The cats and I have developed, especially since I’ve moved to Atlanta, a number of little rituals we go through almost every day.
These rituals begin when i get up in the morning. I stumble blindly into the bathroom, making noises like “rrrrrgh” and “ungggggh,” ad run the water. That’s the cats’ cue to run into the bathroom and sit on the sink while I shower.
As soon as I’m done with the shower, I turn it off and stand in the tub to towel off. At that point, Snow Crash hops onto the edge of the tub, pokes his head through the shower curtain, and starts lapping at the water dripping from the faucet.
It’s really cute.
When he’s done, his nose is usually quite wet, so he stands there for a while and licks and licks and licks his nose:
If you ever repeat the same word over and over and over again, eventually you reach a point where the word becomes just a meaningless sound, and you can hear it the way people who don’t speak English do. When you do this, some words just become inherently goofy. Like “trough,” for instance.
Trough. Trough, trough, trough. Trough.
Now, apply the same principle to your cat. Sit there and stare at your cat, I mean really look at your cat, until you forget your perceptions of what a cat is and see it as though you’d never seen a cat before.
Pretty scary-looking, aren’t they? More than a little bit freaky, too, with these whiskers sprouting improbably from their faces…
It helps if you stare at your cat from nose level, so you can see the fangs.
If a space alien were to descend to earth tomorrow and find a house cat, without knowing anything about terrestrial biology or ecosystems, I bet that space alien would be able to tell that this is an animal that makes its living killing and eating other animals. Once you divorce yourself from the “aww, cute! They look better than our own young!” response, cats are terrifying-looking creatures. Every part of them is built for predation.
And it’s a little freaky to think that we so love sharing our homes with small, furry predators.
My “aww, cute!” delusion about felis domesticus was ripped away from me one night when Dee caught a bat in the house. She just leapt up and *snap* caught it out of the air. No toying with it, no dismemberment – it was prey, she was a predator and she did what she was genetically predisposed to do.
Cats do seem to be gifted with a limited, transitory immunity to the normal laws of gravity. I’ve seen them do some wildly improbable things involving leaping up into the air for quite an astounding distance from a standing start.
Funny how evolution works. We evolved big brains, gazelle evolved long horns, rabbits evolved big feet, cats evolved an exemption to the normal laws of physics.
Some days, I think I’d trade the brain for the physics exemption.
My “aww, cute!” delusion about felis domesticus was ripped away from me one night when Dee caught a bat in the house. She just leapt up and *snap* caught it out of the air. No toying with it, no dismemberment – it was prey, she was a predator and she did what she was genetically predisposed to do.
And it’s a little freaky to think that we so love sharing our homes with small, furry predators.
. . . not when you live way out to-hell-and-gone, and cats are quite useful for mouse control. Small furry predators are wonderful.
Seconded. When I was living all too near a lake, I was thrilled to have one cat who was a Mighty HuntressTM and another who made a pretty good effort. If only they’d done more work on the spiders, and less on birds…
Okay, fair enough. I used to live on a farm in Nebraska (yes, it’s true!), and we had at rough count about 42 cats or so.
But they weren’t pets. Most of ’em, you couldn’t even get near. Tey were there for rodent control.
Now, taking one of those small furry predators into one’s home and doting on it as though it were one’s own young…well, thats still a little weird, I think.
And it’s a little freaky to think that we so love sharing our homes with small, furry predators.
. . . not when you live way out to-hell-and-gone, and cats are quite useful for mouse control. Small furry predators are wonderful.
couch allosaurs, my mate calls them.
Very cool. May I use that expression!
Go right ahead. =)
couch allosaurs, my mate calls them.
Seconded. When I was living all too near a lake, I was thrilled to have one cat who was a Mighty HuntressTM and another who made a pretty good effort. If only they’d done more work on the spiders, and less on birds…
What I love about them is the fact that we’ve never truly domesticated them.
Cats are the one “domestic” species that we’ve not really changed much. All of the hunting instincts and drives are still there along with the intelligence to pick up needed skills. Aside from individual kitty couch potatos who might not now thrive on the streets, cats as a species could easily return to their wild conditions without looking back at us. I find it remarkable that a predator capable of living life on it’s own, who is not known for forming strong social groups has decided to live with US.
Cute photos! Aphrodite is a post-shower cat too, though she prefers the water on the floor of the tub.
What I love about them is the fact that we’ve never truly domesticated them.
Cats are the one “domestic” species that we’ve not really changed much. All of the hunting instincts and drives are still there along with the intelligence to pick up needed skills. Aside from individual kitty couch potatos who might not now thrive on the streets, cats as a species could easily return to their wild conditions without looking back at us. I find it remarkable that a predator capable of living life on it’s own, who is not known for forming strong social groups has decided to live with US.
