This morning I was rushing around to go get my hair cut and decided to take the trash out, since I walk it to the other corner.
I reached into the refrigerator to get a glass bowl of three bean salad to throw away and hit my elbow on the wall. The glass bowl fell and broke all over the place. Three bean salad mixed with glass.
I kept telling Charlie and Ivy to get out of the way while I cleaned it up. Of course they were curious.
Yesterday I was sitting here in my chair with Charlie and happened to look up from my laptop. And there was Ivy on the dining table on her back staring at the ceiling.
Sometimes I just don’t know what to think about Ivy. She doesn’t act like any cat I’ve ever lived with. She’s smart. I’ll give her that. She’s unusual. And she’s certainly full of personality.
And sometimes she seems like she might just have been dropped down from outer space or something, such is her odd behavior.
If there’s paper where she can get to it, look out. She sat right next to me on the table and ripped up paper from a notebook. I didn’t really care because it was just paper. And I thought: Well, if it entertains her. Let her rip.
She doesn’t chew or eat the paper. She just wants to shred it. Slowly. She seems to like the sound of it ripping.
Ivy sits between the plastic liner and the shower curtain while I shower. She watches me, waiting until I get out and leave her a little stream of water to drink.
Why do animals like to drink from streaming water rather than lap it from a bowl? Do they feel like it’s safest when it’s streaming do you think?
Charlie is just a normal dog I would say. He loves to ride in the car and I take him with me any time I can. He sits in his dog bed that is in the passenger seat and is good as can be, staring out the window.
I don’t think he sees very well. I can point a dog in another car out to him and he never sees it. I’ve had dogs that would go into conniptions if I so much as uttered the word “dog.”
Charlie just sits complacently, happy because he’s going with mama in the car.
For a special treat if it isn’t hot or cold I’ll let him sit in my lap and open the window so he can feel the breeze against his face. Of course I’m holding onto him.
Ivy jumps over Charlie while he’s walking. She will hover on the other side of a door and wait for him to come walking down the hall. Then she will leap out at him. He just ignores her unless she really invades his space.
Right now she’s got the soft envelope holder that I put my computer glasses in and she’s tossing it into the air. She loves to bat things around.
Cats can be spooky creatures. Sometimes they act like they hear something we can’t hear. And maybe they do.
Maybe some spirit cat told Ivy to lie on her back on the table and stare at the ceiling. I’m sure there was a spot or shadow there that she was laser focused on.
Ivy listens to sounds. Like that of an air conditioner or something that has a motor or a hum. She will put her head close to it and turn it from side to side in consternation.
I guess she’s wondering what is inside that makes the sound. Whether it’s something she might get to chase should it come out.
Oh, that Ivy Lou is surely something.
I’m a bit strange myself. So maybe we’re a perfect match.
My cats drink water from the dogs bowls, they sometimes drink the running water but usually they just like to play with it!
I once had a kitty who would sit under the leaky tub faucet and let it drip on her head. They are strange little beasties, but that’s just another reason to love ‘em, right? ?
Our new kitty, Ninja, rushes into the bathroom any time the door is opened, hops up on the edge of the tub to drink water out of the faucet. If I don’t turn it on for him he then jumps onto the counter to drink out of the sink faucet. He does have plenty of water in a dish, too, but it must be true that the running water is more natural for animals. In the wild if a body of water isn’t moving it is probably stagnant and who wants to drink stagnant water, right? Makes sense.
I think Ivy is a very unique cat with a singular personality as cats go. She’s like other cats in many ways but has her own set of quirks like no other cat. She’s very smart and pretty creative in the way she interacts with her world and the items in it. Like shredding paper–I’ve never seen a cat do that and I’ve lived with quite a few cats growing up. For a quiet person who enjoys her solitude like you, Ivy keeps you entertained without asking too much in return. How perfect is that? Funny how you two are so well matched. Must have been serendipity, if that’s the right word. Anyway, a good setup for both of you!
And I want to second the readers who cautioned you about letting Charlie ride in your lap and even in the front seat without protection. See if he will accept riding in the back in some sort of restraint away from the air bag danger. I’d hate to have him get hurt badly or worse.
Hugs to you, Brenda and pats for the fur babies.
My cats are very quirky, too. And so was Zippo (my fur love, who passed away a little over a year ago). It’s not just Ivy. It’s just the way cats are. Sometimes I even catch myself saying out loud to one of the cats as I’m laughing, “You’re so weird!”
A lot of cats prefer running water to drink from because it’s more natural for them. Clementine will only drink running water, never water from a bowl. Therefore, I got here one of those Catit cat fountains from Amazon. We have it running all the time for her. Cats also hate their whiskers touching anything, including the sides of a bowl. So you have to make sure cat’s food and water bowls are wide enough where their whiskers don’t touch the sides.
Monkey sees and hears things that we don’t quite often; it’s kind of spooky.
I’ll have to look into one of those running water things for Ivy.
Please don’t let Charlie sit in your lap while driving. I never thought about it until I heard of a case where a dog died riding this way due to the airbag inflating when the owner was rear ended 🙁
Oops I guess “airbag deploying” is the correct term
Good point. Point taken.
Oh, yes. Technically, an animal should be in the back seat secured in a carrier with a seat belt. Even secured in the passenger seat, if you get in an accident and the airbag goes off, the animal would be crushed.
She’s young and a hunter animal. It’s amazing how cats can entertain themselves and keep us entertained too
Switch to plastic containers so you won’t hurt yourself if something falls and breaks. Getting glass up isn’t easy. Tiny shards etc
I used to have five cats. Now one dog who is great with my two year old grand son. A rescue. I’m so lucky. He’s a huge part of my life. Could you have a bird feeder for Ivy to watch birds fluttering around? If you got one of those revolving night light things would Ivy like that? Do u have a tiny laser light to play with her? They chase the spot. Cats are great company
Little did you know that when she adopted you, you had your own built-in entertainment center. I’ve had cats and their quirks are so much fun!! And yes, if we could only read their minds!!!
Brenda: My cat would do the same behavior when I’d shower. She would immediately jump in the tub to drink water once I stepped out. I wondered why until I decided to try something different. I went to freshen her water bowl and filled it wit hot tap water. There it was. My girl prefers to drink hot water. So, I change her water bowl several times a day with hot water. Maybe Ivy prefers her water hot too.