Cats earning their keep

The NY Times has a great story today about the owners of delis and other small shops that are using cats to keep rodents away. However, there's only one problem - they get fined by city inspectors if they keep them.

Some shop owners find exterminators fairly ineffective, creating noxious chemical smells in the establishment in the process. Ironically, the fines for finding rats or cats at an establishment are the same.

Cats have been used in homes, on farms and even in businesses to control rodents for many centuries; I imagine that may have been a factor in how the cat was domesticated.

If people can bring helper animals, like guide dogs, into a restaurant, why can't a cat earn his keep by getting rid of rodents?

Socks was once an indoor-outdoor cat and was a pretty good hunter from what I understand. If I wind up living in the country and not in my little hermetically sealed surburban apartment, Socks might wind up chasing some real mice instead of simulated rodents from the pet aisle of Walmart.

article at NY Times

Gifts for kitty

With Christmas coming on, I've been thinking about what to get Socks (and/or myself) as a little holiday gift. I spent some time looking at PetSmart's website, but I'm not so sure about some of these things.

Race 'N Chase!
This looks like fun, but sounds like a torture device from kitty hell: Try as she might, your cat will never quite get the mouse that skips and spins out reach just as she thinks she's got it.

Cat Sitter DVD

Hmmm.... I wonder if I could make my own version of KittyTV with my hi-def video camera? I wonder if my cat would leave big splotches of kitty spit and claw marks on the screen?

Squirrel Catnip Toy by Cats With An Attitude

I guess this would be okay if you want your cat to chase after a faceless squirrel with no eyes, no nose and no mouth.

Come to think of it, won't Michael Jackson wind up like this if he has just one more plastic surgery?

PetSafe Cat Veranda

Nothing says love like ENCLOSING YOUR LOVED ONE IN A MESHED CAGE FROM WHICH THEY CAN NEVER ESCAPE!!!

Pawprints Memory Box

I'm not much of a sentimentalist, but I might be inclined to get something like this. I do wonder, however, if one can actually get the cat to stay still long enough to put his paw in a pool of wet goo.


Mini Safari Toy Mice for Cats

When your cat has a little too much catnip, he might have reason to be saying, "Ooo... Look at all the pretty colors..."

Or maybe these are a failed attempt to license kitty toys by the band Phish.

Whisker City® Cat Carrier

I don't care how much you try to disguise it, a carrier stills says "trip to the vet" for most cats.

Whirly Mouse Scratchy Pad Cat Toy

Is it just me, or does this look like a preschooler's toy from Hasbro?

Panic Mouse 360

This toy has a timer that will turn off the unit "from 15 minutes to 2 hours" - if your cat plays with this for two hours running, he's not just amused, he's obsessive-compulsive.

Christmas tree

Last night, I set up a little four-foot Christmas tree in the living room. I've never put up one before, but something about having Socks around made me interested in getting one. I happened to pick up some really cheap glass Christmas ornaments at Old Navy last year in the Christmas aisle, so I had some stylish and colorful yuletide cheer to go with the lights already built into the tree.

Socks didn't seem to pay much attention to it - he sniffed it a bit, probably figuring out it was grown in a Walmart factory and not in somebody's front yard. He seemed more interested in how it would impact his viewing the outside world through my patio door than anything else.

But, after chilling out for the evening, basking in the glow coming from my little Christmas tree in the evening after it got dark, Socks hopped up on a table near the tree. He just stared at the tree, his eyes darting around the lights and ornaments, the bright points of light reflecting in his big eyes.

He didn't bother the tree - he just stared at it.

I'm sure he was thinking, "How can I climb up this thing when he's not here?"

I suppose I'll find out when I get home tonight...

I'm getting WET!

One of the fun, peculiar things about Socks is how he's so fascinated with water.

We're in this little ritual most every morning. I get in the shower and Socks hops up on the side of the tub or sits on the floor just outside the tub, peeking through the side of the shower curtain to watch me take a shower.

Then, after the water is shut off and I'm drying off, Socks watches the water go down the drain. Sometimes, he jumps in the tub and paws at the remaining drops as the water creatures fade into the distance. Once in a while, when I'm in the bathroom, I'll just turn on the water in the tub for a few seconds so Socks can sit on the side of the tub and watch the water creatures for a couple of minutes. (Yes, I'm indulgent.)

Well, this morning, Socks had a little impulse to try something a little different.

I got in the shower as usual, turning on the water faucet to get it flowing and warm it up. Socks, of course, hopped up on the side of the tub, looking in.

Just as it was getting warm, Socks suddenly decided to jump _into_ the tub.

It didn't quite register with Socks what he had done. He just stood there a couple of seconds, then realized he was getting wet and started backing away from the water as it gathered in the tub.

Then, it suddenly dawned on him: "I'm getting WET!"

"ARGGHHHH!"

Socks began jumping, crawling, doing anything he could to get away from the water. After a few seconds of flailing paws and wet kitty legs, Socks jumped out of the tub and ran across the bathroom, sitting down near the sink.

I thought I'd die laughing - he just sat there with a look on his face like a little child that's fallen down and bruised his knee after trying to get in the cookie jar.

I went ahead and took my shower and Socks didn't offer to go near the tub when I turned off the water like he usually does.

After I dried off, I went over and rubbed him and consoled him for a couple of minutes, assuring him that everything was okay. He still looked like a kid whose pride was hurt more than anything.

He was back to himself after a few minutes, following me around the apartment as I got ready for work. I was still chuckling to myself at this cat that suddenly figured out what it means to get wet.

What does he do all day?

Once you get a cat in your life, it's tough not to think of them once in a while. I'll be at work, sitting in my little cubicle and wondering what Socks might be up to. Is he playing with his toys? Watching the neighbors through the big window in the bedroom? Ordering pay per view movies on my Windows Media Center?

Usually when I get home, Socks is sacked out on the couch or the small chair in my living room. He greets me at the door, following me around and rubbing against my legs. I'll reach down and pet him a few minutes before checking out the litter box or changing out the water in his bowl.

I sometimes wonder what _he_ thinks I'm up to all day. One cat column I ran into noted that cats think humans are out hunting all day. If that's the case, they must think we're not very good at it - all we come home with are strange little yarn things with bells in them that are supposed to look like a mouse head and bits of food that smell vaguely like fish and chicken, but look like Cocoa Puffs.

On the weekends when I've been home, I've noticed how much Socks actually does sleep - one day, he spent most all day on the couch, curled up, dreaming of birds, mice or melted clock faces hanging on trees or whatever it is that cat's dream about. I suppose that the day can go by pretty quickly when your owner is away if you're just snoozing the whole time.