| Title: | Meower Power is Valuing Differences |
| Notice: | FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY |
| Moderator: | MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO |
| Created: | Sun Feb 09 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Jan 11 1994 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 5089 |
| Total number of notes: | 60366 |
I'm new to this notesfile, so forgive me if this has been discussed previously, I didn't want to wade through 77 notes to find out... Conventional wisdom seems to hold that cats are very aloof and independent, and that they generally keep to themselves until they want to be fed. I got my cat primarily to keep me company, but it usually seems to work the other way around! My kitty (named `Boson') is constantly underfoot and hardly ever leaves me alone -- sometimes to the point of being a nuisance (she even sits on top of my PRO-350 while I'm reading NOTES). If I watch TV, she has to sit on the couch with me. If I go to the bathroom and close the door, she screams bloody murder until I come out. Every morning before I go to work she sits in front of the door in an apparent attempt to keep me from leaving. When I get home, she screams until I pick her up and pet her (if I feed her first, she'll eat a few mouthfuls, then start screaming). In general, she can't stand being alone and wants constant attention. I'm not complaining (much), mind you, she is a friendly and affectionate cat, but her personality goes against what I had been led to believe about cats. (As you can probably tell, this is my first kitty.) Bob A.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78.1 | AURORA::RAVAN | Mon Mar 18 1985 10:27 | 9 | ||
Many cats are quite friendly, especially certain breeds - Siamese are the most noted for being "people cats". Your cat sounds a bit extreme, though; you might want to think about getting another cat to keep it company. It can be a tough decision, whether to allow the cat to be "only cat" and sit around by itself while you're gone, or give it a companion and risk having them be jealous of one another; see note 67 for a discussion of this. -b | |||||
| 78.2 | CADLAC::GOUN | Mon Mar 18 1985 17:09 | 17 | ||
My two cats are a study in opposing cat personalities. Ada is the classic aloof cat most of the time. She only gets friendly for limited periods, and only with me. Loiosh, on the other hand, is just like your cat. He screams when I get home until I pick him up. He sleeps under the covers with me. When I'm working on the terminal at home, he is either on my lap or on top of the terminal. Of course, he is thoroughly spoiled. I guess cats' personalities are as diverse as humans'. - o - -/--> - @~\_ Roger | |||||
| 78.3 | FRSBEE::SROKA | Wed Mar 20 1985 16:08 | 23 | ||
I divide cats into two categories: cat-cats and dog-cats. What you have appears to be a dog-cat (I have one, too; Fuji does everything yours does, and more--if he sees me hug anyone, for example, he SCREAMS; if I'm on the phone, he tries to chew the cord; if I'm going anywhere in the car and he's outside, he hops right in the car with me.) The one thing I have found about Fuji is that he CAN and WILL amuse himself with toys; he has a couple small foam-rubber balls he loves to bat around, and he loves to drag a length of wide grosgrain ribbon around the house (and loves to chase it if he can get a human to participate--he'll bring the ribbon to you as a gentle hint.) You didn't say how old your kitty was; that, too, could be part of it, particularly if kitty is a munchkin and not too secure by himself yet. Fuji was even more insecure as a little one than he is now (then again, he was a stray, so that could explain that.) Anyway, good luck, and don't give up. Cats are worth every hair they'll ever shed (which are too numerous to be counted.) Fuji's Human, E. | |||||
| 78.4 | NANOOK::ALPERT | Wed Mar 20 1985 23:15 | 9 | ||
My cat's not quite 1-1/2 yr. old. Her favorite thing to play with are those tie-bands that come with plastic bags. As a matter of fact, going along with the "dog-cat" idea, she frequently will play "fetch" with me, scurrying after a thrown tie-band and bringing it back to be thrown again. She frequently will just wander into the room with one in her mouth and drop it in front of me, looking at me expectantly. Bob A. | |||||
| 78.5 | PEN::KALLIS | Mon Apr 08 1985 16:06 | 6 | ||
It's been my experience that a multipl-cat household works well. Al- though all cats sort of want to be The Only Cat, they also get bored after a while. Another cat in the house is okay, particularly if you get the multiple cats at the same time. Steve K. | |||||
| 78.6 | BABEL::SAVAGE | Wed Nov 13 1985 15:44 | 10 | ||
Returning to the question in the base note: I've read books and my own experience confirms that cats are naturally warmly affectionate and will form very *romantic* attachments to their owners if at all encouraged. The aloof behavior attributed to cats is mainly the misinterpretation by the beholder of typical cat body language (which is feline and not primate) and the projection of expectations (you tend to get what you expect, whether with people or cats). Neil | |||||