My Cat Is Insane

[Cecilie1200]

How's latte reacting to the watermelon seed..err... new baby??

It irks the snot out of him that he can't get into the nursery.

 

[DavidS]

How's latte reacting to the watermelon seed..err... new baby??

It irks the snot out of him that he can't get into the nursery.

Why can't he?

 

[Cecilie1200]

How's latte reacting to the watermelon seed..err... new baby??

It irks the snot out of him that he can't get into the nursery.

Why can't he?

Because the door is kept very firmly shut at all times. I don't need him getting in there and marking in the corners, or wallowing all over the bassinet and covering it with fur, or getting the notion to get up in the baby's face because he smells like milk and then suffocating him or something.

 

[sarahgop]

my cat likes to lay between the keyboard and monitor as i am typing and he goes nuts when he sees kittenkoders typing kitten, lol

 

[editec]

I also have a Maine Coon cat residing with me.

They are not quite like most other cats, in my opinion.

They're the cats that the other cats think are arrogant.

I don't know if Latte is arrogant so much as just very playful and affectionate, and so damned big that it's never occurred to him that he's not the dominant animal in the house.

That sounds rather arrogant to me. My cooncat is of the same mind.

Min, the female cat who lives in the main house with him, is too fat and passive to argue with whatever he wants, and Remy, the Keeshond, is too gentle and loving.

I had a Keehond, too at one time. Best damned dog I ever had.

By the way, Latte LOVES snuggling up to Remy for naps now that it's cold. I'm always amused to see the dog sprawled on the floor, fast asleep, and the cat walking up and making himself comfortable against Remy's tummy, supremely oblivious to the fact that Remy's six times his size. Remy always wakes up, startled, looks down, and then flops back on the floor as if to say, "Oh, it's just you again."

Yup. If you're part of a dogs pack, then you get snuggling previleges.

Anyway, that may be why Latte exhibits such strange behavior toward me. As the only female human in the house, he may just be feeling the instinct to try to dominate me, as well. I know for the first three months that I was pregnant, I had to literally hide my clothes after I took them off, because if I didn't, Latte would urinate all over them. Only MY clothes, and only those that I had just worn. The vet said it was probably the smell of the pregnancy hormones driving him nuts. I think he was already nuts.

He's protecting you.

Coon cats are not like the other cats I've had.

I mean I've like the other cats a lot, too, but this Coonie I have is unique in his approach to life.

 

[Charles_Main]

I had a cat who used to like to watch people take baths, until the day he fell in while my wife was in the bath. He of course freaked and clawed the crap out of my wife, and smacked his head on the faucet before flying out of the tub, never to go near it again.

 

[sarahgop]

my cat likes to take car rides and sit on the dashboard

 

[Cecilie1200]

I had a cat who used to like to watch people take baths, until the day he fell in while my wife was in the bath. He of course freaked and clawed the crap out of my wife, and smacked his head on the faucet before flying out of the tub, never to go near it again.

I used to have a cat who liked to jump up on the side of the tub and try to drink the bathwater. The only problem was that a) the side of the tub was very slick porcelain, and b) the cat was a klutz. So every so often, she'd overshoot/slip and land in the bath. Being declawed, she had no real option except to pull herself out of the water with a pissed-off expression on her face, flick her tail in the air and glare at you as if to say, "I did that on purpose, because I was feeling a mite dusty", and stalk off with the tattered remains of her dignity.

 

[BrokenAngel]

I've always been of the opinion that cats are all a bit nuts, anyway, but my newest one is completely bonkers. He's a Maine Coon Cat, so he's a big muscular sucker, and he's got claws like talons. This is a problem because, like all cats, he holds the belief that where he belongs is wherever he happens to wish to be at the moment. Usually, that would be my lap, which is rapidly disappearing under my pregnant belly. He gives absolutely no warning when he's incoming, so all of a sudden, one is presented with a furry, twenty-pound bowling ball flying at speed. And he views his abnormally long claws as handy landing gear, the perfect solution to the inexplicable fact that so many people do not have twenty-pound-cat-sized laps.

Right about now, you're saying, "Well, that doesn't sound any different than any other cat, although maybe a bit bigger and heavier." Ah, but the time he feels most inclined to be on my lap - although certainly not the ONLY time - is when I'm in the bathroom, relieving myself. This cat (whose name is Latte, because he's the color of a latte and acts like he's hopped up on caffeine) has a weird fascination with all my hygienic behaviors, and cannot conceive of the idea that I might prefer to urinate without his extremely close company.

Now, of course, you're saying, "Why don't you just shut the bathroom door tightly, then?" Originally, I couldn't get it to shut entirely, because the wood had swelled from humidity. Now that it does shut all the way, I am treated to the sight of Latte's paw, extending under the door and rattling it in the frame, accompanied by a loud, forlorn, and repeated yowl that annoys everyone in the house.

Nor is this the only time Latte feels the need to join me in the bathroom. Oh, no. His favorite activity is to watch me take a bath. He won't come near the shower when it's running, but baths . . . If he can get into the bathroom, then he has his front paws on the edge of the tub, peering around the shower door at me. If he can't get in, then he's rattling the door and yowling.

Last week, I started the tub running, and then realized that I had forgotten my book in the bedroom and went to get it (I take showers for cleanliness, and baths to relax stiff muscles). When I came back, Latte was in his usual position, front paws up on the tub, peering into the water with every appearance of confusion, as though he was saying, "Where the hell is she?" I walked in, and he turned and looked over his shoulder at me, like, "Oh, there you are. I was looking for you."

The culmination, though, was a couple of days ago, when I closed the shower door almost all the way to hold the steam in, because I was really cold. There was about a two-inch gap. Over the top of my book, I saw a kitty paw slooooooowly extend through the gap, then scrabble madly at my foot, which was just out of reach, then withdraw. A minute later, the paw slooooooowly crept into the space again, scrabbled madly at my foot, then withdrew. I watched him do this a couple more times, then opened the shower door. Latte happily popped up over the edge of the tub as usual, as if to say, "Well, FINALLY. I've been trying to get your attention for ages."

My cat is completely, certifiably insane.

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I have two rescue Maine Coons and from my experience it is behavior that is pretty standard with the breed. They are VERY people oriented, almost like dogs. I even have one that plays fetch.. you toss a ball or a mouse down the hallway and he will bring it back, drop it at your feet, then look up at you waiting for you to throw it again.

Now I would be careful of one thing if I were you. I just recently had a child myself and we have a hazard I had to be careful of with our Maine Coon. If you have any shelves or tall cat trees do NOT pass by them when Latte is up high. Imagine that 20 pounds of loving fluff suddenly jumping on your shoulders. Now to add to the stumbling fun, you remember those claws that resemble tallons? Yeah... your shirt is toast pretty quickly if you try to evade the flying furball, especially with the lack of limber mobility when you are in month 6 and on.

The only other breed that I am aware of that is truly people obsessive is the Pixie Bob. Try wearing Latte out a couple times a day with toys and spend a little time trying to teach him some basic tricks. It should make the fluff happy from being challenged and rather ready for a mid day nap. That should allow you some time to relax in the bath or shower.

By the way, my Maine Coons are amazing with my baby. He is 5 months old and he can slap them, pull fur, stick his fingers in their mouths, do just about anything and they won't lift a paw to him. They just look at me as if asking "What did we do to you?". We are trying to teach him to be gentle, but I couldn't have asked for more loving or understanding animals.

Best of luck and congratulations. I hope the pregnancy goes well and don't be a hero, take the epideral!!