Abyssinian cat's behavior

Happy New Year all. I have two younger part-Abyssinian cats; Bluzette, and Jumper. Both are constantly investigating things and especially Jumper, who is the younger of the two. All hours of the day and night, they are snooping around, making noises with their "cat hockey games". Whenever I find things on the floor that have been pushed off the shelves, I can rest assured that Jumper was behind it. Except for Snow Tiger, Jumper is usually the most playful cat in the bunch. Is this normal behavior for Anyssinians?

Although Jumper is all black he definitely looks Abyssinian in the face and body structure, and especially his eyes are different, being paritally covered by the eyelid from the top. This gives him a "sinister look"! Yet, when he comes to me for attention, he goes limp like an old rag, and places his trust totally in me. Never fights to get away.

Bluzette (an all blue Aby mix) is less affectionate, but comes only on her terms for attention. She is definitely not a lap cat, not like Jumper. Im' just curious, seeing that neither are full Abys.

.....wayne

Having lived with two abys for almost 15 years I'd say the signs are there. Mine not only reeked havoc all night, knocking things off the night table, especially half full glasses of water cause they know that gets immediate attention, attacking tomatoes and loaves of bread and wrestling them to the ground, bringing me 20 dollar bills my husband has left in pockets and taking him my rumpled up visa bills,,,,the good news is they slowed down at 12 and 13 years of age cause they couldn't jump to the top of the fridge anymore and land on your shoulder as you innocently walked by... all this trouble without the aid of catnip..... they're gone now and I so miss all their antics and affection.

Happy New Year everyone! Cougie acted like that, always exploring, always playing with anything that moved up until about 3 years of age. He still plays but is not too naughty. He loves playing ball, fetch, etc...anything that a person will play with him. It was an adventure with him as a young cat. He knocked everything off shelves and bookcases. He is now content to sleep and play when we want to!

I have two Abbys and had one earlier, for years. They all have had their own little personalities and yet have had some things in common. My two current ones are just one year old. I have heard that this breed matures much more slowly than some other breeds. I try to play with my guys before I head for bed and also, I feed them in the evening and not the morning...so they go in to a carb/food overload coma in the evening. When I say feed, I mean that they get 1/2 a can of cat food to split between the two of them. They have dry food all the time.

They are constantly on top of cabinets, leaping from one section to the other and often jump on my shoulders from the floor. They are just a royal pain most of the time. If I dare to get on my hand and knees to wash a floor or something like that, I have two cats on my back. They bring their favorite toys to bed at night! They like to retreive toys that are thrown!

Abys are playful and smart and the combination = itch! Having two Abys I have two itches at the same time! But I love them so.

My Abyssinian, Pippi(almost 4 years)does not really run around much. She very rarely plays with the other cats. She spends alot of time around my husband, who she is deeply bonded with. She is not a lap cat and hates to be held, but if you catch her laying down you can rub her all over her belly and everwhere else and she will purr and purr. She also very hyperactive and will pace back and forth before settling down for a nap. I think because she is allowed outside, that she isnt as interested in getting into trouble inside. She does, however frequently bring us presents.Usually its food from the neighbors. She brought us a really long sausage once, several pieces of fried chicken, and one time brought a long fur boa(not food)She has a ton of personality.She is also the fastest cat I've seen.

Thanks for the replies, all. Spencer, that is a great cartoon. When my part Aby's were younger, (a few months ago) They acted like the cartoon cat. I have a blanket separating one section of the house from another. They used to climb that and lay in the fold when it was rolled back to open the door-way. Some nights they are worse about making noises than others. Jumper likes to sleep on the bed with me. Whenever I wake up during the night, he wants to play -and those sharp claws! I have to hide my hands under the covers. They have been "good" during most of the time recently especially during the rainy spell we have been going through lately. I have found that many of my furkids will become more aggressive at play inside whenever they prefer not to go outside during the day because of inclement weather. :)

Lailamara, If we didn't live so far apart, I"d offer you one of my part-abys. I have lost a few furkids over the years, and the most favoriet ones that are gone, well, I still miss them.


......wayne

[ January 03, 2002: Message edited by: wayne0214 ]

Thanks for the thought Wayne. It's about a year that my last one passed on and I feel I can move on now and get two abys in the spring. They are addictive and the house is just too neat and quiet without them. They will make me deal with unnecessary clutter. I did consider other cats but ... yup I'm an aby addict.

lailamara, yes, I know what you mean about unncessary clutter. Since I have been keeping some of my furkids inside at night (because of coyote raids) I have had to deal with unnecessary house clutter, and not only because of Jumper. One of my two color-point siamese often gets into things as well and I have, of necessity, to get rid of some things. By the way, welcome to the Pet Talk message board. :)

Hello every1, im new here! ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) (*)

Kittycatchelle, (KCC) welcome, another Canadian to the board! Tell us about your cats and where you live. Do you also have some means of placing pictures over the internet? If so, We would like to see them also. Pull up an easy chair and set back and enjoy the (sometimes nonsense) and otherwise, intelligent conversations. I have been around several cat-chat sites, but I have found this one to be one of the most friendly and not too crowded.

.........wayne

Hello Wayne, and welcome Lailamara and KittyCatChelle! As a veteran of 8 abys, 3 current, I'd say yours are in good form. They do seem to have a particular fondness for scooping things up, and OFF, surfaces...the noisier the result, the better. And aby girls do tend to dislike being picked up and/or cuddled, but are quite demanding of affection on their own terms. Lailamara, can't wait to hear about/see your new babies!

luvdemabys; OK, thanks, that is what I'm attempting to learn about my abys. :D

Just wanted to add an update to my last post that said my Aby, Pippi, dosent play with the other cats. Well of course, what was she doing this morning? Running around the house playing with the cats!!! I dont know weather I mumbled it out loud(that she dosent play) but she definately was trying to prove me wrong :rolleyes: She is so intelligent this dosent surprise me.Theres never a dull moment with an Aby around ;)

Jumper does play with Snow Tiger, especially they like to chase each other around the house and wrestle. I believe that 'Tiger is abuout 2 months younger than Jumper. speaking of Snow Tiger, he is definietly looking more like a Siamese. Now that he is about 4 months old, his nose is beginning to protrude more like a wedge-head Siamese, and his plyaying habits are more akin to a Siamese kitten. He is constantly looking into things, althought he doesn't get into things like Jumper. Now, one of his favorite activities in the mornings is to watch the changing pictures of weather maps on my monitor screen. Also he has those beady blue (slightly crossed) hawk-eyes which gives him a "fierce: look. :)

Libra Cats, our furkids have a way of listening to our conversations and then they go about proving us wrong! It never fails:D

Just an update on Jumper, he is now taking flying leaps from one shelf to another, distance: about 5 ft. Quite a jump for a kitten. But he is proving to be nearly 100% Abyssinian, both in noise making and sailing through the air!

...........wayne:D

I'm not actually sure how to use this site haha so I'm sorry if I posted in the wrong spot. I came across this while looking up about Abyssinians. I have a gorgeous little girl, nearly 4 months old, I've named her Charlotte or Charlie for short :p if you have seen the "Charlie bit me" video :p I'm sure you can guess what I say when she plays rough :) craziest kitty I've ever interacted with. But then again she matches my personality quite a bit.

Oh, please come to Cat General and post some pictures of Charlotte. Orion, my blue Aby boy would love to see them. There used to be more Aby owners here but I suppose right now it is me and Sasvermont who has two girls, Chloe and Juni Rose ( also known as Juni-get-down). yes, Abys are crazy- but they are so much fun and so sweet:)