[CanadaSue]

How I ended up with 4 cats, I'll never know. Okay, I'm lying - it was wilful & deliberate action on the part of The Great Feline Conclave. I have a *4 Cat Sucker Rating*...

I'm lucky in a sense. They only cost me about $30 a month & MOST of the time provide ample cheap entertainment. But I'll never, EVER copletely figure our feline hierarchies.

For 3 years, the biggest has been low cat on the totem pole. He's a craven coward, spending most of his time tugging at my skirts so to speak & allowing himself to be cornered by the 2 girls. I get fed up with picking him up & carrying him our of harm's way when they have him solidly bracketed. One of these years, his nose might actually be scratch free. All he has to do is sit on them but no... he prefers to be afraid.

The Verminous One has now decided to take on her mother for Ultimate Supremacy. This does not appear to be working in terms of food/water issues. Everything else, sure. But when it comes to the vittles, one glare from Momma & she slinks away. Anything else & Momma gets trounced.

My mutant male follows his own rules. His genetics means he's neither fully male or female, (tell his daughter that!) & he gets a bye on the squabbles unless he chooses to get involved.

I think I need to do a postgrad in Cat Issues. Every time I think I have them figured out, they change the rules on me.

[occupant]

Cats, I can talk about, CS. Now, Stepkids, nope ;)
Gots 3 of the fur-buggars. The Siamese(15 yr.old lilac/blue point male) is the King around here. His head is held high, nose pointed decidely upward, chest out.The placement of each footstep is pre thought out, I believe. Nobody best mess with His Majesty, or else.He has been known to beat the crap out of 2 dogs that I know of, and recently had a stalking encounter with a nubbin buck, the buck ran.
The other 2, are brother and sister, born in a factory, where Dh worked. He caught each of the wild darlings, in a trap he made, using a chicken wing as bait, each time.The little black girl, bit DH and 2 days later he was in hospital with blood poisoning. Took awhile to bond with her. :rolleyes:
His Highness Siamese, and the other male DSH, hate each others' guts,and show each other their feelings on a regular basis.The little black girl, floats between the 2 guys. One day she buddies up with one , the next day it's the other one. Interesting.
The Siamese is always into everything.Nosey isn't the word.I can't believe he has lived this long! He has done the kitty slide across the floor of sheet vinyl glue,TWICE.(I know about bathing a cat, CS, and have the scars to prove it)Been into paint and shellac. Pulled hot coffee down onto him. Walked up to my lit cigarette ash and burned his nose numerous times. Snorted baby powder, insecticide powder(for ants), potting soil, flour and numerous kitchen supplies. He watches TV, and his very most favorite thing to do is to look at himself in the mirror, ANY and every mirror. If he is quiet, you can be sure he is looking at himself in a mirror somewhere. I have a make-up mirror on my dressing table and that's his spot.Looking at his beautiful self.
I've given up on figuring out cats.They just are and they just be.They most definately are a rich source of entertainment.I keep saying,"When these cats pass on, maybe we should get a dog, but on the other hand..."

[CanadaSue]

dumped a cat in my crib shortly after I could lift my head. I've been surrounded by them since. Feline may have been my first language.

But they can still surprise.

Dang them!

[Brooks]

Back when there were 3 cats here...Cat A was afraid of Cat B who was afraid of Cat C who was afraid of Cat A. So, they never straightened anything out.

[calliope]

Of course you haven't got your cats figured out. Cats are not supposed to be figured out. They are supposed to be loved, respected and WORSHIPED!

[booger]

This whole thread is reading to me like the way men must feel about women. Except for only costing $30 a month.

Hmm... Women are like cats. Men are like dogs. They are easy to figure out because there's nothing to figure out. The just want to drool on you, get fed on a regular basis, and have access to a nice patch of grass to poop in.

[calliope]

T.S. Eliot - The Ad-Dressing Of Cats

You've read of several kinds of Cat,
And my opinion now is that
You should need no interpreter
To understand their character.
You now have learned enough to see
That Cats are much like you and me
And other people whom we find
Possessed of various types of mind.
For some are same and some are mad
And some are good and some are bad
And some are better, some are worse--
But all may be described in verse.
You've seen them both at work and games,
And learnt about their proper names,
Their habits and their habitat:
But
How would you ad-dress a Cat?

So first, your memory I'll jog,
And say: A CAT IS NOT A DOG.

