For the last week and a half I've been the owner/ownee/manservant of an alleged cat. I suspect he is a cyborg. My sister, a knowledgeable cat lady, said that if he flunked one final test I should check the back of his head to see if there is a little panel concealing tiny printed circuits.

He doesn't purr. (My sister says they learn to purr from their mothers, or not at all.)

Only once has he tried to trip me by wrapping around my ankle as I walk. He may be put off by my four-wheel walker, but still...

He has no interest--none--in sitting in an empty box. Hell, I've seen pictures of a full-grown tiger sitting in a refrigerator. carton.

I rigged a cloth lure and tied it to the line of my ultralight spinning rod. When I cast it out and twitch it back, the strange animal goes for the line. I suspect he is a control freak who wants to decide how the rag moves.

The test my sister said is infallible was putting an open paper grocery bag on its side on the floor. If he didn't climb into it, she said, he is a fake cat.

He flunked. Or passed, depending how you look at it. He's big--weighs only a couple of pounds less than my little rat terrier Moose did. He looked at the bag, stuck his nose into it, and apparently decided he was too large and the bag was too small--probably awkward to turn around in.

The only faint clue that he is a genuine cat and not a feline impersonator is that he briefly went nuts for a catnip-filled toy.

I may be in serious trouble here.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Isn't Faux Cat in Thailand?

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Some cats have a weak purr. You literally have to press your ear to their body to hear it. I have an enormous Maine Coon that purrs that way. I use to think he didn't purred. Now that I know how to detect it, I've discovered he hardly ever STOPS purring.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Isn't trying to figure out a cat similar to trying to figure out a woman?

yeah, my drifter has a stealth purr.
i've never heard her purr, but i've felt her throat vibrate.
two of her babes purr, even tho she didn't teach them.
mine are strange persons.
drifter doesn't play with bags or boxes, but the kits get lots of entertainment from big old shipping boxes.

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susie

Well put SZ. Reading your story made me laugh. Sounds like you have a new friend and thank you for caring for the big guy even if he treats you like a manservant.

I have a cat that was feral so it is partially a faux cat too. He is very quirky! He doesn't like catnip, won't sit in a box or go in a bag. He only eats one type of food and never gets sick of it. I can't pick him up. He meows in a funny way like a baby pterodactyl screech and then talks in Gremlin. He is a chatterbox and tells me everything he thinks.

He purrs loudly. He likes to knock my line dry laundry off the drying rack so he can lay on it. When I'm doing laundry, he steals dirty socks from the laundry pile and hides them under the bed. He attacks blankets like a lion trying to kill a crocodile. He attacks feet under the blankets. He has to smell everything you eat and anything new to him. I think he is part dog!

Luv our kitties!

My 18lb 8yr old fur factory is part cat and part puppy, he:

enthusiastically greets me at the door until he remembers he's a cat and proceeds to the food dish to point out that he can see the bottom of said dish so must be starving

will on a regular basis lick me like a puppy to include slobber

sits in the window and barks at birds( he also coos, clucks, cackles and squawks)

follows me from room to room, but pretends he was going there anyway

He's a big goof, but love him

I remember Fu Cat air base in 'Nam; my cousin was based there in 68-69. Air Force flew F100 recon jets out of there.
Now back on subject. We have had a few cats that did not purr. Every black cat we had wouldn't purr..most were quite socialable and liked attention, but did not purr.

One of my cats may not have the slightest idea where I am going, but insists on leading me there..... (slowly.)

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

My sons 15 YO Maine Coon died and the younger coon (6 years) was extremely distressed by it. He was loosing weight and very listless so my son asked us if we could take him into our house. We have other coons and this one had spent about a year at our house and knew us and got along with our cats.

We did and that was what the cat needed, put on weight and was very playful, much more that he ever was at my sons house. We are retired and home a lot more that him and his wife were, good bet that is the answer.

We have taken to nicknaming him as the dog or puppy for the way he acts. he will follow you around so close that if you stop fast you will have him hitting the back of your legs He will play fetch and loves to sleep on the floor under or very close to your feet when were watching the tube.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

This is looking bad. DON'T go to sleep.....

Alien!!!!!!

Mike, all five on mine purr loudly. Drop a catnip fattie amongst them and it sounds like a trolling motor regatta.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Our Zachary was much the same way.


He was mellow and laid back. No real interest in playing, doing the walking through the leg thing or playing in bags. He wasn't really interested in catnip either.
The only time he'd get in a box was when he was ill. He'd just hang out with us.
When that little nut Natayo came to us.


Zachary wouldn't put up with any of his nonsense. When Natayo annoyed him, Zachary'd just sit on him for a while.
He would allow Natayo to hang out with him.




We nicknamed them "Skipper" and "Gilligan." Sometimes Zachary'd just walk up to Natayo and swat him upside the head.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Go to your room, Rusty.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Just wondering, Mike: if his head swung back and forth while you were dangling that catnip in front of him, would that be called "Faux Cat's Pendulum?"

On my way to my room....

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

On our return home earlier today, Lady Koz and I were greeted in the driveway by our feral cat Marm. As we walked in the garage I noticed the welcome mat was messed up. I had my hands full and asked my wife to straighten it out. She no sooner said "You know there's going to be something in there" than a dead mouse dropped out of the heap. She screamed and I giggled.
As I write this our house cat Bolt is on the arm of the couch. His motor is running at high RPMs in the hopes I will stop typing and start petting.
Long and short of it Mike, I thing you've been hornswaggeled. As a last-ditch effort to ID the little scoundrel, fill the tub with water and throw him in. If he attaches himself to the ceiling, he's a cat. If he sinks, he's a witch. If he floats he might be one of those purse dogs in drag.

