Odd Behavior

[Burrl]

(Note: Too many smilies necessary on this one, so I decided to let you figure out where they belong in your reading of this.)

When we got our second cat at age 8 months from the same litter as our first at 8 weeks we had no idea how different she was to her brother, or from any cat we'd ever known. We hadn't an inkling about her affinity to ice.

We weren't forewarned. But later, too late, we were told "Oh yeah, don't leave her alone with an unguarded drink with ice in it!"

Yeah... She goes fishing! And when she gets a cube out (after a splashy mess) she plays with it like a toy, swatting it around the room and chasing it. When it melts down half way she loses interest in it and complains, like "Where can I get an ice cube that doesn't melt?"

She would even go fishing in the sink after someone dumps ice there. No ice was safe!

After months of guarding our iced drinks I got a notion: Why not just give her ice? Won't that possibly change this bad behavioral tendancy?

So I did! I tossed it across the room... She scampered after it, put it in her mouth and returned it just like a retriever would, laying it at my feet. Then she looks up at me with a meow "Do it again please, please!"

This led to many sessions of fetch the ice until it would melt too much or she lost it under furniture after batting it around before returning it. The most consecutive ice fetches she has ever done (I've counted them for the record) was 21! It's real good excercise for her since she is an indoor cat.

If that wasn't enough, that ice-greedy little girl would beg at the refrigerator ice dispenser every time we were getting ice for ourselves. Of course she would get her heart's desire every time.

Well, then her fettish went to another level: She fell in love with the refrigerator! OK, maybe not love as we know it, but a major infatuation. She watches the refrigerator after we have an "ice session". She knows that the ice maker will kick in and make an ice-dumping sound, then a refilling the ice cube making chamber sound.

This infatuation didn't stop there. She would come running into the kitchen any time the refrigerator's compressor would start or stop... any noise at all! She would lay in watch and fascination for hours as the refrigerator's compressor whurred. She was certain there was something alive in there.

Once I took the bottom grill off for her to see that there really wasn't something alive in there... didn't work. She still wants to know where that thing is hiding every time I open the fridge door or move it for cleaning. There's no convincing her!

OK, get this! She has taken to trying to reach the ice dispenser for herself! Can you imagine? Getting her own limitless ice cubes?

I've been tempted to put a chair next to it so she could actually perform this odd-ball behavior on film for a submission to one of those "Funniest Videos" shows. But I let my senses rule here. It would be like opening pandora's box! Thoughts of stepping barefoot into a lake of melted ice cubes around the refrigerator in the morning dissuade me.

And still -- No iced drink is safe in our house!

Tell me folks... Is this weird or do you have cats with similar behavior? Let us hear your odd-ball stories.

------------------

[kbf]

Why does my cat try to bury her food?(she likes the brand) Also why does she drag everything possible into her littler box?

[zippy-kat]

Burrl, your story reminded me so much of my kitty, Max. During his short lifetime, he devoured hundreds of ice cubes. He too would come runnin' when someone was pouring ice and/or water from the fridge. We lost Max this past January due to Kidney failure. He sure left us with some sweet memories.

Your story also brought to mind a habit that our other cat, Tinker, use to do when she was little. She had a habit of tipping over glasses that were half full. Quite a mess to clean up! Luckily, she quickly out grew this.

----
No home is complete without the pitter-patter of kitty feet!

[bettyinbc]

Just love the ice story - what a wonderful little kitty to have in your life! Personality plus...

My Maine Coon, Roxy had her own "little ways of doing things".... Firstly, Roxy was of the opinion that if her humans drank fresh water from a glass at the counter, it was indeed her right and privilege to do the same. So, she trained us to give her fresh water, in her own glass, on the counter! She also trained her big brother August to do the same.

And, what did Roxy do with her water bowl???? Why she would wash all her toys in it!! Seriously, when she was done playing with a particular toy, she would drop it in her water bowl, swoosh it around a little, ad then let it soak. Later we would find an array of soggy little mice, dripping furry balls, crumbled up pieces of soaking wet paper, whatever. Roxy was doing her laundry - again!

She was a pure delight - always making life a more interesting place. I miss her terribly.

[LoveMyPeaches]

The ice story is pretty cute! While my cats do not have odd-ball habits like that, my Daisy (1 year old black cat) loves Wheaties! She knows what is in the orange box. I have tried to trick her by pulling out a different box but there was no response until I pulled "the orange box." She goes nuts. I don't need to shake it - just the site of the orange box makes her crazy. I don't feed my cats human food but somehow she developed this love for Wheaties. Of course she gets the best of me and I share some Wheaties with her. My other cat, Pekoe, has no desire for Wheaties - or any other human food. Daisy has even dump over the trash can because she can see the "orange box" sticking out of the top! I often call her my Wheatie-Sweetie.

[Lolo]

This is so funny! My kitty goes crazy any time we cook dinner. He won't eat people food...but he does meow as loud as he can! The only really strange thing Cosmo does is when he's hungry, he will lead me to his bowl and just sit there. Even if there is food already in there, he won't eat a bite until i shake the food around in the bowl! My mom tells me i spoil him, but he is my baby!

[Betty]

I can relate to Lolo's story. My kitty August would often sit at his food bowl and give me "the look" - meaning he wanted me to rub his back while he munched on his goodies. When I did rub his back, he would purr so loudly and sometimes knead while he was eating his dinner. It was pretty funny watching this little guy get so happy - his two favourite pastimes - eating and getting his back rubbed.
I guess that's a good sign of getting pampered.....

