one Huck wants... ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat amuses me is that very few bits of body language translate from species to species, but the drawn-back "I will bitch-slap you into next week" gesture is the same in feline as it is in primate...
ReplyDelete"What amuses me is that very few bits of body language translate from species to species"
ReplyDeleteHeh, have you ever seen a cat express embarrassment? Usually happens when their planned graceful leap turns into a slapstick failure or in one of those rare moments they lose balance and fall off a perch.
I think it's ingrained into the orange tabby genetics to attack the poor tortoiseshell girl when you're bored. Full magazine out of the Nerf Nitron disc shooter usually does the trick though, just spin up the motor and Simon takes off running!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it seems like Lila is picking up more and more bad habits from the orange beasty every day.
We also have a large-ish cat, and for a while one of his attention-seeking behaviours was to knock over the footstool by charging at it, leaping and hitting the top edge with both paws. Then he'd hurdle over the resulting devastation and hurtle off to a safe distance.
ReplyDeleteAll very amusing when it was just the footstool, but one day we discovered he could take out an armchair too...
Lady cat sits on my foot and glares at me. This is if laying in the doorway being loaf-cat and giving me pitiful looks doesn't do the trick. If the foot-sit fails to produce food, she goes for the knees.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1
Inky tries to trip me as i negotiate the stairs in the morning. he's sneaky like that.
ReplyDeleteOur tortoishell -- Nikita -- will do the attack on us. She'll ambush me, but my wife seems to be lower in rank in the cat's mind, so she'll follow her through the kitchen, slapping her legs and feet. Sappho, our brown tabby, issues a gentle, lazy slap as the food human (me) walks by: usually on the foot or leg.
ReplyDeleteA couple of my dogs just sit on the floor and STARE at me. Usually works, since it is the only time they use this body language with me. I think it is some kind of doggie mind control....
ReplyDeleteNermal knows to knock books off the headboard. (my kids call him "Sam," but he truly looks like Nermal and is ridiculously cute)
ReplyDeleteIt really ticks my wife off when the books start falling, so that she picks him up.
Lo and behold, he's getting some hand contact and purring like an old small block.
My wife falls for it every time.