The Strange Passions of Tiny Tabbies

I have a 7-lb gray tabby with a slight, long, pointy-faced kind of build.
She is very polite and cautious, but seeks us out for "boneless cat" kind of
affection and conquers her rubber snake several times a day with great
fanfare. This is a "thinking cat." The kind who gives you a little inquiring
"meeeyyu?" when approaching, just so she doesn't take you by surprise. The
kind who knew me for three months before she threw her lanky leg back and
asked for a tummy rub. The kind who never puts her claws out when a human is
touching her. She really does have impeccable manners. But she has an outlet
for those pent-up housecat frustrations. She has a way of blowing off steam.

I had my first inkling of it when I was cleaning a guest room and found a
foam board I had used for a presentation (the kind that folds in three, and
you mount things on the inside and set it up on a table, pre-powerpoint
style) that had hundreds of little chunks chewed out of it. It was clear to
me that she had been slinking away and tearing into the thing for a while,
but I never saw her in action until the other morning.

I was in that place where our cats love us the best--in the bathroom, on the
toilet. She was of course in there with me. I reached for a loose roll of
toilet paper, it had maybe half an inch of paper on it, and knocked it onto
the floor. I watched as a strange, obsessive look came upon my usually mild
and pleasant little girlycat. She hunched over the tp roll, wedging it
against her back feet. She sat up a little. She never looked at me once. It
was as though she had forgotten I was there. Then she proceeded, with a slow
and steady rhythm, to tear great huge mouthfuls of tp from the roll,
spitting them out afterward. Her actions had a reverent, ritualistic pace
and feel. Stunned, I watched the pile of shredded paper grow. If any stuck
to her mouth, she shook her head until it fell away and then "ripppppp"
dispatched another great mouthful. She did not look up until she hit
cardboard, then she looked me right in the eye, like she was coming out of a
trance.

Still stunned, I gave her a half-hearted "no?" and she darted off.

Happily, I had a tp backup in place.

cybercat wrote:
I have a 7-lb gray tabby with a slight, long, pointy-faced kind of
build. She is very polite and cautious, but seeks us out for
"boneless cat" kind of affection and conquers her rubber snake
several times a day with great fanfare. This is a "thinking cat." The
kind who gives you a little inquiring "meeeyyu?" when approaching,
just so she doesn't take you by surprise. The kind who knew me for
three months before she threw her lanky leg back and asked for a
tummy rub. The kind who never puts her claws out when a human is
touching her. She really does have impeccable manners. But she has an
outlet for those pent-up housecat frustrations. She has a way of
blowing off steam.

I had my first inkling of it when I was cleaning a guest room and
found a foam board I had used for a presentation (the kind that folds
in three, and you mount things on the inside and set it up on a
table, pre-powerpoint style) that had hundreds of little chunks
chewed out of it. It was clear to me that she had been slinking away
and tearing into the thing for a while, but I never saw her in action
until the other morning.

I was in that place where our cats love us the best--in the bathroom,
on the toilet. She was of course in there with me. I reached for a
loose roll of toilet paper, it had maybe half an inch of paper on it,
and knocked it onto the floor. I watched as a strange, obsessive look
came upon my usually mild and pleasant little girlycat. She hunched
over the tp roll, wedging it against her back feet. She sat up a
little. She never looked at me once. It was as though she had
forgotten I was there. Then she proceeded, with a slow and steady
rhythm, to tear great huge mouthfuls of tp from the roll, spitting
them out afterward. Her actions had a reverent, ritualistic pace and
feel. Stunned, I watched the pile of shredded paper grow. If any
stuck to her mouth, she shook her head until it fell away and then
"ripppppp" dispatched another great mouthful. She did not look up
until she hit cardboard, then she looked me right in the eye, like
she was coming out of a trance.

Still stunned, I gave her a half-hearted "no?" and she darted off.

Happily, I had a tp backup in place.

ROTFL
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
A House is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"cybercat" wrote in message
...
I have a 7-lb gray tabby with a slight, long, pointy-faced kind of build.
She is very polite and cautious, but seeks us out for "boneless cat" kind
of
affection and conquers her rubber snake several times a day with great
fanfare. This is a "thinking cat." The kind who gives you a little
inquiring
"meeeyyu?" when approaching, just so she doesn't take you by surprise. The
kind who knew me for three months before she threw her lanky leg back and
asked for a tummy rub. The kind who never puts her claws out when a human
is
touching her. She really does have impeccable manners. But she has an
outlet
for those pent-up housecat frustrations. She has a way of blowing off
steam.

I had my first inkling of it when I was cleaning a guest room and found a
foam board I had used for a presentation (the kind that folds in three,
and
you mount things on the inside and set it up on a table, pre-powerpoint
style) that had hundreds of little chunks chewed out of it. It was clear
to
me that she had been slinking away and tearing into the thing for a while,
but I never saw her in action until the other morning.