Cute photos! Aphrodite is a post-shower cat too, though she prefers the water on the floor of the tub.
so true! *heh*
so true! *heh*
That is adorable.
Although, my anthropologist husband would argue that the dog is the only animal we have really truly domesticated. Cats are just barely tamed.
That is adorable.
Although, my anthropologist husband would argue that the dog is the only animal we have really truly domesticated. Cats are just barely tamed.
and one day he will kill you in your sleep and eat your soul. or whatever it is that you have, due to the fact that you dont actually have one.
Hey! I have a soul! In fact, I have an entire collection of souls! I keep them in a box in the back of the closet. Very handy to have, sometimes.
and one day he will kill you in your sleep and eat your soul. or whatever it is that you have, due to the fact that you dont actually have one.
re: furry predators
“it’s a little freaky to think that we so love sharing our homes with small, furry predators.”
I think about that when my 86-pound German Shepherd Dog gets feisty. People look at me funny when I mention it (I’m glad I’m not the only person to ponder such things), but it’s true. I sleep in the same room with her, my throat exposed. She could open if she was so inclined. Her misplaced allegiance is my only safety.
Re: furry predators
Of course, the nice thing about your German Shepherd is she belongs to a species of social animal. When you become a social animal’s surrogate pack, the odds that it’ll eat you go way down, a fact we’ve used to our advantage with dogs for quite some time now.
Cats, though, not so much.
Re: furry predators
“Cats, though, not so much.”
This is true.
re: furry predators
“it’s a little freaky to think that we so love sharing our homes with small, furry predators.”
I think about that when my 86-pound German Shepherd Dog gets feisty. People look at me funny when I mention it (I’m glad I’m not the only person to ponder such things), but it’s true. I sleep in the same room with her, my throat exposed. She could open if she was so inclined. Her misplaced allegiance is my only safety.
Very cool. May I use that expression!
Go right ahead. =)
Oh, cute is correct. One of mine waits for me to exit the shower, then hugs me around the neck with both front paws (scent marking me as his human).
Cats could take over the world, had they but opposable thumbs.
A lack on the part of cats we can all be thankful for, I think. Were our positions reversed, I doubt they’d take us into their homes and dote on us…
Oh, cute is correct. One of mine waits for me to exit the shower, then hugs me around the neck with both front paws (scent marking me as his human).
Cats could take over the world, had they but opposable thumbs.
Cat=gf
claws? yes
fangs? yes
appetite for bloody meat? yes
bites me as play ritual? yes
BWAH! Now that’s amusing.
Cat=gf
claws? yes
fangs? yes
appetite for bloody meat? yes
bites me as play ritual? yes
I don’t know… After staring at my cat for the last 5 minutes, the best I’ve come up with is “dopey”
I don’t know… After staring at my cat for the last 5 minutes, the best I’ve come up with is “dopey”
Pretty scary-looking, aren’t they? More than a little bit freaky, too,
Actually, it’s the scary-looking predator part that I find cute 🙂 But I’m wierd like that. If you want really freaky, watch just their whiskers (especially if you have a kinda dark cat with white whiskers) when they’re playfully interested in something. The whiskers all move forward, “seeking” the object of their interest, particularly with their little fangs poking out just inside of the grasp of the whiskers, it’s quite disturbing.
I love the idea of sharing my home with small furry predators whose misplaced allegience is my only safety. They only remind me just how precious trust is and how few individuals are really deserving of the responsibility of trust.
yes…. and how some day, the revolution will come, and there will be blood on the walls…
(just hopefully not mine)
Pretty scary-looking, aren’t they? More than a little bit freaky, too,
Actually, it’s the scary-looking predator part that I find cute 🙂 But I’m wierd like that. If you want really freaky, watch just their whiskers (especially if you have a kinda dark cat with white whiskers) when they’re playfully interested in something. The whiskers all move forward, “seeking” the object of their interest, particularly with their little fangs poking out just inside of the grasp of the whiskers, it’s quite disturbing.
I love the idea of sharing my home with small furry predators whose misplaced allegience is my only safety. They only remind me just how precious trust is and how few individuals are really deserving of the responsibility of trust.
yes…. and how some day, the revolution will come, and there will be blood on the walls…
(just hopefully not mine)
What I truly love about this post is that in my friends page it came immediately after a post about a parody web page which discusses whether or not cats are appropriate pets for “good Christians”, citing some of your same points.
By the way, APAR (which in case I’ve never mentioned it to you stands for “Authorized Program Analysis Report”) also drinks from the bathroom faucet almost exclusively. From APAR’s perspective our bathroom exists solely as a source of water for him and to provide us with a place to sit while he gets much-deserved praise and attention.
You know, that’s Snow Crash’s perspective on the bathroom here as well. I wonder if it’s genetic.
