“A lot of the so-called mischievous behavior of cats is simply an attempt to get the owners’ attention,” Serpell says. “They’ve learned by trial and error if they sit on your desk and throw your pens on the floor, eventually you’ll give them attention or get up.” Taking an extra 30 minutes every day to interact with your cat could lead to a happier dynamic.I don't know where the cultural trope of 'aloof cats' came from. Whenever my ex would lounge on the sofa to watch TV, his big black tomcat, Lucifer, would perch on his shoulder like a parrot on a pirate. No sooner would I lay down on the bed than Mittens would come a-running from wherever she was in the house to curl up next to my head.
When Huck gets anxious for attention, he'll rare up on his hind legs and knock stuff off of desks with a swipe of his paw. Holden will get upset that I'm paying attention to the strange flat glowing panel in front of me, rather than the cat, and mill around in the footwell of my desk while mewing plaintively until I finally pick him up and balance him in my lap for a bit (which is awkward because Holden is way too large to fit in a lap and it takes both hands to keep him balanced there.)
