Our cat is weird

[Pilot]

As a kitten, he followed us home "Can you keep me?" He likes to be vacuumed. And he likes to be thumped.

We were on a walk and heard a kitten crying from across the highway. Checked him out, about 12 weeks old, wearing a collar. Checked at nearby houses and they all denied owning him. Probably lied. He followed us home, a mile walk. Then stayed on the porch. Foolishly, we gave him some food left over from a previous cat that fed herself to the coyotes. For 2 weeks he hung around and my wife decided she wanted to keep him.

Like many critters he was afraid the the vacuum. We coiled the hose on the floor and gave him cat treats in the middle of the coil with the thing shut off. He got used to that. Then we plugged it in (a built in system, so it comes on when you plug the hose into a wall outlet) and it sucked while he cautiously went after treats lying in the middle of the coiled hose. He got comfortable with that. Then we attached the brush to the hose end, brushed him with it with the system off. Loved that. Then it was just one step to brushing him with the vacuum on. He loves it. Cuts down on the cat hair lying around.

Massage therapist at my chiropractor's office uses a "Vibracusser" on me. Has a big knob that thumps pretty hard. Works pretty well on tight tendons and muscles; I called it a thumper because that's how it feels. Turns out there is a massage tool called a Thumper. Has a couple knobs about the size of a golf ball and they vibrate pretty seriously. Bought one off Ebay. When I started to use it the cat seemed interested and now whenever I plug it in, he comes running, yells at me and insists I hold it out for him, rubs against it while those knobs thump away.

In the morning he sits at the bottom of the stairs and yells at us. After awhile his bladder gets just too full and he races upstairs to his sandbox.

One more thing. He can tell time. At about 8 pm, we often plop in front of the tube and toss some treats for him. He knows when it is 8 o'clock. If we don't head for the couch soon after, he starts yelling at us--which is what has happened this evening. I'm writing this, it's 8:17 and for about 10 minutes he has been pestering us. We have a grandfather clock--maybe he counts the chimes? Naah, he's not that smart.

He's weird.

 

[KubotainNH]

Pets all have their peculiarities about them, just like us people. I like the vacuum idea, how long did it take? I'd like to do it with my dogs seeing they shed so much.

 

[murphy1244]

My cat too was a stray, she claimed us. Seems she loves that vacuum cleaner and my shop vac. Every time I turn it on she comes running over and wants to be cleaned. Weird Cats indeed. Pilot, I wonder if our Cats are related.

 

[Mace Canute]

Pets all have their peculiarities about them.........

That's just one of the many things that makes them so great!

 

[KubotainNH]

That's just one of the many things that makes them so great!

Well, that depends on what it is. If my dog is throwing up something nasty that she ate then I don't like that one. Watching her play with a rock like a cat plays is funny though.

 

[Pilot]

Kubotain,
I don't remember how long it took--it's been 10-12 years since we trained him. I know it wasn't long, maybe 2 weeks at most.

 

[Pilot]

One more thing. When we decided to keep him we took him to the vet. He got the usual shots, etc. Next morning, as usual, I drove to work, 32 miles, mostly at freeway speeds. Wife called at about noon, asking if I had seen the cat. No, but I went out to the truck as I had seen him sometimes jump out from under it in the past. Opened the hood and there he was on a flat spot behind the battery, groggy from the vet's. All that noise & he slept thru it.

 

[KubotainNH]

Opened the hood and there he was on a flat spot behind the battery, groggy from the vet's.

Wow, I had a cat die in my car from doing that. The fan does not stop spinning. It was horrific.

 

[Bird]

Wow, I had a cat die in my car from doing that. The fan does not stop spinning. It was horrific.

We had a neighbor who spent over a thousand dollars on a black cat named Midnight after he got in the fan and fan belt when she started the car one cold morning. He did eventually pretty well recover.

 

[Thomas]

We have cat also and I believe she knows she has it made.
Pet/cat can pull at your heart strings mean while they are training you for there use...indeed smart little boogers are they.

 

[Baby Grand]

Spike is curled up in my lap, right now.
He likes a good thumping too - sounds a thump ripe melon if you do it right.
At exactly 6:00 AM he is in my face, looking for food.
I haven't had to set an alarm clock for 7 years.
He is devoted to The Plant Manger and follows her around the yard and woods like a dog.

 

[Travelover]

Wife had a cat that was deathly afraid of a vacuum cleaner. When we got married and she moved into my house with the cat, it started peeing all over the place. Vet prescribed Prozac and after that the cat loved to be vacuumed (and peed in the corners less often). Still remember that cat on really damp days when the carpet starts to smell again............

 

[JDgreen227]

Over the years living in the country I have adopted nine rescued cats and I currently have four...all of them have had their quirks which makes them so much fun. I have long been telling family and friends, quote: "Why can't I ever have a nice normal cat like other people do...??"

Cats NORMAL??? Never gonna find one....:laughing:

 

[Oaktree]

Many years ago I had a white cat follow me home. I was out for a walk, and noticed this cat sitting on a rock in somebody's yard. I just called "hey white cat". Normally cats are leery of strangers, but this one jumped down off the rock and ran probably 25' across the yard to me. Rubbing, purring, meowing, wanting to be picked up but was so wound up it would squirm the minute I did. Started walking back home, and wouldn't you know it the cat followed me the whole way (maybe a mile). Opened the front door and it walked right in like it lived there all along, went over to the cat dish (had one other cat at the time) and generally made itself at home.

Cat was smart. This house had a built-in wood box in an attached mudroom. There was an opening in the floor of the woodbox that led to a chute so you could sweep the bark, etc. into a pail outside. The cat figured out it could climb up the chute, pop the cover off the opening with it's head and get in the house (this was in the early fall before I filled the box).

It was likely a year or two old when I got it, had it for another 18 years before I had to have it put down (kidney failure).