My cats have a very unusual reason for the bathroom’s existence. Apparently the bathroom is to be regarded as a dangerous cave frought with peril from all angles. Misty takes up her position as Guard Kitty by sitting on the bathroom floor just inside the door, looking out while I use the facilities. She doesn’t move until I leave. Occasionally, Onyx will approach her, they will sniff each other, Misty will stand up, Onyx will circle around her, Misty will move, Onyx will take her exact position, and Misty will leave while Onyx watches the doorway.
When I’m in the shower, they occasionally poke their heads in to make sure I’m still alive, but otherwise avoid the hot, steamy wet thing until I’m done. Then they peer into the shower to make sure all the icky wet is gone and nothing of me was left behind.
They will brave the tub faucet only if I don’t change their water in time, and they’re usually pretty forgiving about that. But when they do have to stoop to the faucet, they will high-step and shake the icky wet off their paws all across the house.
I think the fact that I use the water gun as behaviour control had something to do with their dislike for being wet. That and they have been subjected to baths with flea shampoo and therefore associate the tub with the horror that is bathtime.
What I truly love about this post is that in my friends page it came immediately after a post about a parody web page which discusses whether or not cats are appropriate pets for “good Christians”, citing some of your same points.
By the way, APAR (which in case I’ve never mentioned it to you stands for “Authorized Program Analysis Report”) also drinks from the bathroom faucet almost exclusively. From APAR’s perspective our bathroom exists solely as a source of water for him and to provide us with a place to sit while he gets much-deserved praise and attention.
Okay, fair enough. I used to live on a farm in Nebraska (yes, it’s true!), and we had at rough count about 42 cats or so.
But they weren’t pets. Most of ’em, you couldn’t even get near. Tey were there for rodent control.
Now, taking one of those small furry predators into one’s home and doting on it as though it were one’s own young…well, thats still a little weird, I think.
Re: furry predators
Of course, the nice thing about your German Shepherd is she belongs to a species of social animal. When you become a social animal’s surrogate pack, the odds that it’ll eat you go way down, a fact we’ve used to our advantage with dogs for quite some time now.
Cats, though, not so much.
BWAH! Now that’s amusing.
You know, that’s Snow Crash’s perspective on the bathroom here as well. I wonder if it’s genetic.
Re: furry predators
“Cats, though, not so much.”
This is true.
A lack on the part of cats we can all be thankful for, I think. Were our positions reversed, I doubt they’d take us into their homes and dote on us…
Cats do seem to be gifted with a limited, transitory immunity to the normal laws of gravity. I’ve seen them do some wildly improbable things involving leaping up into the air for quite an astounding distance from a standing start.
Funny how evolution works. We evolved big brains, gazelle evolved long horns, rabbits evolved big feet, cats evolved an exemption to the normal laws of physics.
Hey! I have a soul! In fact, I have an entire collection of souls! I keep them in a box in the back of the closet. Very handy to have, sometimes.
Some days, I think I’d trade the brain for the physics exemption.
My cats have a very unusual reason for the bathroom’s existence. Apparently the bathroom is to be regarded as a dangerous cave frought with peril from all angles. Misty takes up her position as Guard Kitty by sitting on the bathroom floor just inside the door, looking out while I use the facilities. She doesn’t move until I leave. Occasionally, Onyx will approach her, they will sniff each other, Misty will stand up, Onyx will circle around her, Misty will move, Onyx will take her exact position, and Misty will leave while Onyx watches the doorway.
When I’m in the shower, they occasionally poke their heads in to make sure I’m still alive, but otherwise avoid the hot, steamy wet thing until I’m done. Then they peer into the shower to make sure all the icky wet is gone and nothing of me was left behind.
They will brave the tub faucet only if I don’t change their water in time, and they’re usually pretty forgiving about that. But when they do have to stoop to the faucet, they will high-step and shake the icky wet off their paws all across the house.
I think the fact that I use the water gun as behaviour control had something to do with their dislike for being wet. That and they have been subjected to baths with flea shampoo and therefore associate the tub with the horror that is bathtime.
My boyfriend has commented that the only reason cats don’t kill and eat people is that housecats are small. Some people (rich, stupid ones) have taken to keeping larger cats as pets. An animal doesn’t have to be all that big to kill a person, so I suspect that this trend will be short-lived.
I often think about the fact that my cat Liam loves me so much in part because we have a permanent and irreversible imbalance of power. If I were to suddenly shrink to the size of a rat, there’s no doubt in my mind that our relationship would change…
My boyfriend has commented that the only reason cats don’t kill and eat people is that housecats are small. Some people (rich, stupid ones) have taken to keeping larger cats as pets. An animal doesn’t have to be all that big to kill a person, so I suspect that this trend will be short-lived.
I often think about the fact that my cat Liam loves me so much in part because we have a permanent and irreversible imbalance of power. If I were to suddenly shrink to the size of a rat, there’s no doubt in my mind that our relationship would change…