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

Original poster

Things you didn't know about cats until you got one....

130 replies

Mumdiva99 · 03/12/2020 20:42

This is just for fun and might be interesting or useful.

I'll start - I didn't know cats played fetch. My beautiful blonde cat plays with a rubber orange bullet and brings it and drops it waiting for me to throw it. This can be a long game....

What have you learnt?

OP posts:
Austriana · 08/12/2020 17:57

Also that cats play fetch! It's her favourite activity.

She follows me around the house at all times and sleeps hardly at all, which I didn't expect. I'm hoping this behaviour changes as she becomes more settled and hopefully less anxious.

That she can jump super high in the air and catch a paper ball in her mouth.

That she ignores all scratching posts and only wants to scratch and destroy my nicest pieces of furniture.

CoronaCurls · 08/12/2020 18:52

One of our cats loves having her tummy squidged, but has conditions - I have to sir with my legs in a particular way and put the right blanket on my knee, but furry side up not fleecy side up! She is very fussy (and spoilt!)

Kakiweewee · 08/12/2020 22:50

How much they love routine... my girl Ghost even plays on a schedule.

The depth of different sounds they make. She has an excited to play chatter, a hey how are ya trill, an I'm dying of hunger meow, a pay me attention meow, a back off hiss, an I hate this growl and more.

Morechocolateneeded · 09/12/2020 07:31

Their best time is early evening - that's when they become alert, playful and affectionate.

Morechocolateneeded · 09/12/2020 07:33

They communicate a lot - even moggies. Lots of prr-ing when they want to say hello or to express appreciation. Lots of purring.

GuppytheCat · 09/12/2020 11:49

Our kitten seems to have taught our older cat to chat, and to play. She was silent and wary before. Now she sits at the foot of the stairs and calls for the little one to come and play.

I never knew that cats could make friends with non-siblings.

WednesdayAllTheWay · 09/12/2020 19:58

@Mumdiva99
I never knew there were other cats that fetched! My last cat loved this! I also trained him to jump over things.

@Mincepiesallyearround
my first cat had a glass of water by my bed just for her....

She wouldn't drink out of anything else Grin

I never knew that flopping down showing their tummies is a sign of submission. It was so cute when he did it in the rescue centre but then he'd do it every time a local bully cat came near!

kittensarecute · 09/12/2020 21:12

Missy doesn't do any of these things, I don't think she knows how to cat properly.

beenrumbled · 09/12/2020 21:21

That the plastic milk bottle lids are irresistible. My Fitz waits on the drainer for them being washed and pinches them before they go in the recycling. His brother Leopold loves socks. He steals them and we find them in strange places.

CorpusCallosum · 09/12/2020 21:47

That muddy paws track dirt everywhere 🐾

That litter mates won't necessarily be friends 😾🙀

That purring heals hearts and minds 🥰

madcatladyforever · 09/12/2020 21:51

My friends cat brings her a towel everytime he is wet and wants to be dried off. He hates being wet. It is hilarious.

adropnotabit · 09/12/2020 23:04

Our tabby when she's been exploring outside will come running when I call her name. She also responds when I call Dinner! Sometimes she comes on walks with us but stops at the end of the block and will wait on the corner until we collect her on our way home even an hour later. Despite having a cat flap she sometimes prefers to enter the house via other doors so will sit a meow until I let her in.

Poppins2016 · 10/12/2020 06:48

@madcatladyforever

My friends cat brings her a towel everytime he is wet and wants to be dried off. He hates being wet. It is hilarious.
One of mine will seek me out if he's wet and present himself for drying off... he also does the same if he's injured (luckily always minor, he's very much an outdoor cat but is a little clumsy). He'll miaow and sit or circle round me until I notice something needs to be done "please help me, human"! He's also very trusting and will stay still and allow me to clean a cut or remove a thorn from his paw, for example.
Poppins2016 · 10/12/2020 06:54

@beenrumbled

That the plastic milk bottle lids are irresistible. My Fitz waits on the drainer for them being washed and pinches them before they go in the recycling. His brother Leopold loves socks. He steals them and we find them in strange places.
One of mine comes running when a bottle of beer is opened and begs for the lid (which is then batted and chased around the kitchen floor for ages). If the lid gets stuck in a corner/behind something, it's picked up by mouth and put back in the centre of the room to start the fun again!

Same cat also comes running when he hears me open bubble mixture for my toddler, both of them love bubbles and are very impatient!

longwayoff · 10/12/2020 07:01

That, after a five year break in a lifetime of cat owning, I had developed an allergy to cat saliva and dander and had to part company with cats. I miss them. Can't go near them now.

Annnnnnnnnd · 10/12/2020 07:57

How bad is the allergy, longwayoff? I developed an allergy after many years of cat ownership, but have found that I cope ok with 1 short-haired female cat, who does not sleep on my bed. Females are better than males from a cat allergy point of view, and some types of pedigree cat are better than moggies.
But it sounds as though you have a much worse allergy than I have.Sad

Santaisironingwrappingpaper · 10/12/2020 08:27

My eyes are currently slits due to new dkitten. ..

Lurkingforawhile · 10/12/2020 08:30

That they quite like routine. Mine sleep in the same place very night and often take themselves off to bed. They like food at about the same time every day. They eat out of the bowl on the same side each time. One of mine who likes to hunt goes through the same bit of our neighbours gate each time and they've worn a path in the lawn. I thought they would be much more random!

kittensarecute · 10/12/2020 11:43

@madcatladyforever

My friends cat brings her a towel everytime he is wet and wants to be dried off. He hates being wet. It is hilarious.
Aww!!! That's so cute.
Lurkingforawhile · 10/12/2020 12:16

Also my cat pretends not to know me if he meets me in the street. I think he's embarrassedBlush

viques · 10/12/2020 12:18

@Gormless

That they can tell the time!
I was going to say that! It is so true.
Lellochip · 10/12/2020 12:41

That they have the strange folds on their ears.

Was reliably informed as a child that the little pocket/fold in their ears is where they safely store all the secrets you whisper to them ☺️

On a less sweet note, the anal glands were also a discovery I made with current cat... Envy

NotMaryWhitehouse · 10/12/2020 13:24

@Lurkingforawhile

Also my cat pretends not to know me if he meets me in the street. I think he's embarrassedBlush
My old cat used to run away too- I think he thought he was going to have to come in and stop playing out. He loved me really!
MrMeSeeks · 10/12/2020 13:35

That i would be that bereft by their passing Sad

sashh · 10/12/2020 13:40

Before I got Charlie I did not know they can sulk.

Charlie would turn his back on you but sit in front of you to sulk.

When he cam home from the vet he wold get out of his carrier backwards so he wasn't looking at you.

I had friends round once and he was upset, he spent ages finding the perfect place where he had his back to all of us.

One of mine who likes to hunt goes through the same bit of our neighbours gate each time and they've worn a path in the lawn. I thought they would be much more random!

Cats a sort of time share of territory, but there are paths they use to cross another cat's territory.

Just for a laugh put some objects on the worn path, the cats sill climb over them rather than go round.