The Picky Roadcat
We have developed a breakfast routine in our house. The only two players
with unchanging parts are Harri and me. When breakfast time rolls around I head for the kitchen. When she sees me headed that way Harri dashes in ahead of me. I pick up the metal bowls and drop them in the sink, pick up Harri and put her on the counter with appropriate sound effects ("Magical flying kitty, zoom-zoom", etc), then wash and dry the dishes. I then split two cans of soft food between 4 bowls, give Harri hers on the counter, but Sam's in a cardboard tray (he's a messy eater), and put the others on a boot tray on the floor. I hadn't realized just how much Harri relied on the little details of our routine. One day last week I was a bit rushed, so I skipped the sound effects when I picked up Harri. I proceeded with the rest of the routine, but moments after I put Harri on the counter she jumped down. She then stood in front of me (her usual signal that she wants to be picked up), put her front paws on my leg (her signal that she wants to be picked up NOW!), and extended her claws. The latter I interpreted as her saying "Come on, human, you know how it's supposed to be done. Do it again, and do it right this time!". I picked her up again, this time with the sound effects, and the rest of the breakfast routine went just fine. Just to be sure I wasn't misinterpreting Harri's message I tried the routine again a couple of days ago without the sound effects. Again she jumped down, clawed my leg, and waited for me to do it the right way. I'm not sure why the sound effects matter, but apparently they do. |
The Picky Roadcat
On May 18, 9:14*am, D Mahoney wrote:
Just to be sure I wasn't misinterpreting Harri's message I tried the routine again a couple of days ago without the sound effects. Again she jumped down, clawed my leg, and waited for me to do it the right way. I'm not sure why the sound effects matter, but apparently they do. Cats really are creatures of habit, aren't they? Harri's so cute. Jane - owned and operated by the equally adorable Princess Rita |
The Picky Roadcat
"D Mahoney" wrote in message ... We have developed a breakfast routine in our house. The only two players with unchanging parts are Harri and me. When breakfast time rolls around I head for the kitchen. When she sees me headed that way Harri dashes in ahead of me. I pick up the metal bowls and drop them in the sink, pick up Harri and put her on the counter with appropriate sound effects ("Magical flying kitty, zoom-zoom", etc), then wash and dry the dishes. I then split two cans of soft food between 4 bowls, give Harri hers on the counter, but Sam's in a cardboard tray (he's a messy eater), and put the others on a boot tray on the floor. My 4 are similar. Rambo gets picked up and put on the counter near the food, Opie jumps on the island and waits, Felix and Oska head for the laundry room and sit and wait in front of their place mats. Oska talks continously until he gets his food. |
The Picky Roadcat
"D Mahoney" wrote in message ... We have developed a breakfast routine in our house. The only two players with unchanging parts are Harri and me. When breakfast time rolls around I head for the kitchen. When she sees me headed that way Harri dashes in ahead of me. I pick up the metal bowls and drop them in the sink, pick up Harri and put her on the counter with appropriate sound effects ("Magical flying kitty, zoom-zoom", etc), then wash and dry the dishes. I then split two cans of soft food between 4 bowls, give Harri hers on the counter, but Sam's in a cardboard tray (he's a messy eater), and put the others on a boot tray on the floor. I hadn't realized just how much Harri relied on the little details of our routine. One day last week I was a bit rushed, so I skipped the sound effects when I picked up Harri. I proceeded with the rest of the routine, but moments after I put Harri on the counter she jumped down. She then stood in front of me (her usual signal that she wants to be picked up), put her front paws on my leg (her signal that she wants to be picked up NOW!), and extended her claws. The latter I interpreted as her saying "Come on, human, you know how it's supposed to be done. Do it again, and do it right this time!". I picked her up again, this time with the sound effects, and the rest of the breakfast routine went just fine. Just to be sure I wasn't misinterpreting Harri's message I tried the routine again a couple of days ago without the sound effects. Again she jumped down, clawed my leg, and waited for me to do it the right way. I'm not sure why the sound effects matter, but apparently they do. You have a role to play in that little girls life. You may not know exactly what it is, but she certainly does. You seldom see a cat so protective of her human. Bet she knows you would be sad all morning without the bit of zoom zoom flying kitty. Besides, she knows perfecftly she isn't 'just one of the cats' and has to maintain her position. Jo |
The Picky Roadcat
D Mahoney wrote:
We have developed a breakfast routine in our house. The only two players with unchanging parts are Harri and me. When breakfast time rolls around I head for the kitchen. When she sees me headed that way Harri dashes in ahead of me. I pick up the metal bowls and drop them in the sink, pick up Harri and put her on the counter with appropriate sound effects ("Magical flying kitty, zoom-zoom", etc), then wash and dry the dishes. I then split two cans of soft food between 4 bowls, give Harri hers on the counter, but Sam's in a cardboard tray (he's a messy eater), and put the others on a boot tray on the floor. I hadn't realized just how much Harri relied on the little details of our routine. One day last week I was a bit rushed, so I skipped the sound effects when I picked up Harri. I proceeded with the rest of the routine, but moments after I put Harri on the counter she jumped down. She then stood in front of me (her usual signal that she wants to be picked up), put her front paws on my leg (her signal that she wants to be picked up NOW!), and extended her claws. The latter I interpreted as her saying "Come on, human, you know how it's supposed to be done. Do it again, and do it right this time!". I picked her up again, this time with the sound effects, and the rest of the breakfast routine went just fine. Just to be sure I wasn't misinterpreting Harri's message I tried the routine again a couple of days ago without the sound effects. Again she jumped down, clawed my leg, and waited for me to do it the right way. I'm not sure why the sound effects matter, but apparently they do. That's the most adorable story! My cats all have routines, too, but I don't think they'd notice if I failed to do, say, the special Licky Song with the Special Licky Dance, prior to feeding him. :) (Granted, I don't perform this number at any particular time, so I doubt he associates it with anything other than the human's lunacy.) Harri is apparently an intellectually gifted kitty! -- Joyce ^..^ To email me, remove the XXX from my user name. |
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