Funny Cats: It's Their Faces

 Q: What is it about cats that is funny?   A: Their faces. Their expressions.

The fact is that cats seem to watch humans more than any other pets -- watch and -- mock us? No, not mock -- but cats seem to look out at the world like so many of us do, and with expressions on their faces that look so much like ours, that ask the two basic questions of life -- "What's dat?" and "Why is dat?"

Cats are funny just as they are, but put clothes on a cat or give a cat a human prop, and you've got a sight that is a cause for an outbreak of hysterical laughter. Clothes look funny on a lot of people too; on cats, clothes -- Well -- You've gotta love cats!

You can find the best of the many funny cat video montages at the yourfriendy YouTube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/yourfriendy

You Buy them Toys, and all They Want are the Boxes

There's a thing that cats share with small children. That is, that you buy them a toy, and the cat, much like the toddler, favors the empty box over the shiny new toy.

I've written before about our cat's fondess for small fuzzy balls. Well, lately, she's shown a decided preference for two other "toys" that I think provide insight into, dare I say it, feline psychology. The first are fir cones. These are ordinary fir cones we picked up from underneath a Douglas fir tree and used in holiday directions. Two fell off, and the cat was keenly interested in them so we let her have them.

She wore them out. She would catch them and toss them and chase them across the floor, carry them around in her mouth (whether as prey or kitten, I hesitate to speculate). These are mid-size cones, about an inch and a half to two inches long. Part of the charm for the cat is, I think, the fact that the uneven shape and the nature of the cone's petal-like segments make them move erratically. More importantly, they are noisy as they skitter across the floor. The noise is also important; if the cat is snoozing and I nudge a pine cone, her ears swivel and she sits up to look.

Now, I want to make it clear that she's mostly ignoring the fuzzy balls she used to love, the mouse with little beads inside that rattle, and the toys that hang from her cat tree. She wants fir cones. She wants them to the point of carrying the last much-abused cone around in her mouth, and placing it on the floor and nudging it, in hopes that it will shoot across the floor as it was wont to do, but alas, the little petals are now long gone and the bare little stem no longer moves on its own. So I'll be bringing some more pine cones back for her, since the ones from December are pretty much done for.

In the meantime, she's decided that the Best Possible Bed is no longer her cat tree, or the small cat bed, or one of the over-stuffed arm chairs, no none of these will suffice for her noontime naps. She has a better place for that.

She has claimed an empty and clean pizza box from the local delivery place. It is hers, and she is protective of it, to the point of napping on the box, its lid tightly closed, and the tabs that keep it that way firmly in place. I have no idea why she so favors the pizza box, but she does. She will occasionally nudge it into a position and orientation with respect to the sun that meets her criteria for proper napping, but she seems quite devoted to it. Nor is she at all unusual; there are scads of cats with pizza-box fetishes on YouTube.

10 Ways to Keep Your Cat Entertained

There’s no need to waste money on expensive towers or cat toys when you’ve likely got dozens of things in your house already that will keep your cat entertained. Here are ten of them.

10. The Laundry Basket

Fill it up with fresh warm clothes (if you cat isn’t a big shedder, that is) and it will be kitty’s new favorite place on Earth. Bonus if you’ve got a collapsible mesh laundry basket that you can turn sideways  for her to crawl in.

9. Feathers

Whether you’ve got craft feathers, an old dream catcher you made at camp, or a feather duster, your cat will love clawing, rawring, and batting at feathers.

8. YouTube Videos

Use a video of other cats (like lisala’s post about the surprised kitty) to amaze and excite your cat. If he isn’t interested in that, he might just be after your…

7. Computer Mouse

We’re living in a digital age, and your kitten is no exception. She may love chasing after your mouse as you move it across your desk. Or, if she’s like one of my cats, she’ll be in awe of your blinking cursor and bat at the arrow as it darts across the screen.

6. Blankets

Throw a small blanket or quilt on the floor and see what your cat will do. Chances are he’ll either A. lay on it contently and purr away the day or B. scramble beneath it and claw it from the bottom as if he’s attacking a giant squid.

