Question for the Cat People

[miladycarol]

The facts: I'm working on the dining room table. I turn to look outside and see a cat sitting proudly upon a stack of cusions on a chest on the deck. This is a spot that Aldina loves to perch upon for hours durning the day. Today, she happens to be inside. Normally, the girls chase and bark at the cats. I've seen both this cat and a big black one happily there on the chest may times in the last month. Every time I move in the house, they scatter.

The question: Why do cats who know this is the double barking dog house choose to relax on my deck? Not that I mind, but I don't make a habit of lounging in places where I'm not wanted. Clearly, the girls don't want the cats in their yard, still, the cats come. I don't really leave any food for them, so I'm not sure what the allure of my deck is.

Comments

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

the girls don't want the cats in their yard,
Well, there's your answer... the cats are proving their superiority.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

It's all about perspective. Aldina and Morgana are quite solid in their knowledge that they are the centers of the Universe... no matter what I think. I'm sure they've never considered a cat may think that it is the superior one.

[ar-wahan.livejournal.com]

They enjoy baiting the dogs in safety.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

What safety? If Aldina happened to spot them through the window, she'd be after them in less than a heartbeat (we have a doggie door). She'll probably never catch them, but she'd give it a go. She is a fierce, arctic pygmy wolf, after all. *giggles*

[ar-wahan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't know about the doggie door. Maybe the cats don't know, either...

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

That's good for me. The doggie door is perfectly cat-sized. *smiles*

Luckily, the raccoons didn't fit in it. They did try once. *grin*

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

That's it. Thay are cats. They cannot be caught. They practice Cat Kung Fu.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

That comic is awesome! Cats are such interesting creatures. You're so very different to me. I think that's why we continue to amuse each other. *sniggle*

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

probably the same reason that not being on the counter when the people are around does not equal staying off the counters. it doesn't always equal staying off the counters when the ppl ARE around, either, of course.

now that the cats have found the lovely perch they will probably take it as often as the dogs are inside.

"never try to out-stubborn a cat" - lazarus long (robert heinlein)

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

That's true. Dogs seem to realize they will be punished if they do something wrong even if I am not around, so they don't do it. I know when the girls catch cats in the yard through the window because they tear through the housel, scattering the rug aside, and blaze through that doggie door after them. It happens too fast for my human self to understand until the girls are already out in the yard and the cat is leaping onto the fencetop.

Ah, critters. *smiles*

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

"That's the difference between you and me, my retarded friend... the humans don't scare me."
"That's just CRAZY talk, man! Get down! Get down!"

-- Sinfest's Cat and Dog, in one of my favorite strips (March 28, 2000)

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

I love Sinfest. It's one of the few strips I bother to read.

[zevhonith.livejournal.com]

My porch is the neighborhood's favorite place for outdoor cats to come hang out, and my indoor cats hiss, claw, and do anything they can to get at 'em. They certainly know they're not welcome, and they not only keep coming, but I think they secretly like rubbing it in their faces.

In fact, one of the cats, who bears a striking resemblance to one of my cats, I suspect of plotting to kill my cat and take her place.

The answer? Well, part of it's comfort; I have a comfy chair the cats like, and they probably like the retained heat of your deck. The rest of it? Cats really enjoy pissing other animals off.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Very true. I guess I just boggle at the audacity of it all. It's not anything I'd ever consider doing... hanging on someone else's deck or porch without an invite. Cats make their own invitations.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

Cat social structure is complex and unstable. Cats rise to the top by pushing boundaries as far as they will go. Part of the political game is aying claim to prime mesting spots. By claiming that mesting spot, they are asserting superiority.