Box-O-Rama

[Lucinda]

My cool cat Foster is a solid-black, panther-looking hulk of a cat with a wide nose, large furry feet, and a disproportionately-long tail. If there's a box in the room, he is COMPELLED to get into it, and will not rest until he has succeeded. He has such fun! Sometimes it's hilarious (like when the box is only big enough to accommodate his head), but sometimes it gets him into trouble (like with the recent paper-shredder incident--whew!). I know that cats, in general, have an affinity for boxes, but I've had cats before, and Foster seems to have an above-average interest in them.

[Ariadne]

I have a theory that black cats like boxs better... boxs, bags, anything a black cat can squeeze in like a blanquet... Shadow (my slim black cat) is always looking for a box to go in... and gets very happy when he do... =)
However, my other cat, Fluffy, a all white and fat one... is not that curious... Go figure why...
I hope the paper shredder did not trim yours cat tail...

[TheCatsMeow]

How funny, I have a black cat also, and he LOVES boxes. Also plastic bags, paper bags; basically anything with a small space. He'll crawl into anything. He likes to crawl into bags and have us carry him around the house in it.

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...>^..^<...
TheCatsMeow

[Lucinda]

Originally posted by Ariadne:
I hope the paper shredder did not trim yours cat tail...

Luckily, it didn't--but that's what I was afraid of. (I recently measured his tail and, from his backbone to the tip of the fur, it is 16.5" long!)

I had just bought the shredder--one of those that has the motor top that sits on the trash-can bottom. It has "automatic feed" that just starts by itself when it senses something in the slot. Having just unboxed it, I had put the two parts together, plugged it in, and was reading the next step of the directions. Before I knew what had happened, Foster had hopped into the trash can!

I totally panicked, envisioning his tail being shredded into 1/4" strips, and lunged over to flip the switch. Not having had a chance to read the rest of the instructions, I did not realize that it was a THREE-position switch, with 'off' being in the MIDDLE. So, in my reflex action, I just quickly clicked the switch all the way to the right--which, as it turns out, is REVERSE!

Up until then Foster hadn't known anything was amiss, but unlike 'forward', which has the sensor, 'reverse' just GOES! It made a really LOUD, SCARY noise! In an instant, I realized what I'd done--and now I could envision his tail (or ear) being drawn into the knives from below! Of course, if the noise was so startling and horrible to me (since it was new, I'd never heard it operating before), you can imagine how much louder it sounded to Foster, down in the trash can!

In a FRACTION of a second, before my hand could even get to the switch to click it to the middle, Foster had jumped STRAIGHT UP out of that trash can and was all the way across the room. It scared us both to death! (Evinrude, on the other hand, ambled on over to see what all the commotion was about, then sat up and looked into the shredder's trash can. That cat is so laid-back; nothing bothers him!)

Anyway, poor Foster spent the rest of the night sitting on the back corner of the couch, his eyes fully dilated, constantly staring at the evil shredder as if it could come to life any moment and attack him. He was really skittish and paranoid for the next three or four days. I decided to give him enough time to recover fully before I activate that noise again, so I've got a stack of unwanted credit-card offers piling up next to the shredder...

[This message has been edited by Lucinda (edited June 29, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Lucinda (edited June 29, 2000).]

[Kinsey]

Lucinda,
I think I must have Foster's twin sister. Kipper is a big, black, sleek, panther-like long-tailed cat also!
She LOVES boxes. It is her mission in life to get into any box or box-like object. It is soooooo funny when she can't quite fit and her rump is hanging out! She will also get into the dishpan, if I leave it on the floor, and the kid's backpacks, if left open. If a drawer is open, she will jump in.
She once tried to get into the shoebox my 3-year-old's shoes came in....you can imagine how small it was. She put her front paws in, realized she wouldn't fit and then gave me a disgusted look, as if to say, "What kind of box is this?!?"

[LoveMyPeaches]

OK, I must jump on the band wagon here! I, too, have black cats. And yes, they are box and bag freaks! My youngest kitty always has her sniffer into everything. She once squeezed herself into my purse to retrieve a gum wrapper! (How she knew it was in there is beyond my human level of knowledge!) They also seem to have an extreme urge to get into my clothes drawers (while they are closed!) The best thing about my black cats is their face ... so black that the only thing I can see is their eyes.

[dstiles]

Hello, i am a new person. I want to introduce my 5 black cats. Titus, who is my first and oldest is named after the Shakespearean king. Titian is next, he is named after the Italian painter. Tiffany, i just like the name, my only girl cat. Her brother Louis named after the french king Louis XIV and Duncan also the Shakespearean king. They give me alot of joy and demolish my house. But I just love them to pieces.

[Seville2_2000]

hi I am new also and have two cats. mischief is 13 and seville is 8 and both very loving and giving. missy. my daughter saved after a family dumped four little kittens at 4 weeks old and seville she brougt home from a girls house in scarborough.missy has a lot of strange traits and seville just like's to play and see what trouble she can get into. I wouldn't trade either one for all the money in the world.