"My cat is crazy"

I think nearly every cat owner says that, and yes some cats are odd. Cats do things that don't make sense to us. Part of the issue though, is that we don't see the world in the same way that cats do. Cats (small carnivores with a brain the size of a walnut) have a different viewpoint than people (large tool using omnivores with a brain the size of a loaf of bread). It's this different point of view that makes them do things that we don't understand.

First cats see the world from four inches off of the floor. This means we know what the top of something looks like. They have to find out. This became clear this week. We've mentioned before that both Momiji and Geiger like to get a drink out of the bathroom sinks. I guess the water is fresher. So when we go into the bath Momiji especially will come tearing into the room, jump onto the seat and then up to the vanity and stand by the sink looking at us expectantly. This week Marsha walked into the bathroom and immediately there was a white streak following her. Per normal Momiji jumped up on the seat, except what she couldn't see from below was that the seat was up. She dropped right into the bowl with a splash. She was a very unhappy cat for quite a while after that.

Cats also don't expect change in their environment. As with the previous story she assumed that the seat would be down. Another time I had put a sweater folded up neatly next to the sink. When she leapt up she saw the sweater and it was amazing to see how she adjusted where her paws landed so she wouldn't hit it. It was something new and she wasn't going to take any chances.

There are differences between the two of them though. Occasionally when I'm working I'll pull out one particular playlist and then really crank the music*. Full up on base boost and at rated power everywhere. The glass on the desk rattles. Things will shake off the counter. It's wonderful. Geiger will go to the far corner of the house and hide under the bed. Momiji on the other hand comes out, hops up on the desk, and listens along with me. She seems to like the noise. She's definitely my cat. She's also has developed a habit of patrolling. She'll hop upon the desk, walk past my keyboard (without touching it) and then look at me and meow. Then she'll hop down and go into the other room. About ten minutes later she'll do it again. She's done this over and over all afternoon.

Most amusing though is that she is definitely a hunter. Each evening we give them a few Friskies Temptations. As each one slides across the kitchen floor Geiger will just watch it go by and then saunter over and eat them. Momiji on the other hand dashes around and catches them while they are still moving. She's gotten really good at a "first baseman's snag". The strange thing though is she can't find them if they stop before she gets there. She seems to be programmed to detect motion and calculate an intercept course. However this means that she can't seem to come up with a vector for a speed of zero. This makes sense during the months when she was feral and had to hunt to survive. Now it's a little odd, but then I guess with the limited processor power of their brain they get really good at a few things but not others.

But overall Momiji seems to be a happy cat. She'll play with a ribbon and sleep on the bed. I think Momiji's concluded she's here to stay.

And we agree.

Doug and Marsha

*If you're interested the first three cuts on the playlist are:
Koyaanisqatsi by Phillip Glass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFnmH9a2RkE
Seventeen years by Ratatat  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYCKGG4VOZY
Run Rabbit Junk by Yoko Kanno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMxtI7QfpWk
And then I get serious.
They need to be listened to LOUD Your system needs the biggest bloody base drivers you can find and for best effect an INSANE amount of wattage. I wish I'd had this playlist when I worked at the Planetarium in Eugene. We once played Whale Songs at rated power and broke things in the room. This playlist would have been glorious.

No new pictures for this week.
m&d