By Ruth aka Kattaddorra
It fascinates me how some cats are ‘helpers’ but some are not. Jozef especially loves to be in the kitchen with me when I’m checking the cat food cupboard to see what we need on our shopping list.
He goes up via the worktop and fridge top to the cupboard top to sit and supervise. He watches me lift all the boxes of food sachets and trays down and fill them up from the bottom cupboard, of course he has to sample something so off I go for a chair to climb on and pass it up to him.
He’s not happy about his biscuits right now! As he’s prone to hairballs we decided to try some made especially to help stop them forming. His look said it all ‘I’m not eating them’ and he won’t, he said ‘I’d rather starve’. Walter doesn’t approve either, he too prefers the James Wellbeloved senior they normally have and when we gave in they dramatically crunched a saucer full each we had left from the last bag.
Oh well, the local cat rescues will no doubt appreciate the rejected ones lol and we will have to go and buy more of Walt and Jo’s favourites.
Walter doesn’t ‘help’ in the kitchen at all, he thinks it’s women’s work and that Jozef is crazy for getting involved in kitchen chores. His forte is ‘helping’ to make the beds, I think we all know that chore ends in fun and games when cats are springing out from under the duvet!
Our two will never do this together, they must have some pact since they once tried and a battle ensued which turned quite serious lol
They aren’t ever jealous of each other, just each like ‘their’ time alone with us and we make sure they get it.
At one time we had a beautiful brown tabby called Bryan who had his own high stool in the kitchen and sat there through thick and thin watching whatever we were doing. I think the companionship of cats is wonderful and can’t imagine our home without them around.
Do your cats ‘help’ around the house?
That is so funny, Ruth! My sister’s cat Kobe goes out on a porch up there. She opens the window for him and he’s goes out. If it is warm and dry one day he expects it to be nice every day. So she’ll open the window to show him it is raining and she said he gets very annoyed with her– as if he is telling her to shut off the rain and bring back the sun.
Monty sits on a chair in front of the screen door in the front and looks out. If he does go out with his harness in front he pretty much stays on the front porch and sniffs around. He needs to get some sniffs out there, but he is not very comfortable with it. He really prefers his back yard.
Yes Ruth our boyz think we can control the weather. If it’s raining, when they go to the usual window they use to go out and we open it, they take one look at the rain and make for the door at the front of the house. Sorry it’s raining out there too boyz. So they go to the door at the back of the house lol and when they see it’s raining that way too we get the black looks and Jozef can even sigh like a human.
But by they then accept it’s raining everywhere so they go out the back door because they have shelters in the garden.
It’s amazing how these 2 cats teach each other things. Walter is very intelligent. When the window catch broke he knew immediately to come and go by the door, where as Jozef sat by the window looking at us a few times until Walt told him it was broken and after that he knew to use the door until we got the window catch fixed.
Yet Jo is always first to know we are coming home, we walked down the back the other day and he was in the bedroom window, but he was waiting inside the front door by we walked round.
Yes, stopping me working and chilling out stroking him! I get it.
Monty had his little stroll around the garden too, but it is very cold out again today and wet besides. I came out to check on him and he burst out of his hiding place among some plants and scolded me. Do your boys seem to think you can control the weather like you control the thermostat in the house, Ruth? I think Monty believes I can make it stop raining and get warmer out there, but I’m just being stubborn and won’t do it for him.
Every moment they choose to spend with us ‘helping’ or ‘hindering’ is a great honour!
Walt and Jo have gone for their last stroll around the garden before bedtime, they’ll be back soon for their suppers.
Michael, that is how cats help! I guess I’m lucky that Monty will help by watching or performing a similar activity to what I am doing nearby. He’s not above sitting on top of the book I’m looking at if I have a book open on a desk, or sitting right where I am trying to write, or pouncing on my pen as I write…