Feline mystique - What is my furry gal trying to do/say?

[wnylib]

Ember has a fuzzy little wind up chicken (with hard plastic beak and feet) that became her comfort toy when she was barely 1 year old. She is 7 now and has been through several "Chickies" because I introduce a new one to her when the old one gets too dirty and broken to keep around.

She carries it around when she is distressed, e.g. when I leave home or sometimes when I'm in the shower.

She used to bring Chickie into bed to rest between Ember and me. Glad she stopped that because I got jabbed by the feet and beak when I rolled over.

Sometimes I came home to find Chickie in Ember's water dish. Never figured out if she was trying to bathe, drown, or baptize Chickie. She stopped doing that a couple years ago, but lately Chickie has been showing up in strange places again.

I came home from the grocery store a couple days ago to find Chickie in Ember's empty food dish. What was that about? Telling me to get food for Chickie? Or saying that she would eat Chickie if I didn't fill the dish? Later, I found Ember napping inside her carrier with Chickie beside her. Was the message, "Take us with you next time?"

This morning, I was out for about half an hour. When I came home, Chickie was in one of my sandals. Am I supposed to take Chickie out for a walk with me? Ember would never let herself be parted from Chickie while I was away, so does it mean, "Take us with you?"

Also, lately Ember has been watching my hand closely when I go out of the apartment. The door handle is the lever type, not a knob. A couple times she has stretched out her paw toward the door handle. It was a half-hearted stretch. If she wanted to, she could easily stretch and jump just enough to touch the lever. I keep the door locked now, just in case she decides to check on what's beyond that door.

Putting it altogether, I think Ember wants to go out with me and take Chickie along.

[Sanity Claws]

1. I don't know the answer

but I admire you trying to figure out what your cat is trying to communicate.

[wnylib]

4. She very rarely meows. But she does use actions and body language to communicate

to me.

When she was just a kitten, she was playing with a ball that is attached to an elastic cord. Usually, I swing and bounce the ball around for her to swing at and "catch." But that day I was at the kitchen table, in a hurry to finish a shopping list and get to the store before it closed, so I ignored her. She did meow a couple times to get my attention, but I rushed out the door.

When I got home, the ball was in the middle of the kitchen table, sitting on the note pad that I'd been using. The message was very clear.

[blm]

2. Maybe it's time for a cat carrying backpack that

will probably answer most of your questions.

[wnylib]

5. Could be. Twice this summer I took her

outdoors in her carrier for a couple hours while some maintence work was being done inside my apartment. The idea was for both of us to be out of the way.

Both times the weather was good. I sat on a bench in tge yard with her carrier next to me. People stopped to peek at her and some of my apartment neighbors were walking their dogs, so Ember and the dogs met. She totally enjoyed the experience, so maybe she is asking for a repeat. Her carrier is a boxy, hard plastic thing, too hard to carry around, but with a backpack, I could take her out more easily.

[blm]

9. some have clear bubble windows so she can look around

[Ocelot II]

3. Chickie is sometimes her prey and sometimes her kitten, I think.

I've found cat toys in food bowls from time to time; I think they put them there as their pretend food. As to the door levers, cats learn by imitating. Maybe she wants to go out, or maybe she's just imitating you opening the door. One of my cats figured out how doorknobs worked by watching me - he'd reach up and try to turn them, but lacking thumbs he never succeeded. Sometimes when I was in the bathroom with the door shut I'd hear the doorknob rattle; then, when that didn't work, he'd just stick a paw under the door and try to pull it open.

[wnylib]

6. She does groom Chickie sometimes, but

Last edited Tue Aug 22, 2023, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I've never seen her attack Chickie.

Ember used to have a stuffed cat (Fluffy) when she was about 3 months old. She dragged Fluffy around everywhere with her, which was always funny to see since Fluffy was the same size as Ember so she tripped over Fluffy while dragging her around.

But when Ember was 6 months old, Fluffy became her prey. Ember would place Fluffy behind a footstool, then walk away and come back to the stool in a stalking posture. When she pounced, she went straight for the neck and gave a hard shake that would have snapped the neck of a real animal. It was so calculated and ruthless that I felt relieved to have Ember on my side.

Once that hunting phase passed, she lost all interest in Fluffy, who never again went back to being just a companion.

[Karadeniz]

7. You've got quite the character !!!

[wnylib]

8. She is that all right. I've had other cats before,

but from day one with Ember, when she was only 9 weeks old, it was already evident to me that she is the quirkiest, cleverest, and most amusing one that I've known.