I was in that place where our cats love us the best--in the bathroom, on
the
toilet. She was of course in there with me. I reached for a loose roll of
toilet paper, it had maybe half an inch of paper on it, and knocked it
onto
the floor. I watched as a strange, obsessive look came upon my usually
mild
and pleasant little girlycat. She hunched over the tp roll, wedging it
against her back feet. She sat up a little. She never looked at me once.
It
was as though she had forgotten I was there. Then she proceeded, with a
slow
and steady rhythm, to tear great huge mouthfuls of tp from the roll,
spitting them out afterward. Her actions had a reverent, ritualistic pace
and feel. Stunned, I watched the pile of shredded paper grow. If any stuck
to her mouth, she shook her head until it fell away and then "ripppppp"
dispatched another great mouthful. She did not look up until she hit
cardboard, then she looked me right in the eye, like she was coming out of
a
trance.

Still stunned, I gave her a half-hearted "no?" and she darted off.

Happily, I had a tp backup in place.



ROTFL!!! She sounds just adorable!

"meee" wrote

ROTFL!!! She sounds just adorable!



G Thanks. Clearly I think she is! I got her when she was 2, she was at a
shelter, had two little babies that looked just like her right after they
got her out from under a trailer where she and her brother were semi-feral.
She had been at the shelter for four months when I adopted her, and the
woman, who loved tabbies, had taken pains to socialize her. She clearly did
a great job, but part of this has to be inborn.

Her face is so expressive, she actually rolls her eyes. I am not the only
one to notice, either. The vet tech took one look at Gracie when I took her
out of the carrier and just laughed, saying, "what an expression she has on
her face!" At the vet, this mannerly little cat, although her face tells you
she is full of trepidation, makes not a single sound. She just tries to get
as small as possible, makes her back legs completely disappear, and if they
take too long she will begin to shake. My other cat begins howling when we
hit the door of my house and does not stop until we are back at the house.
They are all different.

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"meee" wrote

ROTFL!!! She sounds just adorable!



G Thanks. Clearly I think she is! I got her when she was 2, she was at a
shelter, had two little babies that looked just like her right after they
got her out from under a trailer where she and her brother were
semi-feral.
She had been at the shelter for four months when I adopted her, and the
woman, who loved tabbies, had taken pains to socialize her. She clearly
did
a great job, but part of this has to be inborn.

Her face is so expressive, she actually rolls her eyes. I am not the
only
one to notice, either. The vet tech took one look at Gracie when I took
her
out of the carrier and just laughed, saying, "what an expression she has
on
her face!" At the vet, this mannerly little cat, although her face tells
you
she is full of trepidation, makes not a single sound. She just tries to
get
as small as possible, makes her back legs completely disappear, and if
they
take too long she will begin to shake. My other cat begins howling when we
hit the door of my house and does not stop until we are back at the house.
They are all different.


She reminds me of Jasmine...are all ex-strays extremely well mannered?
Jasmine is so polite it's almost painful!! She never complains unless she is
really in pain,and she NEVER bickers over food, even though she is twice as
big and heavier than all the others. If they bug her while she's eating, she
gives me a pained look, and gets up and walks off in a very sorrowful,
disappointed way...of course I give in!!

"meee" wrote

She reminds me of Jasmine...are all ex-strays extremely well mannered?
Jasmine is so polite it's almost painful!! She never complains unless she
is
really in pain,and she NEVER bickers over food, even though she is twice
as
big and heavier than all the others. If they bug her while she's eating,
she
gives me a pained look, and gets up and walks off in a very sorrowful,
disappointed way...of course I give in!!


You know, I think you might have something there. When I first saw
Gracie she was in a room with at least 50 other cats, some loose, some
caged. She was loose, in a "donut" bed, and there was a big old tom
horning his way into the donut. She had the most pained look on her face,
and when I offered my hand, leaned into it. That was all it took. When
I got her home, she walked out of the carrier and just could not stop
stretching. It was having some space that pleased her! Later that
night, on the big bed in our room (up high, a king size) she was so
happy she chased her tail. I have always felt she is just so grateful
to have a home, this is partly why she is so mannerly. (She had
an asthma attack the day I brought her home. When I called to ask
if anyone knew of her having any respiratory problems, the shelter lady said
that a volunteer had seen her have two such episodes, and that it might be
heartworms or asthma, and that I could bring her back and trade her for
another cat. I was horrified, and said, "no, it's not like she's a used car
or something." Took her in, and it is asthma, but easily controllable.
I am so glad I am the one who adopted her, she is such a joy! But
then, all of our cats are The Very Best Cat Ever!

In article , cybercat wrote:

"meee" wrote

She reminds me of Jasmine...are all ex-strays extremely well mannered?
Jasmine is so polite it's almost painful!! She never complains unless she
is
really in pain,and she NEVER bickers over food, even though she is twice
as
big and heavier than all the others. If they bug her while she's eating,
she
gives me a pained look, and gets up and walks off in a very sorrowful,
disappointed way...of course I give in!!


