The Big Orange Cat
I
If you want to know
the character of a man,
find out what his cat
thinks of him. - Anonymous
II I am Al
Two triangles float closer to me. I clutch the piece of wood so tightly that my fingers turn white. One of the triangles turned to the side as if looking for something to attack. It turns back toward me. I hold my breath as they slowly slide forward again. At the edge of the wood they stop. A little paw suddenly flies to the table top and swipes the milk ring lying close to the edge. I see something orange streak across the room and stop at the door. Al looks back innocently, milk ring dangling from his mouth.
We had noticed many things missing from around the house before then, but hadn’t thought that Al had been stealing them. I begin looking for missing socks and shoes, brushes, jewelry, and even a shirt. I find the socks under the dresser. The shoe is under the bed with some of the jewelry in it. The more I looked the more I find. That night in retaliation for the theft of his pilfered items, Al steals my glasses.
II When We Met
He peers out from under the couch as the door opens. Suddenly he makes two leaping hops toward the open door. Both Tess and I race to close the door. Tess beats me. Al sits on the floor at her feet and looks from the door to her and gives a long plaintive meow.
We ignore him and head back to our seats. Al follows me to the couch and plops down under my skirt. Soon I hear a rumbling purr and look between my feet. Al had created a nest from the pooled material and is sucking on a piece of the skirt. Little paws knead my ankle and his eyes are half closed.
I pick him up and set him in my lap. He grabs my hand and growls as he pulls it to the top of his head. For several hours he sits on my lap demanding attention as I visit.
Tess watches with a frown on her face. “Al never snuggles with me. He always finds ways to knock my things over and irritate me. He just isn’t a good cat. Sometimes I wish I never brought him in off the porch.”
I bring Al home with me that day. Thomas, my husband wins Al’s undying affection when he begins a game of tag.
III MEOW
“Young cats like to play, especially ones that do not have siblings. So the games of tag and hide and seek are normal predatory play.”
IV Far Away
“You’ll never believe what Al did this morning.” Mom’s voice has a funny quaver in it. “Daddy didn’t close his closet door tight enough and Al got in. I was sitting in the dining room when I saw him bringing down a sheet of Styrofoam. He put it in the middle of the living room. I decided to see what he would do with it, but he just left it there and went back upstairs. Several minutes later I hear a thudding noise coming down the stairs. That dumb cat was carrying one of Daddy’s clunky shoes (they have to weigh 3 pounds at least) and dumped it with the Styrofoam. Then he got up on the couch and went to sleep. I guess he was trying to clean out Daddy’s closet.
“Then he disappeared for a while. I decided that I wanted to eat lunch so I went to the kitchen. Can you guess what your cat was doing? He was SITTING in my kitchen window! He froze behind that lace curtain. I think he thought that if he didn’t move, I wouldn’t see him. I made some lunch and left the room. I peered around the corner and caught his gaze. He gave me one of those looks. ‘And?’ That cat is either crazy or doesn’t believe in NO.”
V “NO!" to a cat means "Not while I am looking."
VI MEOW
“Carrying a shoe is unusual. Cats do like shoes, but they normally like to lay on them or rub against them. They tend to like the smell. Carrying has to do with predatory behavior, but it’s not normally a shoe. It’s more like a toy or a wadded up sock.”
VII Leaving My Baby Behind
I stuff my (I mean Al’s) favorite green blanket into the cat carrier. Al had stolen it so many times that I thought he might like to have it. Thomas feeds him the tranquilizer and so it can begin working as we pack our bags. Al sits on the rocking chair watching the tip of his tail as it flicks into view behind the bars of the back.
“I don’t think that med is working.” Thomas watches as Al tries to pounce his tail and ends up landing on the floor with a thud.
Thomas gently tosses the ball into the carrying case. Al, wise cat that he is, sticks only his head in and tries to reach the toy. Thomas sneaks up behind him and tries to nudge him further into the case.
Al pushes back against his hand and manages to wriggle away from the opening.
“I would love a little help here!” Thomas picks up Al as he makes a dash toward the bathroom. He holds the now completely limp Al. “I hate it when he does this. I can’t get him in here, help me.”
We worked together stuffing Al into his case and getting the door closed. Al growls and holds on to the edges with his paws. We win in the end.
VIII MEOW
“Most cats pick up fetching on their own it’s something a cat will or will not do. Show and follow are not normal. What is normal is for a cat to demand attention. Like when you are asleep they will pat your face or pounce on you.”
VII Al the genius
“I was watching TV the other day and Al decided that he wanted me to get up. I ignored him for a while and told him that I didn’t want to play with him right then. He left for a while and then came back, plunked his front paws on the arm of the chair, and grabbed my shirt in his mouth and tugged!” Mom sounded amused. “I followed him out to the kitchen and found that his water bowl was empty. I filled the bowl. Al was so happy that he kissed my hand as I put the bowl down on the floor.
I decided to do some typing this morning and was all ready to get things done when Al jumped up on the desk and turned off the light! I turned it back on and he turned it right back off. Instead of having a fight over the light, I put him down on the floor and told him to go take a nap. He walked of a few feet and plunked down on the floor.
