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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Catish things your cat does that only cats can do

37 replies

FoxesOnSocks · 08/08/2016 12:31

Mine pretty much has ignored me for a fortnight, yet has started this - every morning wakes me up (via a foot attack) so that I can walk him to his unlocked cat flap. Which he the looks at and the goes eats and drinks from his (already filled the night before) bowls and the struts past ignoring me and goes out.

The reason his cat flap is unlocked and bowls filled is because prior to this behaviour he'd taken to waking everyone up by running around like a loon at 2.30 looking for food, and then again at 4.30 to go out.

Still love him though and evidently pander to his every whim

What cat things does your cat do?

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 08/08/2016 13:58

It's The Look. (A combination of 'There is something not satisfactory here' and ''Oh Gawd - they're doing it wrong again.') it gets me every time.

isamonster · 08/08/2016 14:19

He's taken to howling his displeasure and maybe his pleasure... Sometimes at 4am looking out the locked cat flap.

RubbishMantra · 08/08/2016 15:47

Little M chatters (proper teeth chattering) and making nickering noises at the bird. He sounds like a baby goat, chattering it's teeth. Oh, and does this really cute thing where he rolls down the stairs slowly, using his claws for grip, stopping every few steps to rub his cheeks and neck on the carpet.

MCat, going from the size of a fat duck/loaf of bread to stretching out and tripling his length, and resembling a sausage dog. Shooting out the cat flap, just before I'm about to close it for the night. After sleeping all day on his, Little M's and my bed.

Toddlerteaplease · 08/08/2016 16:54

Mine can't cat

Original poster

FoxesOnSocks · 08/08/2016 17:00

Ah, a cat who can't cat.

Mines stepped it up a notch and is actively ignoring me. He's strolled past five times and I'm pretty sure he does the 'I'm not looking at you' head flick when I look at him.

Not sure I've heard to chattering thing.

OP posts:

spaintrotter · 08/08/2016 17:07

One of my cats carries my flip flops from the hallway through to the kitchen and puts them over her food bowl. If flip flops aren't available then she'll drag the tea towel from the handle on the cupboard and put that over instead.

Any explanations for this one?

Original poster

FoxesOnSocks · 08/08/2016 19:52

Never heard of that!! Hiding her food - maybe she's part squirrel!!

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 08/08/2016 19:54

Do tell. Does she pay attention to the flip flops at any other time?

Allergictoironing · 08/08/2016 19:54

Cat supper time is around 9pm, my supper time is at least an hour earlier. Last 3 evenings in a row Girlcat has given me The Stare all the time I'm eating even though the only human food she eats is lamb bones (I wasn't eating lamb any of those times). I have tried offering her a small portion but her nose is turned up disdainfully at the salmon, beef and chicken I have offered her - despite her watching me cut it from my foods and immediately placed next to her.

If a dog gets offered human food he/she will eat it even if they don't particularly like it because it was offered to them, I think a cat will only eat human food if they can steal it!

spaintrotter · 08/08/2016 20:00

Never bothers with the flip flops any other time. Think they're just light and easy for her to carry in her mouth. She once used dd's sandals but they were too small and ended up in the actual food bowl and I don't think that was the result she was hoping for. Maybe she's hiding food from her (slightly more greedy) sister?

cozietoesie · 08/08/2016 20:04

Beats me then.

CoodleMoodle · 08/08/2016 20:06

Currently cat sitting for DM. Cats are technically mine too (we got them when I was a teen) but they live with her. Forgot how bizarre they can be.

Boy cat gets so excited over the prospect of breakfast that he has to go outside whilst it's being prepared. I assume to calm down as he just stands there for maybe thirty seconds and then comes back in. He's quite happy to eat after that. He also licks the catflap before using it.

Girl cat is in hiding because I've brought my 2yo with me. Said 2yo is currently in bed so she is sitting as close to me as she can. She usually flinches when anyone goes near her, including DM... She's lived with DM since she was a kitten (cats are 14) and has no reason to be afraid of her. She also can't figure out the catflap. DM lives in hope that she will one day - think it's a bit late now!

