Is it trust or a balance problem?

Little Samuel R kitten has an interesting balance problem!

I know that he is quite capable of maintaining himself on an even keel.
THe evening that I trapped him, after I set out the trap I sat in the
truck and watched the big hedge where I had set it. A couple minutes
after I left the area, I saw this cute little orange head pop up out of
the middle of the hedge. He had climbed one of the branches inside the
hedge, and proceeded to walk on top of the hedge (a normal privet hedge,
about 10 feet by 10 feet and maybe 2.5 feet tall) over to the trap to
look it over before he walked in. That's the only time I've ever seen
any creature larger than a bird walk on top of hedge.

At home when he plays in the back yard he frequently hops up on top of
the iron pipes running to the gas meter and has a grand time ambushing
his sisters from there. He's as sure-footed as a mountain goat.

But when I'm relaxing in the bedroom watching TV, Sammy will walk up on
my chest and curl up for a petting. But he usually chooses a position on
the edge of my chest where the only thing keeping him from rolling off
is my reflexes. I frequently lie on the edge of the bed, so if I didn't
catch him he'd tumble all the way to the floor.

I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies down,
or if he just trusts me to catch him. I love to have come up for
snuggles, but worry that some night when I'm dozing off I might not be
fast enough to catch him!

Dan

"Dan and Nancy Mahoney" wrote in message
...
Little Samuel R kitten has an interesting balance problem!


I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies down,
or if he just trusts me to catch him. I love to have come up for
snuggles, but worry that some night when I'm dozing off I might not be
fast enough to catch him!

Dan

Hi Dan,

And if you're not, beware the unsheathed claws :^)) Ouch!

Sheenah

PS: Does Miss FB now have her baby sling ?

On 2003-09-08, Dan and Nancy Mahoney wrote:

I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies down,
or if he just trusts me to catch him. I love to have come up for
snuggles, but worry that some night when I'm dozing off I might not be
fast enough to catch him!

His balance is fine and he wouldn't be hurt by a fall. You, on the
other hand, might be hurt as he uses his claws to hold on when he
slips off. Yowie.

"William Hamblen" wrote in message
k.net...
On 2003-09-08, Dan and Nancy Mahoney wrote:

I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies down,
or if he just trusts me to catch him. I love to have come up for
snuggles, but worry that some night when I'm dozing off I might not be
fast enough to catch him!

His balance is fine and he wouldn't be hurt by a fall. You, on the
other hand, might be hurt as he uses his claws to hold on when he
slips off. Yowie.

Yowie here. You called? :-)

Yowie

Dan and Nancy Mahoney wrote:


But when I'm relaxing in the bedroom watching TV, Sammy will walk up on
my chest and curl up for a petting. But he usually chooses a position on
the edge of my chest where the only thing keeping him from rolling off
is my reflexes. I frequently lie on the edge of the bed, so if I didn't
catch him he'd tumble all the way to the floor.

I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies down,
or if he just trusts me to catch him.

More likely, he trusts his OWN reflexes! I've had cats fall off of
things like chair arms (and what a foolish look their faces have, before
they quickly decide "I meant to do that"). I've never had one land any
way but on its feet. (You know, it's the old idea of the levitating
cat: "Cats always land on their feet, toast always lands butter side
down, therefore if you fasten a piece of toast to a cat's back,
butter-side up, the cat should stay suspended in the air indefinitely".)

In ,
Dan and Nancy Mahoney composed with style:

I'm wondering then if his balance is a little bit off when he lies
down, or if he just trusts me to catch him. I love to have come up
for snuggles, but worry that some night when I'm dozing off I might
not be fast enough to catch him!


LOL Shamrock does that. He's a bit clumsy but I think he tries not to
hurt me.

Dan