My first experiences with cats were with the neighborhood out door cats as a kid. "Grey" was my first fall over kitty. We lived in New Jersey at the time in a garden apartment on the second floor. You could call Grey's name from any window, and as long as he recognized your voice he would flop on his back to await attention and physical contact. Grey was a lovely ole boy who loved his humans in return.
Grey taught me many things about cats such as:
Rolling on the back IS NOT an invitation to rub their belly, unless you want cat bites to the hand and your forearm raked by their claws
That cats remember; If they like you the mear sight or sound of your voice, even at a distance, will evoke a positive reaction.
Cats are rather jealous and protective over "their" human pride.
One time while I was scratching a neighbor's loveable sheepdog named "Poopsie" (Stupid name for a dog, but it wasn't my dog!) and came over, jumped up on my leg, reared up on his back legs and hauled off and belted Poopsie right on the nose. Satisfied that the "job" was done he jumped down and ambled off.
Later in life, while in college, we had a kitten, Stacy in polite company, "Stayfree" in less, while I was living with 8 other guys in an off campus house. One guy, Todd, hated the cate and tormented the poor thing incessantly. He was a big guy and would yell at the cat at the top of his lungs; scaring the poor thing so baddly that it would race at top speed, often running along the walls to get out.
At the end of the spring semester, on the last days she was with us she got rather sick with violent diarrhea. She went only one place to relieve herself, Todd's room. When we got back to our house after classes we were assaulted with an oder that made us wonder if the cat had died and rapidly decomposed.
We all went into the house to look for our wayward kitty, Todd, not caring going to his room. A few seconds later screams of rage eminated from Todd's bedroom and we all went running. The smell was revealed to have been Stacy having relieved herself on every horizontal surface in Todd's room. She then trodd through it and used her paws to touch every horizontal surface in her reach.
It took Todd 8 hours to clean his room and about two weeks to get the stench out.
I sternly warned Todd to leave the cat alone when we found her on pain of serious injury from at least me if not everyone else in the house because he had gotten what he had deserved.
Years later, after being married, we got our latest two pets, who are now about 6 and a half years old. Two red males, brothers from the same litter. Great boys! We love them to death, and are going to get another cat, a kitten of some kind in the next few weeks so our two little girls (soon to be 9 and 6 respectively) can experience kittenhood for themselves.
Grey taught me many things about cats such as:
Rolling on the back IS NOT an invitation to rub their belly, unless you want cat bites to the hand and your forearm raked by their claws
That cats remember; If they like you the mear sight or sound of your voice, even at a distance, will evoke a positive reaction.
Cats are rather jealous and protective over "their" human pride.
One time while I was scratching a neighbor's loveable sheepdog named "Poopsie" (Stupid name for a dog, but it wasn't my dog!) and came over, jumped up on my leg, reared up on his back legs and hauled off and belted Poopsie right on the nose. Satisfied that the "job" was done he jumped down and ambled off.
Later in life, while in college, we had a kitten, Stacy in polite company, "Stayfree" in less, while I was living with 8 other guys in an off campus house. One guy, Todd, hated the cate and tormented the poor thing incessantly. He was a big guy and would yell at the cat at the top of his lungs; scaring the poor thing so baddly that it would race at top speed, often running along the walls to get out.
At the end of the spring semester, on the last days she was with us she got rather sick with violent diarrhea. She went only one place to relieve herself, Todd's room. When we got back to our house after classes we were assaulted with an oder that made us wonder if the cat had died and rapidly decomposed.
We all went into the house to look for our wayward kitty, Todd, not caring going to his room. A few seconds later screams of rage eminated from Todd's bedroom and we all went running. The smell was revealed to have been Stacy having relieved herself on every horizontal surface in Todd's room. She then trodd through it and used her paws to touch every horizontal surface in her reach.
It took Todd 8 hours to clean his room and about two weeks to get the stench out.
I sternly warned Todd to leave the cat alone when we found her on pain of serious injury from at least me if not everyone else in the house because he had gotten what he had deserved.
Years later, after being married, we got our latest two pets, who are now about 6 and a half years old. Two red males, brothers from the same litter. Great boys! We love them to death, and are going to get another cat, a kitten of some kind in the next few weeks so our two little girls (soon to be 9 and 6 respectively) can experience kittenhood for themselves.