5. Fish Aquariums

Not only are these household additions good for your health, they’ll also help entertain your cats! They’ll keep you calm while they drive your cats nuts. It’ll be just like watching your father watch NASCAR, only with fur flying instead of beer droplets.

4. Open Windows

If you normally keep the windows closed, try opening them for a day and see what the cat does. Many cats love to sit in an open window. The breeze, exotic sounds of nature, and the occasional squirrel or bird sighting drive them wild. If your cat really enjoys it, you might want to consider installing a small perch for him to use while he watches the action outside.

3. Scrap Carpet

If you’ve got leftover carpet from a recent installation or you’re getting new carpet soon, save a few squares for your cats. This makes excellent scratching post material. Just nail it down over the area you’d like your cats to scratch—maybe on a piece of plywood, or if you want to get creative, several stacks of plywood arranged as a tower—and gently remind him to scratch there every time he goes for your Spongebob slippers. If you have some fresh catnip, sprinkle that on the post (as well as beneath it, if you’re nailing it down) to encourage him to go there as well.

2. Baby Toys

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a parent, it’s that most pet and baby toys are interchangeable. Sure, you buy the rattle for your tyke and the bell-filled balls for your cat—but somehow they end up switching their toys at some point with each other. Many discarded baby toys will work well for both cats and dogs.

1. You!

Yes, it sounds like a cliché—but it’s a good cliché! You are your cat’s best and favorite toy, and playing with him every day will remind you both of the fact.

cats

Just looking for info regarding 2 indoor males, 1 is 7 yrs old and one is 8 mos old.  Both sleep with me and my husband.  The younger incessantly kneeds me and sucks and licks my arm and sleeps in my lap.  In addition breaking things and stealing stuff and generally wrecking with my posessions.  The older male grooms the younger and then they ignore each other for the most part. The older cat still sleeps in my lap and in bed, but his behavior has changed.  Until I got the old cat (at 5 weeks) I had never had cats always had dogs, so raised the kitten as a dog.  Now with the younger cat I am have issues with both.  Can someone direct me in cat sociogolgy?????????

Pressies for Your Pussycat

If the last time you sang, “What’s new, pussycat?” to your beloved feline friend he or she rewarded you with an ironic eyebrow arch (okay, even more ironic than usual), he’s probably due for a treat or two. Given that Christmas is upon us, why not get him or her a kitty stocking and fill it with treats?

It doesn’t have to be expensive. (Though, if you are a cat fanatic like a lot of people I know—or a dog one, for that matter—you might just go all out for your furry friend. There are pets out there more spoiled than kids that I know!) Here are some ideas to make your cat compadre’s spirits bright this Christmas.

Yarn. What a cheap and easy gift! Don’t you wish you could satisfy everyone on your list this easily? Get one skein, get several—does it matter? If your cat likes to bat stuff around, he’ll be thrilled to get this as a gift.

Kitty treats. If you don’t give them, why not try out a couple of different flavors and see what your cat prefers? They’re not expensive; many varieties are only a buck or two, so you don’t have to break the bank buying those silly gourmet pet treats that are over twenty.

Bouncy balls. These are our cats’ favorites! We get them for 99 cents at the pet store—or for a quarter in the toy machine, if we’re near one—and they just love chasing after them as well as batting them around. The only problem is trying to separate them from our daughter’s collection.

A laser light. A good flashlight will work if it’s dark, but every cat I’ve had has delighted in a laser light. Run it all around the carpet, up a wall (if you don’t mind it clawed!), across the furniture and beyond, and not only will you have a funny and active cat, you’ll also have given him a nice workout. (As I’m constantly reminding my husband, be sure to give him a break every now and then—he doesn’t need to run for half an hour straight!)

Anything with catnip. Some cats go crazy over the stuff. One of our cats does while the other could care less. It comes in basically anything these days, from stuffed mouse toys to even cat beds. You can even grow it or get organic replacement catnip to replace old catnip in the toys you have already.

A dangle toy. It’s the same concept as the yarn, but many cats just love them. Get one with a bell, a long dangling piece of soft cord, or my cat’s favorite, feathers!

Surprised Kitten

It's the sort of video you play over and over, and then bookmark for a rainy day when you need a smile.

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