Trashbox · 08/08/2016 20:07

Whenever there's another cat around, my own cat completely ignores me, and acts all 'catty' in front of the other cats!

WeirdAndPissedOff · 08/08/2016 20:36

I've read before that some cats have an instinct to cover their food when they're finished with it - hides their tracks so predators don't find them.
We googled it as one of ours tries to "bury" it by scraping around the bowl after she's finished.

ALemonyPea · 08/08/2016 20:44

My female cat brings in slices of stale bread and kills them in the living room, so that in the morning, there is scattered bread carcass all over the living room floor. No idea where she gets them from.

The male one, he miaows outside the front door, in a little ledge, until I open the door. I then have to carry him in as it is far too much effort for him to walk in himself. Everyone thinks he is evil, but he is a sweetheart with me, and only I can pick him up.

TroysMammy · 08/08/2016 22:48

I had a cat who didn't like the dark. If he wanted to go downstairs at night he would scratch the wallpaper in the bedroom whilst looking at me sleeping. Being a light sleeper I would wake up, be annoyed at him scratching wallpaper and escort him downstairs so he could have something to eat. Result. He would then stay downstairs until morning.

TroysMammy · 08/08/2016 22:53

Another cat would regularly deposit his squeaky bird toy in his food bowl. He couldn't find it one day so he hunted out a cuddly toy keyring which was on my dressing table and carried it to his food bowl.

I had no idea why he did this unless it was as a protest about an empty (yea right) food bowl.

cozietoesie · 08/08/2016 23:03

Oh Yes. All my Siamese boys have 'dipped' their toys in their food bowl. I think it's part of the gaming/killing thing. (Thank Goodness for washing machines.)

MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours · 08/08/2016 23:07

BastardCat used to simultaneously purr and growl whilst attacking my feet in bed.

Also stare fixedly at nothing for ages, freaking me out, then nonchalantly stroll off.

Bastard

Oldraver · 08/08/2016 23:22

I have a cat who sometimes will cover his food bowl or make attempts to.

We've just been away and I left a food bowl upstairs and when we came home the food bowl had been removed (by DS) but I could see the bathmat was screwedled up.

He usually scratches at the door jamb and floor in a effort to cover his bowl but loves if anything has been left on the floor. He wont go and fetch flip flops though

abigamarone · 09/08/2016 10:31

One of mine likes to cover the food bowl if there's the slightest remnant left. But he'll use anything, teatowels, socks, bags. Anything he can drag over.

And the bum grooming thing where he sticks his leg right up in the air.

And pushing anything and everything off whatever shelf or windowsill he's appropriated.

Overthinker2016 · 09/08/2016 10:39

Came in last night to a small pile of spew on my bedroom floor. Then I went into my ensuite and he'd knocked a loo roll down the toilet.

Germgirl · 09/08/2016 10:53

PicklePig isn't very good at catting, he forgets how to cat regularly.
We often say he's 'crashed' & needs rebooting, he'll just stop, often halfway through grooming, so he'll have one leg in the air and his tongue out. He sits and stares, frozen, for several minutes, then he'll start using again, having 'rebooted'.
Or he'll be walking across the room & will just stop and stare into space for a few minutes. After a while he realises he's stopped & starts up again.
Other cats confuse him, the local lairy thug cat swaggers into the garden quite often & tries to get PicklePig to play with him. Thug cat will bash PP on the head and then tear off round the garden, obviously hoping PP will give chase, PP just looks at him in a confused manner and goes back to licking his own bum.
He's really rubbish at being a cat.

cozietoesie · 09/08/2016 11:12

Sorry to say this, Germgirl, but is PicklePig a bright cat?

Toddlerteaplease · 09/08/2016 11:21

Germgirl we used to have a stunning white cat that did the grooming thing. It was seriously cute. He was fairly clever as cats go!

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