Buffy & Birds - "Cat TV"

Purrs for everyone caught in a snowstorm.

It's not nearly as cold as in some parts of the Eastern US (no snow
here) but it's decidedly Winter temps in southern SC. I've been
scattering wild bird seed on the patio the last few days.

Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds at the
feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and sipped. Buffy
was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought all of
them would at least like to watch birds flitting around. Honestly, she
doesn't seem to care. I know she can see them, she just finds them boring.

Oh well, I love watching them. I spotted a male goldfinch in my
birdbath last week, which is what prompted me to buy bird seed. I
hadn't put out any food (niger/thistle) geared to attract finches. The
man at the feed store said, "It's too early for goldfiches." Tell that
to the bird! I know one when I see one. This was a bright yellow male.
I'm pretty sure there was a female around, too. They generally travel
in pairs.

I had to do a double-take when I spotted it. I've *never* seen a
goldfinch here in South Carolina. I used to see them a lot when I lived
in west Tennessee. Then again, I had a thistle feeder on the patio
there. I can't have bird feeders here. The damned raccoons won't let
me. They demolished every sort of feeder I tried. Any sort of
raccoon-proofing is useless since they have opposable thumbs. I lost at
least three bird feeders before I gave up. Not spending money trying to
raccoon proof! I just scatter bird seed on the patio... and only when
it's really cold.

Buffy is not interested. She's like, "Yes, I see the sparrows and the
cardinals, etc." yawn Birds seem to bore her.

Jill

Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 5:16:30 AM UTC-5, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Squeakytoy ignores sound from the TV, including "normal" cat voices. However, if anything comes on that sounds like her voice, which you can figure out from her name, she immediately alerts and replies.

We think she is an alien and is trying to answer the mothership.

--
Will in New Haven

On 1/25/2016 10:05 AM, Will in New Haven wrote:
On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 5:16:30 AM UTC-5, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Squeakytoy ignores sound from the TV, including "normal" cat voices. However, if anything comes on that sounds like her voice, which you can figure out from her name, she immediately alerts and replies.

We think she is an alien and is trying to answer the mothership.

Of course she is!

Buffy ignores television completely. Even cat food and treat
commercials. Then again, there probably isn't a cat on TV with exactly
her same voice.

She is bothered by my watching videos on my computer. There's something
about the recordings that irritate her, even when the videos don't
involve cats.

Jill

On 1/25/2016 5:16 AM, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Ooof! Of course you can't buy it. But you can likely buy that video.

I think I saw that show, BTW. I don't get BBC but sometimes local
public television stations will air the same shows. Birds are very
smart creatures. Yes, they use deception (all animals do) to attract
mates and procreate.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

On 1/25/2016 10:05 AM, Will in New Haven wrote:
On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 5:16:30 AM UTC-5, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Squeakytoy ignores sound from the TV, including "normal" cat voices. However, if anything comes on that sounds like her voice, which you can figure out from her name, she immediately alerts and replies.

We think she is an alien and is trying to answer the mothership.

Of course she is!

Buffy ignores television completely. Even cat food and treat
commercials. Then again, there probably isn't a cat on TV with exactly
her same voice.

She is bothered by my watching videos on my computer. There's something
about the recordings that irritate her, even when the videos don't
involve cats.

My cats never liked videos made for cats, which would feature squirrels
and other small animals running around, or birds chirping and flying around.
Actually, to say they didn't like them is an overstatement. They simply
didn't take any notice of them.

They were much more interested in videos made *of* cats. The instant there
was a feline - of any species - on TV, they were glued to the set. They
particularly liked images of leopards and mountain lions slinking around,
probably because those cats look and move more like domestic cats than, say,
a big male lion. The big cats on TV certainly didn't sound anything like
my cats, so it wasn't about that. I think they just liked the images. I think
it goes without saying that they really enjoyed shows about housecats like
themselves. Especially loudly mewing kittens.

