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Conference misery::feline_v1

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

285.0. "poor confused Rudi!" by HIGHFI::BRODERICK (aka <momcat>) Wed Jul 16 1986 10:53

    Last night, we had another peculiar episode with Rudi - I don't
    quite know what to make of it - here's what happened -

    He was in Meagan's bed (or so I thought), when i heard a Rudi_growl
    coming from that room - I went in quickly & found that Ru had
    chewed the bed apart & had a bunch of the white fluffy stuffing in
    his mouth - he was VERRRRY upset - I just soothed him, while my
    husband ran to get a little food - I should mention that he's done
    things like this before, and he always gets real upset, whether
    we leave him alone or not - so I feel its probably best to get
    the item away from him as quickly as possible -

    so after joe came with some food, Rudi let up on the fluff & went
    for the food, & i made a quick grab for the fluff - i stayed alone
    with him & calmed him for awhile (he was looking hard for his fluff)
    - then we all went to bed, & he was fine - he gets the same way
    with ANY similar item (even sponges & furballs!) - 

    my question, i guess, is does this seem like bizarre behavior?
    he IS an extremely unusual cat - real high-strung, jumpy, and
    i feel usually that i understand him well, & take care of his
    eccentric needs, but this behavior has me baffled!
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
285.2don't think it was hunger...HIGHFI::BRODERICKaka <momcat>Thu Jul 17 1986 09:2211
    what i meant was that when i held the food right next to his face,
    he dropped the fluff after a bit in order to persue the food - he
    wasn't particularly hungry, just the smell was better than the fluff!

    he actually looked awfully silly, running around with a large
    white fluff in his mouth - he was so upset though :-( !!

    one time we bought the cats a black furry spider (you see lots of
    tham at cat shows in the cages), & rudi got the same way - really,
    any "cat" toys he seems to cause this reaction...
285.3He's caught "a mouse"STUBBI::REINKEThu Jul 17 1986 12:144
    What you are describing is exactly how my hunting cats act when
    they have caught a mouse. They tend to take it someplace private
    and growl over it. It sounds like a natural "hunter with prey"
    type of reaction.
285.4mouse makes rudi crazyHIGHFI::BRODERICKaka <momcat>Thu Jul 17 1986 13:149
    so, the fact that he gets so upset & doesn't seem to enjoy his
    mouse sounds normal?  none of my other cats react this way with
    'prey' (insects, toys, etc.) - why doesn't he 'kill' it or play
    with it or something?! maybe if i let him alone for a long enough
    time, he might - but i don't want him eating fluff!
    
                 thanks, all - karen
285.5Check It OutINK::KALLISThu Jul 17 1986 15:3814
    This may sound odd, and verging on the occult; please don't throw
    brickbats until you check it out.
    
    What was the phase of the moon when Rudi acted this way?  When he
    acted similar, was the moon in an equivalent phase (I lump full
    and new together, and first-half and last-half together)?  The reason
    I ask is that some <as yet highly controversial> research suggests
    that some organisms' moods are affected by tidal-pull changes.
    
    If Rudi falls into this pattern, then it might give a hint of an
    explanation, even if it doesn't provide a cure...
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
285.6hmmmm...HIGHFI::BRODERICKaka &lt;momcat&gt;Thu Jul 17 1986 16:1411
    well, steve, it sounds like a neat theory - not sure how much stock
    i'd want to put in it though!  although, he IS extremely 'phasal' -
    his behavior is more changable than the others, by far - this happened
    tuesday evening - i have no idea what the moon was doing then, or any
    other time he got this way - certainly worth thinking about!

    his brother (litter-mate, fritz, who doesn't live with us any more)
    was also very changable in different ways than rudi -

                        karen
285.7If You Want To Try ...INK::KALLISThu Jul 17 1986 17:5713
    Karen,
    
    Well, interestingly, Tuesday the moon was at half.  If he's "phasal,"
    you should see unusual behavior at intervals of roughly 14 or 28
    days, or multiples of these.
    
    Sounds a bit clinical, but you might want to note the days it happens
    and try to correlate them....
    
    Good luck..
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
285.8SHOGUN::HEFFELTracey HeffelfingerFri Jul 18 1986 09:006
    	There might really be something to that phase of the moon stuff.
    It's well known that violent crimes increases on nights with a full
    moon.
    
    tlh
285.9wow!HIGHFI::BRODERICKaka &lt;momcat&gt;Fri Jul 18 1986 09:576
    boy, that's an interesting theory!  how would one follow the phases
    of the moon?  i could just mark 14-day intervals in my book at home,
    but i'd like to be a little more in touch than that - this is
    fascinating!
                            karen
285.10How To Go About ItINK::KALLISFri Jul 18 1986 11:5917
    Well, I don't know just how detailed you want to get.
    
    Some calenders have a phase-of-moon indication.
    
    Otherwise, many almanack, including _The Old Farmer's Almanac_ have
    a month-by-month listing of things like sunrise/sunset, etc.  One
    item they include is phase of the moon (to day, hour, and minute!).
    
    My thought is to get a calender or appointment book and then mark
    down the full, new, and half dates in it for as far as you feel
    you'll need to.  Then log any unusual/extraordinary behavior over
    time and see if there's a correlation.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.