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Conference misery::feline

Title:	Meower Power - Where Differing Opinions are Respected
Notice:	purrrrr...
Moderator:	JULIET::CORDES_JA

Created:	Wed Nov 13 1991
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1079
Total number of notes:	28858

853.0. "Hacking your cat" by NETRIX::thomas (The Code Warrior) Tue Jan 31 1995 06:28

[Someone requested that I post this in here -- I originally had it in SOAPBOX.]

From: Marcus J Ranum <[email protected]>
Subject: hacking your cat
To: <censored>
Date: Sun, 29 Jan 1995 19:38:10 -0500 (EST)


Fabulous cat fact/oddity

	When I was on vacation, someone demoed the weirdest cat trick I
have seen for a while. I tried it on Marbot and it worked on him, too,
so it has a 100% success rate for the 3 cats on which I've seen it
done.

	Basically, what you do is take a longish light towel, or
scarf, or something like that, and fold it so it's about 6" wide
and use it to bind a cat's abdomen. Wrap it so that it's on
snugly, but not tight, if you know what I mean -- it shouldn't
be on so loosely that it slides around, but it shouldn't be so
tight that the cat complains while you're putting it on (unless
the complaint is just your cat's natural reaction to being treated
in such an OuTrAgEoUs manner) - anyhow, it should go around about
2-3 times, so it won't unroll too fast. You probably need not
pin it or anything.

	Put the cat down on its feet and let it go. Every cat
I have seen this done to looks at you with an expression of
surprise and confusion (not fear and anger) and either topples
over and just lies there, or takes a few steps, then topples
over. Sometimes they get up and immediately topple. It's as if
somehow it messes up their sense of balance or something. From
what I know of how cats are built there's nothing down there
that's especially critical, and you're not wrapping it so
tightly that it'd squeeze the diaphragm or anything. It seems
to be harmless -- I kept a close eye on the cats to make sure
they showed no sign of distress. They seem generally puzzled
but alert. I've never left a cat that way for long, mostly
because it's so weird. I *ASSUME* it's harmless; the cat
doesn't act like it's suffocating or anything weird like that.

	Any ideas what might be going on? The only thing I
can theorize right now is that somehow it keeps the cats
hips from moving forward, which makes it lose its balance.