I guess my cats were social types, so they liked to watch TV that had
characters they could identify with, and maybe were similar to cats they
knew. That would be like a human watching a show about people and their
relationships. And maybe a cat who likes to watch shows about prey animals
is similar to a human who isn't quite so social, and prefers to hole up
in their den watching cooking shows.

This was back in the days of Roxy and Smudge, btw. Smudge is now basking
in the Big Outdoors in the Sky, and will never have to spend another day
of eternity inside four walls. Roxy is still with me, but she doesn't pay
much attention to the television. That's because I insist on watching shows
about boring humans. Licky usually doesn't pay attention to the TV, either,
but once in a while, he is inexplicably riveted to the images. There's no
pattern to what might grab his attention, at least not that I've noticed.

--
Joyce

May the great galactic kitten always purr you to sleep.

On Fri, 29 Jan 2016 03:27:57 -0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

My cats never liked videos made for cats,

GLyN has never been much interested in TV at all, though he DID go
through a phase where the computer mouse cursor fascinated him.

But I have had cats who watched TV. One loved nature shows, with
pretty much ANY animal involved, and she seemed to pay close attention.

Others just seemed to like the usual prey animals, and some just
anything that moved.

On 1/28/2016 7:27 PM, Bastette wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

On 1/25/2016 10:05 AM, Will in New Haven wrote:
On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 5:16:30 AM UTC-5, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Squeakytoy ignores sound from the TV, including "normal" cat voices. However, if anything comes on that sounds like her voice, which you can figure out from her name, she immediately alerts and replies.

We think she is an alien and is trying to answer the mothership.

Of course she is!

Buffy ignores television completely. Even cat food and treat
commercials. Then again, there probably isn't a cat on TV with exactly
her same voice.

She is bothered by my watching videos on my computer. There's something
about the recordings that irritate her, even when the videos don't
involve cats.

My cats never liked videos made for cats, which would feature squirrels
and other small animals running around, or birds chirping and flying around.
Actually, to say they didn't like them is an overstatement. They simply
didn't take any notice of them.

They were much more interested in videos made *of* cats. The instant there
was a feline - of any species - on TV, they were glued to the set. They
particularly liked images of leopards and mountain lions slinking around,
probably because those cats look and move more like domestic cats than, say,
a big male lion. The big cats on TV certainly didn't sound anything like
my cats, so it wasn't about that. I think they just liked the images. I think
it goes without saying that they really enjoyed shows about housecats like
themselves. Especially loudly mewing kittens.

I guess my cats were social types, so they liked to watch TV that had
characters they could identify with, and maybe were similar to cats they
knew. That would be like a human watching a show about people and their
relationships. And maybe a cat who likes to watch shows about prey animals
is similar to a human who isn't quite so social, and prefers to hole up
in their den watching cooking shows.

This was back in the days of Roxy and Smudge, btw. Smudge is now basking
in the Big Outdoors in the Sky, and will never have to spend another day
of eternity inside four walls. Roxy is still with me, but she doesn't pay
much attention to the television. That's because I insist on watching shows
about boring humans. Licky usually doesn't pay attention to the TV, either,
but once in a while, he is inexplicably riveted to the images. There's no
pattern to what might grab his attention, at least not that I've noticed.


None of my cats have ever paid any attention to the TV, with one single
exception. One evening I was watching a nature show, and Skeeter (RB)
was lying on my lap, facing me. At one point in the show, a wolf
howled. She immediately jumped up, turned around, and laid facing the
TV. She watched intently until the show was over.

Years ago I had a screen saver (Anybody remember those?) called Rat
Race. It showed rats, wearing numbers, racing around a track. Another
RB cat (I've forgotten which one) used to lie on top of the monitor and
hang his head down so he could watch that.

On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 2:29:17 AM UTC-5, Joy wrote:
On 1/28/2016 7:27 PM, Bastette wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

On 1/25/2016 10:05 AM, Will in New Haven wrote:
On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 5:16:30 AM UTC-5, Jack Campin wrote:
Buffy simply doesn't seem to care about birds. Persia was always
thrilled by "cat TV". In the summer when there were hummingbirds
at the feeder, she paid rapt attention as they zipped around and
sipped. Buffy was all Ho-hum, there's a bird hovering. Guess it's
time for a nap.