I had been typing up genealogy for several hours when Al jumped back up on the table. ‘Don’t you dare touch that lamp. I’ll make hamburger out of you.’ I told him. So he sits on the keyboard and gives me his belly to rub. I tell you, this cat is funny.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources for quotes:
http://www.ipass.net/chasb/quotes.htm
http://www.geocities.com/noirsie/catisms1.html
Vets assistant at MEOW in Cambridge MA
the character of a man,
find out what his cat
thinks of him. - Anonymous
II I am Al
Two triangles float closer to me. I clutch the piece of wood so tightly that my fingers turn white. One of the triangles turned to the side as if looking for something to attack. It turns back toward me. I hold my breath as they slowly slide forward again. At the edge of the wood they stop. A little paw suddenly flies to the table top and swipes the milk ring lying close to the edge. I see something orange streak across the room and stop at the door. Al looks back innocently, milk ring dangling from his mouth.
We had noticed many things missing from around the house before then, but hadn’t thought that Al had been stealing them. I begin looking for missing socks and shoes, brushes, jewelry, and even a shirt. I find the socks under the dresser. The shoe is under the bed with some of the jewelry in it. The more I looked the more I find. That night in retaliation for the theft of his pilfered items, Al steals my glasses.
II When We Met
He peers out from under the couch as the door opens. Suddenly he makes two leaping hops toward the open door. Both Tess and I race to close the door. Tess beats me. Al sits on the floor at her feet and looks from the door to her and gives a long plaintive meow.
We ignore him and head back to our seats. Al follows me to the couch and plops down under my skirt. Soon I hear a rumbling purr and look between my feet. Al had created a nest from the pooled material and is sucking on a piece of the skirt. Little paws knead my ankle and his eyes are half closed.
I pick him up and set him in my lap. He grabs my hand and growls as he pulls it to the top of his head. For several hours he sits on my lap demanding attention as I visit.
Tess watches with a frown on her face. “Al never snuggles with me. He always finds ways to knock my things over and irritate me. He just isn’t a good cat. Sometimes I wish I never brought him in off the porch.”
I bring Al home with me that day. Thomas, my husband wins Al’s undying affection when he begins a game of tag.
III MEOW
“Young cats like to play, especially ones that do not have siblings. So the games of tag and hide and seek are normal predatory play.”
IV Far Away
“You’ll never believe what Al did this morning.” Mom’s voice has a funny quaver in it. “Daddy didn’t close his closet door tight enough and Al got in. I was sitting in the dining room when I saw him bringing down a sheet of Styrofoam. He put it in the middle of the living room. I decided to see what he would do with it, but he just left it there and went back upstairs. Several minutes later I hear a thudding noise coming down the stairs. That dumb cat was carrying one of Daddy’s clunky shoes (they have to weigh 3 pounds at least) and dumped it with the Styrofoam. Then he got up on the couch and went to sleep. I guess he was trying to clean out Daddy’s closet.
“Then he disappeared for a while. I decided that I wanted to eat lunch so I went to the kitchen. Can you guess what your cat was doing? He was SITTING in my kitchen window! He froze behind that lace curtain. I think he thought that if he didn’t move, I wouldn’t see him. I made some lunch and left the room. I peered around the corner and caught his gaze. He gave me one of those looks. ‘And?’ That cat is either crazy or doesn’t believe in NO.”
V “NO!" to a cat means "Not while I am looking."
VI MEOW
“Carrying a shoe is unusual. Cats do like shoes, but they normally like to lay on them or rub against them. They tend to like the smell. Carrying has to do with predatory behavior, but it’s not normally a shoe. It’s more like a toy or a wadded up sock.”
VII Leaving My Baby Behind
I stuff my (I mean Al’s) favorite green blanket into the cat carrier. Al had stolen it so many times that I thought he might like to have it. Thomas feeds him the tranquilizer and so it can begin working as we pack our bags. Al sits on the rocking chair watching the tip of his tail as it flicks into view behind the bars of the back.
“I don’t think that med is working.” Thomas watches as Al tries to pounce his tail and ends up landing on the floor with a thud.
Thomas gently tosses the ball into the carrying case. Al, wise cat that he is, sticks only his head in and tries to reach the toy. Thomas sneaks up behind him and tries to nudge him further into the case.
Al pushes back against his hand and manages to wriggle away from the opening.
“I would love a little help here!” Thomas picks up Al as he makes a dash toward the bathroom. He holds the now completely limp Al. “I hate it when he does this. I can’t get him in here, help me.”
We worked together stuffing Al into his case and getting the door closed. Al growls and holds on to the edges with his paws. We win in the end.
VIII MEOW
“Most cats pick up fetching on their own it’s something a cat will or will not do. Show and follow are not normal. What is normal is for a cat to demand attention. Like when you are asleep they will pat your face or pounce on you.”
VII Al the genius
“I was watching TV the other day and Al decided that he wanted me to get up. I ignored him for a while and told him that I didn’t want to play with him right then. He left for a while and then came back, plunked his front paws on the arm of the chair, and grabbed my shirt in his mouth and tugged!” Mom sounded amused. “I followed him out to the kitchen and found that his water bowl was empty. I filled the bowl. Al was so happy that he kissed my hand as I put the bowl down on the floor.
I decided to do some typing this morning and was all ready to get things done when Al jumped up on the desk and turned off the light! I turned it back on and he turned it right back off. Instead of having a fight over the light, I put him down on the floor and told him to go take a nap. He walked of a few feet and plunked down on the floor.
I had been typing up genealogy for several hours when Al jumped back up on the table. ‘Don’t you dare touch that lamp. I’ll make hamburger out of you.’ I told him. So he sits on the keyboard and gives me his belly to rub. I tell you, this cat is funny.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources for quotes:
http://www.ipass.net/chasb/quotes.htm
http://www.geocities.com/noirsie/catisms1.html
Vets assistant at MEOW in Cambridge MA