Watching my cats enjoying the sun

[piston]

The only time the three sisters get comfortable close together is outside bathing in the sun, after winter. One is keeping watch and the two others are comfortably licking themselves in the sun. All within a foot of each other.

The sisters! Cats are so independent!! They'll charm you to get what they want and then walk away as though they were saying: "Thank you! I don't need you anymore...."

[piston]

And the dog looks on the whole scene, disinterested. But he has a role too. Idiotic graduate students who let their dogs loose because they're too lazy to give them a walk generate utter chaos among the neighborhood pets. And so the dog is there to claim territory for all of us, humans, cats and dog.

Is it a function of being a graduate student that community rules, however tacit, do not apply, even though you live in the neighborhood? I think so! These supreme beings are far too intellectual to belong to any community!! They are the ones that will save us all from our own mistakes......................

[Ralph]

My two cats are indoors all the time. They're really great and the male cat is the most cuddly, affecting demanding feline I've ever seen. He actually knocks the laptop off my chest when I'm working in bed so he can lie on my chest and put his face against mine.

That said, I'm still not a cat person and deeply regret that I can never have a dog.

[piston]

The black member of the resident female feline trio must have a IQ of 150 or so. She knows exactly what button to push to get her food. Today, she pulled at a sweater hanging on a chair with the obvious intention of bringing that chair down, with a bang, to get my attention. With a royal expression on her face, she then looked at me actually saying: "See, you can't avoid my presence. Now, serve me!!!"

[Chalkperson]

The black member of the resident female feline trio must have a IQ of 150 or so. She knows exactly what button to push to get her food. Today, she pulled at a sweater hanging on a chair with the obvious intention of bringing that chair down, with a bang, to get my attention. With a royal expression on her face, she then looked at me actually saying: "See, you can't avoid my presence. Now, serve me!!!"

My first American Cat, a black Burmese called Turbo Too (sic) (my British Cat was Turbo One) used just one claw to awaken me when she wanted feeding, she would push out one claw on her right paw and gently scratch my closed left eyelid, never hurting, but, always getting me out of bed quickly to feed her...I sure do love cats...

[HoustonDavid]

Sadie is a 24-lb lovely Calico who can take up an area the size of the throw rug on the floor.
Since the living room is all of 15X10, and my entertainment center, 1,000 DVDs and 800 CDs
take up one of the long walls, it is necessary to walk around her in a sprawled sleeping position.
She obviously knows where to sprawl to maximize her nuisance value. She makes up for it by
begging for regular belly rubs, and there is a lot of belly to rub. Long ago, she taught me that
stockinged feet were the preferred rubbing instrument.

Belly rubs progress to grabbing and eventually to a well aimed bite to end the cycle. Fortunately,
she makes it fairly easy to anticipate her, which saves my feet from some scarring. She is more
like a puppy when I'm available, and curls up at my feet much like man's best friend. She was a
two-year-old when we were introduced and fell in love at an animal rescue event, and many of
her habits were well ingrained, one of which was no lap sitting; instead she sits on the cushion
next to me when she wants to relax with me, which is often. Of course, we share the bed at night,
although she often comes and goes. We are into the twelfth year in our relationship, three less than
my two wives, but she might eventually catch up. I hope so.

[NancyElla]

My five felines welcomed me home from Florida tonight -- in their fashion. They demanded their "crunchies" -- the food they expect before I go to bed. They are a sort of family. Old Tom, the Papa, had been our first acquaintance. He brought little Mama Cat (before she was a Mama Cat) to dine at our outdoor bistro. They disapeared for awhile, and eventually reappeared with the three bits of fluff, Tipper, Bootsie, and Stryper. Now, of course, the bits of fluff are bigger than Mama Cat, and Tipper is even bigger than Old Tom. But Mama Cat is still in charge; she is still the queen. The others groom her and sniff at her tail when they gather in the kitchen. In any dispute, Mama Cat is victorious, even though she is much smaller than any of the others, and about 1/3 the size of Tipper or Tom.

Stryper is the one with the high IQ. He has learned to rattle the latch on the front door when he wants to come in. The first time I heard him doing that, I thought someone was trying to break into the house! When he wants to go out (or be fed, or petted, or wants anything he doesn't have), he proceeds to shred whatever paper he can sink his teeth into. He knows that will get me on my feel almost immediately. And yes, I could just make sure there's not paper for him to shred, but I don't even want to talk about what happens then. . .

[david johnson]

The cats at my house are Sam & Cymba (Siamese), Shadow & Spartacus (reformed alley cats).
All great fun.

[ravel30]

What a cool thread.

My fiancee and I only have one cat that we love dearly. One among many things that I find interesting and special about him is that he doesn't like to hunt birds (and he actually like birds) as opposed to most cats. It is to the point that the regular wild birds that visit our yard and our birdfeeders are not even afraid of him. That is such a big plus for avid birdwatchers like my fiancee and I.

The other cats in the neighborhood do like birds though and it created situations and 2 casualties in the past. It would be great if our cat could protect the birds at times but I think that it would be asking a lot.

Matt.

[Prometheus]

Speaking of behaviors of cats:

I had an unusual meeting with a stray cat yesterday.

While my vehicle was parked in a residential area waiting to pick someone up I noticed a medium sized cat walking in the grass.

I slightly rolled down my window and gave a "meow" to see if it responded. The cat looked at me and then proceeded to walk toward my car and then jump on the hood of the car. It walked up on my windshield and looked directly at me and meowed repeatedly.

Then this non shy cat jumped upon the roof of my car. All was silent for a minute, then I saw its head upside down outside my passenger window as it tried to enter my vehicle from the roof. It pushed its nose and front paws through the window and I then rolled the window up enough that it couldn't get in.

The cat then lay on the roof for a few minutes until someone stated "is that a cat on your car?!" and it was startled and ran away.

[RebLem]

I remember being home alone with my sister's cat once during a holiday. The cat wanted out of the house, and went to the front door. He looked back at me with the most imperious look you can imagine, as if to say, "Don't just stand there. Get your sorry ass over here and open the damn door. And make it snappy!"

[living_stradivarius]

He looked back at me with the most imperious look you can imagine, as if to say, "Don't just stand there. Get your sorry ass over here and open the damn door. And make it snappy!"

Sounded like you were complaining about marriage there.