Sunday, January 31, 2016

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT No 10

"THE SOUL OF A CAT by Margaret Benson.

It is odd that cats show an intense dislike to anything destined or set apart for them.  Mentu had a basket of his own, and a cushion made by a fond mistress, but to put him into it was to make him bound out like an india-rubber ball.  He liked to occupy proper chairs and sofas, or even proper hearthrugs. 


In the same way, the well-bred cat has an inconvenient but aesthetic preference for eating its food in pleasant places, even as we consume chilly tea and dusty bread and butter in a summer glade.  A plate is distasteful to a cat, a newspaper still worse; they like to eat sticky pieces of meat sitting on a cushioned chair or a nice Persian rug.  Yet if these were dedicated to this use they would remove elsewhere.  Hence the controversy is interminable."

We once had a cat that would nearly always remove his meat from the plate but fortunately only to eat it on the floor and not on any of our furniture.  He (Gus) would pick up a piece of meat with his paw and put it where he wanted to eat it.  Candy is a very clean eater and there is usually little mess around her dishes for which I am very grateful.

P.S.  I couldn't resist the picture of this cat when I found it on Google.

10 comments:

  1. We had a cat who had spent time on the streets. When he moved in with us he not only ate the cat food but the newspaper it rested on. Just in case a smear remained on it. Heartbreaking really.
    By the time he left us to travel over the rainbow bridge he ate avocado - and rejected any with brown spots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Street cats are usually so happy to be loved and you obviously made this one delighted to have a home. He did get a little fussy though if brown spots on his avocado put him off. Only joking. It is to me wonderful to give furever homes to unwanted animals.

      Delete
  2. The picture is great, I've always had a thing for brown leather armchairs. Angel is mostly a clean eater, spills a bit on the floor if I walk into the kitchen suddenly and startle him. He was fussy about my crocheted rug though, always used to lie on it on the couch, so I told him he could have it as his own and put it on the floor. He wouldn't go near it until it went back on the couch. Now, a year later he won't lie on the couch at all, not even with the rug. That might change when winter rolls around again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't go past that cat picture.
      I find cats will sleep where they want to but change positions occasionally. Right now during day or evening Candy sleeps on my lap if I am available. Otherwise it is on Phil's bed or the back of our sofa. At night, after she comes on to my bed to say goodnight it is always on a corner of Phil's bed.

      Delete
  3. Hari OM
    this is so true! Jasper had three 'designer' cots throughout his 17 years with me and after initial curiosty, not a one of them was favoured over the bed or settee!!! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With a dog you can train it to do what you want....with a cat...well need I say more?
      Hope you are keeping well. xx

      Delete
  4. That cat is the picture of comfort and contentment. We had a dear old cat who used to scoop his kibble out of his dish and then chase it down around the kitchen. Our Rockie, however, was very pleased to be given his very own bed (on old wicker laundry basket with a pillow in it). Every night he did his little 'getting comfy' routine in his basket.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought that cat looked so comfy too.
      So there are some cats that are content to use their own bed after all I love it when they do their getting comfy routine. We always says they are making sure there are no nasties in their bed.

      Delete
  5. What a great find in this photo, Mimsie...great job! It does say a lot about those felines!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed that pic as much as I did JP. Yes, although some felines are different, the great majority to seem to have a mind of their own.

      Delete