Now Dogs pretend they like to fight;
They often bark, more seldom bite;
But yet a Dog is, on the whole,
What you would call a simple soul.
Of course I'm not including Pekes,
And such fantastic canine freaks.
The usual Dog about the Town
Is much inclined to play the clown,
And far from showing too much pride
Is frequently undignified.
He's very easily taken in--
Just chuck him underneath the chin
Or slap his back or shake his paw,
And he will gambol and guffaw.
He's such an easy-going lout,
He'll answer any hail or shout.

Again I must remind you that
A DOG'S A DOG--a CAT'S A CAT.

With Cats, some say, one rule is true:
Don't speak till you are spoken to.
Myself, I do not hold with that--
I say, you should ad-dress a Cat.
But always keep in mind that he
Resents familiarity.
I bow, and taking off my hat,
Ad-dress him in this form: O CAT!
But if he is the Cat next door,
Whom I have often met before
(He comes to see me in my flat)
I greet him with an OOPSA CAT!
I've heard them call him James Buz-James--
But we've not got so far as names.
Before a Cat will condescend
To treat you as a trusted friend,
Some little token of esteem
Is needed, like a dish of cream;
And you might now and then supply
Some caviare, or Strassburg Pie,
Some potted grouse, or salmon paste--
He's sure to have his personal taste.
(I know a Cat, who makes a habit
Of eating nothing else but rabbit,
And when he's finished, licks his paws
So's not to waste the onion sauce.)
A Cat's entitled to expect
These evidences of respect.
And so in time you reach your aim,
And finally call him by his NAME.

So this is this, and that is that:
And there's how you AD-DRESS A CAT.

[Yammy]

occupant:

hahaha! I had a cat that was enthralled with the mirror too! She used to sit and make faces at herself so that she KNEW which ones looked real cute, used to crack me up all the time, but she was a smarty pants anyway... great sense of humor on that cat!

[SmartAZ]

Cats are cool -- Dogs drool.

[FireDance]

I think Booger is right on in her assessment.

We have two cats at the moment. (Just never know when this might change.)

One is a tabby/siamese who is so-oh refined. The other a runt black cat that appeared on the sidewalk squalling when he was about 4 weeks old.

Oddly, the black cat appeared not many weeks after our other black cat was hit by a car and finally died of his injuries. I call him my $1000-dead cat. HE was magnificent - HUGE cat! So anyway, we try to think of the squalling black thing as the reincarnation of the magnificent black cat. However, Squalling hates me, so he can't be Magnificent.

Squalling has the best sense of smell on the planet and everyone STINKS to him. He doesn't like to be held because of it. If you don't stink too badly (i.e., haven't touched garlic in 3 weeks) he will allow you to pat his head. He likes my dog who REALLY STINKS and kisses and carresses her any chance he gets. I don't understand, but that's not my job. My daughter is his mother and he sleeps on her head - IF she's had a shower.

Refined cat is my cat. He sits in my lap while I work and I carry him around in a blanket like a baby to make all others in my household roll their eyes. He'll let you do anything to him. He fights my 30 pound dog like a wrestler, often managing to knock her to the ground. I do not understand why or even how he does this. He's a micro cat compared to Magnificent.

Both cats have an affliction for a fuzzy slipper I have. They knead it and then sleep on it. If you turn it over on it's back they freak out because the sole is not fuzzy nor is it "their mommy" then. This is fun to do.

Squalling likes to perch on the fire place mantel like a vulture. Since he's black, you can't always see him, but you can sure feel him.

I, like Sue, have always had cats. I had an old mother cat and her kittens in the bed with me for quite awhile as a child and have pretty much slept with cats since. If my cat didn't like a guy, then he was not the guy for me. They're very perceptive that way. My mother and grandmother hate cats and never understood, but I think they do now. Or perhaps they just decided it's not their job to understand...

[calliope]

I have always had cat doors since cats hate to ask permission to go out. Have you ever been awaken at three in the morning by a low growling sound. Turn on the light to find a startled raccoon next to your bed with your two furball protectors hiding behind you hissing and growling. Fortunately, raccoons are smart. All I had to do was tell the raccoon to get out of my house and he was down the stairs and back out the cat door lickety split. Unfortunately, opossum are not smart. The night the opossum came for a visit and I demanded he get out of my house he couldn't remember how he got in. Went to chase him back downstairs and he went in the other direction and in the closet. Went and got a broom and finally got him out of the closet and out of the bedroom (while the two furballs watched amused from the bed). Took half an hour of chasing him out of rooms and closing doors before I finally got him downstairs and herded out the front door. Get back upstairs to find the two furballs curled up and asleep. Tired and frustrated I woke them up and informed them that it would have been nice if they had offered some assistance. They told me they thought it would be nice if I improved my stalking skills.