Buffy is only the second cat I've ever had but I truly thought
all of them would at least like to watch birds flitting around.
Honestly, she doesn't seem to care.

Our lot are all fascinated by them, either in the garden, on
a nature DVD or as recorded on a CD.

But here's a new one. Marion spent yesterday evening at her
computer watching a BBC nature documentary series about deception
strategies in animals. Ollie was on here desk beside her and
ignored the whole thing - until he heard the call of a baby seal.
That got him REALLY interested.

Where can you get baby-seal-flavoured cat food?

Squeakytoy ignores sound from the TV, including "normal" cat voices. However, if anything comes on that sounds like her voice, which you can figure out from her name, she immediately alerts and replies.

We think she is an alien and is trying to answer the mothership.

Of course she is!

Buffy ignores television completely. Even cat food and treat
commercials. Then again, there probably isn't a cat on TV with exactly
her same voice.

She is bothered by my watching videos on my computer. There's something
about the recordings that irritate her, even when the videos don't
involve cats.

My cats never liked videos made for cats, which would feature squirrels
and other small animals running around, or birds chirping and flying around.
Actually, to say they didn't like them is an overstatement. They simply
didn't take any notice of them.

They were much more interested in videos made *of* cats. The instant there
was a feline - of any species - on TV, they were glued to the set. They
particularly liked images of leopards and mountain lions slinking around,
probably because those cats look and move more like domestic cats than, say,
a big male lion. The big cats on TV certainly didn't sound anything like
my cats, so it wasn't about that. I think they just liked the images. I think
it goes without saying that they really enjoyed shows about housecats like
themselves. Especially loudly mewing kittens.

I guess my cats were social types, so they liked to watch TV that had
characters they could identify with, and maybe were similar to cats they
knew. That would be like a human watching a show about people and their
relationships. And maybe a cat who likes to watch shows about prey animals
is similar to a human who isn't quite so social, and prefers to hole up
in their den watching cooking shows.

This was back in the days of Roxy and Smudge, btw. Smudge is now basking
in the Big Outdoors in the Sky, and will never have to spend another day
of eternity inside four walls. Roxy is still with me, but she doesn't pay
much attention to the television. That's because I insist on watching shows
about boring humans. Licky usually doesn't pay attention to the TV, either,
but once in a while, he is inexplicably riveted to the images. There's no
pattern to what might grab his attention, at least not that I've noticed.


None of my cats have ever paid any attention to the TV, with one single
exception. One evening I was watching a nature show, and Skeeter (RB)
was lying on my lap, facing me. At one point in the show, a wolf
howled. She immediately jumped up, turned around, and laid facing the
TV. She watched intently until the show was over.

Years ago I had a screen saver (Anybody remember those?) called Rat
Race. It showed rats, wearing numbers, racing around a track. Another
RB cat (I've forgotten which one) used to lie on top of the monitor and
hang his head down so he could watch that.

The wolf howl incident brings back a memory. We were camping in the desert in Arizona and suddenly there were coyotes yipping and howling not that far from us. BD, our Malamute, stuck his head out of the tent and let loose with a much deeper howl, something we had never heard him do before. The coyotes shut up. I think they may have thought "timber wolf, time to go." When we were back in Ohio, BD would occasionally do his wolf howl.

--
Will in New Haven

On 1/29/2016 10:04 AM, Will in New Haven wrote:
The wolf howl incident brings back a memory. We were camping in the desert in Arizona and suddenly there were coyotes yipping and howling not that far from us. BD, our Malamute, stuck his head out of the tent and let loose with a much deeper howl, something we had never heard him do before. The coyotes shut up. I think they may have thought "timber wolf, time to go." When we were back in Ohio, BD would occasionally do his wolf howl.

-- Will in New Haven

He was telling them to back off!

Jill