mjr.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
853.1	Abusive cat owner	SALEM::SHAW		`Tue Jan 31 1995 06:57`	7
	What exactly are you trying to achieve by this wondeful discovery of yours. That you can wrap a towel around a cat and make it confused and uncomfrotable? I don't get it. Shaw
853.2	Relax .1, .0 posted a forwarded note, he didn't do it himself	UHUH::TALCOTT		`Tue Jan 31 1995 08:34`	7
	The cat has something tied around its body and it wants the thing off. The best it can do is to try to kick the towel off with its back feet. Can't do that standing up, so it lays down on its side to have use of its hind legs. Probably best left in Soapbox anyway where natty retorts like "Gee, I blindfold my kid and deposit him in the street to see what happens" are more prevalent. Trace
853.3	more cat tricks	NETRIX::michaud	Jeff Michaud, UC1	`Tue Jan 31 1995 10:04`	8
	I used to like to stick a small piece of tape to the forehead of my kitties. These days however they are able to remove it very quickly. When my boys were still small tikes I used to also gently place a closepin on their tail. One of them quickly ignored it, the other one it drove nuts. He'd run, then realize something was on it, stop, and so on.
853.4	??	MRVAX::PGLADDING		`Tue Jan 31 1995 10:29`	7
	Sorry, but I fail to see how someone can take pleasure in driving their cats nuts. I doubt very much you'd enjoy having a clothespin attached to a certain part of your body (I won't say where...) Pam
853.5		LJSRV2::FALLON		`Tue Jan 31 1995 11:42`	8
	Ah, Pam... I got a good laugh out of that one!! These stories seem reminiscent (sp?) of putting a cat on a leash for the first time. They just lie there like they are dead. For the rest, it may be for a few laughs. I get mine from their natural behaviour. Karen
853.6	felling "stuck"?	HOTLNE::CORMIER		`Tue Jan 31 1995 13:31`	6
	My cats do the same thing when I wrap them up in a towel to do various distasteful things like pilling and ear cleaning. As soon as I get the towel wrapped around them, them collapse on their sides and seem resigned to their fate. Until, of course, one of those front or rear paws manages to get loose : ) Sarah
853.7		NETRIX::michaud	Jeff Michaud, UC1	`Tue Jan 31 1995 16:06`	15
	> Sorry, but I fail to see how someone can take pleasure in driving > their cats nuts. I can't speak for others, but I do not drive my cats nuts. It's all part of harmless playing. They are in no pain, are't complaining, or anything else. They play rougher with each other than with me! > I doubt very much you'd enjoy having a clothespin > attached to a certain part of your body (I won't say where...) Like I said, I only did this when they were kitties and the clothes-pin barely held on their very thin tails (you do realize there is a notch in the clothes-pin that looks like like a hole when the pin is closed?).
853.8	I say it's a joke son....	AMCUCS::SWIERKOWSKIS		`Tue Jan 31 1995 17:32`	15
	Since I'm new to this conference, I was going to stay out of this issue, but I never really was the quiet type. All of us play rough-n-tumble with our kitties. No one gets hurt and they really seem to like it. I believe they treat us more like litter-mates because of it. They're kind of like babies; they don't break, and they love the attention. So, okay, they don't like it so much when my daughter sticks Christmas bows on their head (they try to back out of them) but it's got to be no worse than when they dive- bomb each other with teeth and claws going. Susan S. (who pleads guilty to feeding her dog peanut butter just to watch the tongue action)
853.9		GOOEY::JUDY	That's Ms. Bitch to you!	`Wed Feb 01 1995 07:10`	8
	We used to give our family dog peanut butter too. She loved the stuff and it gave us a good giggle. But I too just let the cats do their own thing....that's enough to keep me entertained.
853.10		BICYCL::RYER	Don't give away the home world....	`Wed Feb 01 1995 08:06`	9
	RE: .8 You feed your dog PEANUT BUTTER?!?! That's it, I'm calling the ASPCA. -Patrick Oh, BTW, ;-)
853.11		DPDMAI::HUDDLESTON	If it is to be, it's up to me	`Wed Feb 01 1995 11:20`	5
	Peanut butter! I forgot all about that. I wouldn't try it with a cat (out of fear) but its funnier than heck with a dog! I didn't put too much on the roofs of their mouths or they'd be licking for a month. dlh
853.12	Please be careful with p-butter!	HOTLNE::CORMIER		`Thu Feb 02 1995 05:59`	4
	Lest we forget, peanut butter should not be given to dogs, or cats, in large quantities. It's a choking hazard. A small smear on the tongue or roof of the mouth is OK, but please keep it a small amount. Sarah
853.13		GOOEY::JUDY	That's Ms. Bitch to you!	`Thu Feb 02 1995 07:20`	9
	Oh it was always small and only on rare occasions. The family doesn't do it anymore as Mitzi's getting up there in years. Poor baby just had surgery to have a tumor removed. =( And I've never given it to the cats.
853.14		SX4GTO::WANNOOR		`Wed Feb 08 1995 17:35`	15
	Tony - You're right! In my household, Ray is Wellie's wrestling buddy, while I'm his MOM! He really enjoys some rough-n-tumble, and usually comes back for more. When we go out on the water, especially long trips, Wellie wears a life vest. He has to get his front limbs through it, then it is fastened securely across his torso with Velcro and snaps. Well, he doesn't like it, of course. His gait gets all stilted and sometimes he leans or rubs against something to get it off. One of these days, when we use multimedia in VAXNotes, I'll get a picture of PFDed Wellie scanned and posted here :-)