[zippy-kat]

Our cats, Clarice and Tinker, HATE to see the bottom of their bowls. We must shake the food around until it covers the up the "hole"...then they will happily munch away! They also refuse to eat the crumbs.

[dallee118]

My two hooligans,Jimi (female 1 yr old) and Barkley (male 6 mos old) also like full drinks but for another reason entirely. They love to steal my drinking straws and carry them around like prizes! We find bright colored straws everywhere. They don't even wait for me to sit down to try and heist their favorite palything. Both of them have been known to jump on the counter as soon as I turn my back to put the soda (or whatever) back in the fridge!! Gotta Love Those Cats!

[Mouse]

The story about the kitty who loves the Wheaties box reminds me of my fluffy boy, Ludwig.

Ludwig is a Norwegian forest cat, and like many cats of that breed has no problem with close contact with people, as long as he is the initiator.

I didn't realize exactly how un-cat-like he was in this regard, until the day he decided that he really, really liked to eat Tostitos. He realized this a few minutes before I did, and thought he would communicate this to me by standing on the couch next to me, leaning in, and biting at the chip I had in my mouth.

This is now his "trick". I had never before even been able to get a kitty to eat from my hand [they usually want their treats dropped on the floor, for proper sniffing and delicate nibbling]; with Ludwig, however, if I hold one end of a Tostitos chip in my mouth, he will crawl up my chest and take it from me kissee-style.

[bloomer]

I love the "Ice Kitty" story. It sounds like you have hours of entertainment there. It amazes me how they train us for their little habits or bad habits and how something cute can turn into a daily ritual. I have 3 cats, 20lb maine coon cross, and 2 ragdoll crosses, Sophie my "little one" doesn't really like the the big Maine coone, Montana, so she decided that she wants to be fed away from him.. so she jumps on the table, and waits to be fed there.. she even has her own spot, and if something is in her spot.. it's usualy off the table.. she knows feeding time 4:30, and like clock work is sitting there waiting for her dinner.. we thought this was pretty cute at first, but it's pretty embarassing when you have guests for dinner and she's sitting there.. most non cat people just don't understand... I do however disinfect the table after..

[casmeow]

I created a monster! When "Indy"(Indiana Jones)was brought into our home, he was only 8 wks old and had stitches down the front of him.3 babies had been dropped on a woman's porch & she could tell there was something wrong w/Indy.She took him to our vet & paid for his hernia surgery so the vet would find him a good home. When we had our black lab in there, they wanted us to see him. I refused,knowing the outcome,but they persisted - saying we had to see this kitten w/the unusual color(he's kind of a gray sometimes, taupe almost sometimes). ANYWAY - when we brought him home, I set him up in our back bedroom so the others would leave him alone so he could heal. I would always sit with him while he ate - so NOW whenever he wants his"baby kitty crunchies"(even tho he's 8 yrs old now)someone has to stand there while he eats - and he keeps looking back to be sure you haven't left - or he'll leave too!Even tho there's plenty of food in his bowl - he'll cry pitifully non-stop till one of us stays there.I should leave him more often as he's a hefty 15 lbs! So, see what I created? He's got me trained.

[Burrl]

Originally posted by kbf:
Why does my cat try to bury her food?(she likes the brand) Also why does she drag everything possible into her littler box?

KBF ~

Stange indeed!

About burying catfood. Does she bury it in the litter box? That would be contrary to any animal's normal behavior. Perhaps she has had to go without food for extended periods of time before you got her. I that case, many animals instictively bury food to hedge against leaner times.

My kitties have a toybox from which they select toys and often to which they return them. Perhaps if you had a kitty toy box they would play in it instead of the sandbox.

Thank you!



[This message has been edited by Burrl (edited July 10, 2000).]

[Burrl]

Originally posted by zippy-kat:
Burrl, your story reminded me so much of my kitty, Max. During his short lifetime, he devoured hundreds of ice cubes. He too would come runnin' when someone was pouring ice and/or water from the fridge. We lost Max this past January due to Kidney failure. He sure left us with some sweet memories.

Your story also brought to mind a habit that our other cat, Tinker, use to do when she was little. She had a habit of tipping over glasses that were half full. Quite a mess to clean up! Luckily, she quickly out grew this.

----
No home is complete without the pitter-patter of kitty feet!

We had a wonderful dog that died of kidney failure. We grieved her loss for years. I relate to your loss. Perhaps Max and my cat were relatives. Mine is Persian. [Her name is Mush-Mushi (Japanese for "Hello", even though neither she nor we are).]

At least Tinker knew to select glasses that were half-full instead of half-empty.

[Burrl]

Originally posted by bettyinbc:
Just love the ice story - what a wonderful little kitty to have in your life! Personality plus...

My Maine Coon, Roxy had her own "little ways of doing things".... Firstly, Roxy was of the opinion that if her humans drank fresh water from a glass at the counter, it was indeed her right and privilege to do the same. So, she trained us to give her fresh water, in her own glass, on the counter! She also trained her big brother August to do the same.

And, what did Roxy do with her water bowl???? Why she would wash all her toys in it!! Seriously, when she was done playing with a particular toy, she would drop it in her water bowl, swoosh it around a little, ad then let it soak. Later we would find an array of soggy little mice, dripping furry balls, crumbled up pieces of soaking wet paper, whatever. Roxy was doing her laundry - again!

She was a pure delight - always making life a more interesting place. I miss her terribly.

Your Roxy story is great! I would miss her too. These are the type of pets that should be bred that have "personality plus". Too bad we are encouraged to neuter animals before we really get a chance to appreciate their favorable traits. But what would you call such a breed?