You know, I think you might have something there. When I first saw
Gracie she was in a room with at least 50 other cats, some loose, some
caged. She was loose, in a "donut" bed, and there was a big old tom
horning his way into the donut. She had the most pained look on her face,
and when I offered my hand, leaned into it. That was all it took. When
I got her home, she walked out of the carrier and just could not stop
stretching. It was having some space that pleased her! Later that
night, on the big bed in our room (up high, a king size) she was so
happy she chased her tail. I have always felt she is just so grateful
to have a home, this is partly why she is so mannerly. (She had
an asthma attack the day I brought her home. When I called to ask
if anyone knew of her having any respiratory problems, the shelter lady said
that a volunteer had seen her have two such episodes, and that it might be
heartworms or asthma, and that I could bring her back and trade her for
another cat. I was horrified, and said, "no, it's not like she's a used car
or something." Took her in, and it is asthma, but easily controllable.
I am so glad I am the one who adopted her, she is such a joy! But
then, all of our cats are The Very Best Cat Ever!



+1

When I got Bubba from the shelter he barely fit in the
cardboard carrier that they put him in. He cried and
howled all the way home, but when I let him out he took
a couple of laps around the place to see everything and
has been totally well behaved. He found his bathroom
facility without a hint from me and uses it consistently.
Even though the kitchen counters are an easy jump for him,
he's never gone there that I know of. :^) The second day
he got himself stuck behind the stereo/TV and I had to haul
him out by the scruff of the neck, but he has never tried
it again. He absolutely *refuses* to go outside. When I
leave the door open he'll peek outside but won't set a foot
out. It's almost as if he had such a bad experience the last
time he was outside that he remembers and doesn't want a rerun.
The shelter didn't say if he was turned in( I can't image that)
or if he was a stray so I don't know the circumstances that
brought him there. If he was a stray then he's a lucky kitty
because there are *really* big kitties and coyotes in the
outdoors in this area that snack on strays.

Anyway, there might be something to the rescue
kitty/good etiquette theory.


Claude
open he'll peek outside but won't set a foot out.

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"meee" wrote

She reminds me of Jasmine...are all ex-strays extremely well mannered?
Jasmine is so polite it's almost painful!! She never complains unless she
is
really in pain,and she NEVER bickers over food, even though she is twice
as
big and heavier than all the others. If they bug her while she's eating,
she
gives me a pained look, and gets up and walks off in a very sorrowful,
disappointed way...of course I give in!!


You know, I think you might have something there. When I first saw
Gracie she was in a room with at least 50 other cats, some loose, some
caged. She was loose, in a "donut" bed, and there was a big old tom
horning his way into the donut. She had the most pained look on her face,
and when I offered my hand, leaned into it. That was all it took. When
I got her home, she walked out of the carrier and just could not stop
stretching. It was having some space that pleased her! Later that
night, on the big bed in our room (up high, a king size) she was so
happy she chased her tail. I have always felt she is just so grateful
to have a home, this is partly why she is so mannerly. (She had
an asthma attack the day I brought her home. When I called to ask
if anyone knew of her having any respiratory problems, the shelter lady
said
that a volunteer had seen her have two such episodes, and that it might be
heartworms or asthma, and that I could bring her back and trade her for
another cat. I was horrified, and said, "no, it's not like she's a used
car
or something." Took her in, and it is asthma, but easily controllable.
I am so glad I am the one who adopted her, she is such a joy! But
then, all of our cats are The Very Best Cat Ever!


That's right; whichever is on my lap at the time is my baby! They all are
different, and loveable in different ways! I am thinking Jasmine might be
only a few years off old age, as she seems to be a bit slower than the
others. She seems very grateful for a safe place and regular food. When we
moved, she came all the way on my lap in the car, as she had just turned up
several weeks prior to us moving, and I had no cat boxes; there were none
avaible in time for our mov
e as the vet had to order them in. The whole time, she sat on my lap and
purred, and we stopped every two ours to let her and the dogs out (leashed)
for a wee. She was so nice and uncomplaining the whole way, we knew we
couldn't possibly have left her behind. No-one wanted her, and even though
we knew some of our friends must have known where she came from, no-one
owned up, as she had been hurt and was very skinny and they knew how we felt
about that!

I adopted a kitty from the shelter a year ago and he is the most
well-behaved kitty I have ever had. He looks in my eyes to get the ok
to do anything - like jump on the desk, etc. He doesn't care about the
outside of the house - doesn't even seem interested in looking out the
windows. He is the most loving kitty I have ever had and the first
that I have adopted from a shelter. He was 3 years old and only at the
shelter a couple of days when I found him - he was looking as if he did
not like being there at all!

"Claude V. Lucas" wrote
When I got Bubba from the shelter he barely fit in the
cardboard carrier that they put him in. He cried and
howled all the way home, but when I let him out he took
a couple of laps around the place to see everything and
has been totally well behaved.

I second Diane's comment, I cannot believe a big, glorious
cat like Bubba wound up in a shelter! I sure am glad you have
him.