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paws for friendship

About 20 years ago, my wife actually paid money, for this kitten. It turns out the thing was a space alien, and probably dumped by a passing flying saucer. A very strange cat. It passed over the rainbow bridge a couple of years ago. So, after a space alien cat, I believe there may be cyborg cats among us.

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Can my S&W Mdl 10 shoot +P

AAARRGHHHH!

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Oh well, what the hell.

We have a cat(I think it's a cat) named Ruby Begonia...doesn't hasn't and has no intention to purr. But it was rescued after it's mother was killed at about 6 days old. So no momma to teach it anyway...My daughter calls her "special"....but ol Ruby can kick that dog of hers butt anyway from Sunday

mike, i was surprised to find that i could develop as much affection for a cat as i do for a dog.
have you found this true?

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susie

My son's cat (a Birman breed) acts more like a dog than any cat I've even had.

Way more outgoing & not afraid of anything, even the vacuum cleaner.

With his "haircut" he looks more like a little lion though.

.



.
.
.

...but like with all cats, sometimes you wonder...

.



.

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Waiting for the break of day

Getting there. I still miss my little Moose dog, and this big boy is very different, but I'm quite fond of him already.

He's not, at least not yet, a snuggler. Likes to be petted and have his back rubbed, but not picked up for more than about fifteen seconds.

And then there is that eight-second attention span...

He's my first cat in over forty years, and the others were outdoor/indoor hunting critters. Satch is strictly indoors (he was declawed when I got him), and way too sedate and suave for prolonged pursuit of small squeaky creatures. Except when he's in the mood for five minutes, tops.

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Oh well, what the hell.

One of our cats has what you could call "a weight problem". The vet said to put him on a diet. (This is an experience I would not recommend to anyone..) Anyway, the vet also recommended exercise. This was fairly easy using a laser dot until he got bored with actually chasing it.
We have developed a new form of making him run using his constant whining for food. It involves a long hallway and a handfull of kibbles.
Toss a kibble down to one end and off goes the cat. Then, while he is at the far end, toss another to the other end and back he comes. Repeat until one of you gets tired......

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

We have a Lilac Siamese that is stone deaf. He purrs, but I can't hear it (wife says I am deaf too), I can feel it in his throat when he does purr. His meow is more of a screech.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I forgot to mention in my original post that this weird cat shows not the slightest interest in the laser spot. He sees it perfectly well, but can't be bothered. Gives it the feline version of "Ho, hum."

Maybe if I brought in Cirque du Soleil and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir...

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Oh well, what the hell.

shouldazagged,
Don't let others lie to you, your cat is perfectly normal, for a cat.

This is why we love cats. Each is a unique entity and nothing like the other cats in the world except in basic biology.

We have two cats; Rumble and Mr. Jingles (my son calls him Jekyll and Hyde). Rumble was named that because if you just touch him with the tip of your finger, he starts purring very loudly. Mr. Jingles doesn't purr unless he's in a very good mood, which is rare. He will shred you at the drop of a hat and you can forget ever having him sit in your lap. But, he's still fun to watch.

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Freedom isn't free.

This is true insight into the mind of a cat:

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Freedom isn't free.

Pretty accurate summation.

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Oh well, what the hell.

robertJ.

you tread on thin ice with the females best you watch your haha

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My brother is my Hero

NOW you know how it feels to be owned by a cat.....

This is Mr. Stinky Butt. When we first got him, a rescue of sorts, he hid in the basement for over a month. About three years old now he weighs in at 16 pounds. I sometimes think he may have been feral. He likes you as long as you don't bother him. Kinda like me.

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"NUTS"

Not even close I think a cat can be figured out.

Oh, they know I'm just funnin'. Kinda.

Anybody notice how pets respond to the needs of us humans when we're sick or injured? Ours, especially the cats, have been very supportive for me in the past couple of months. One of our boys isn't content unless he's on my lap or the ottomon whenever I'm in my recliner. The other comes to bed with me, and curls up at my back. Both expect some petting attention, and both purr. Makes me feel they care about me...or maybe they're hoping I die so they can consume me. Hard tellin' which
Regardless, I owe them for helping me recover from my recent surgeries, and I'm grateful that I have them.

I sure did. I made a post about this a while back.

Quick version I got hurt bad in a 20' fall at a construction site in 1977. Went home after 16 days in the hospital with a few broken bones. Wife's cat who I barely tolerated used to sleep in bed with us. Thought nothing of walking across us to get to his spot.

After fall he seemed to know I was hurting and where I was hurting, never walked across me to get to his spot.

I could hardly walk so I spent a lot of time in a decent chair reading/tube watching most all day when the wife went to work. He carefully got in the chair with me and morphed into my best friend. Without a doubt he changed my opinion about cats and since then we have had 2-3 as members of our household!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

My sister, a veteran cat owner and serious student of the critters, claims that cats naturally produce hallucinogens in their brains, and thus are more or less perpetually tripping.

She says this is why they stare at things we can't see, and sometimes madly dash about for no apparent reason.

I don't know if that's true, but it would explain a lot of feline activity I've observed in the past. I haven't seen much of that behavior from Satch yet, but he's gradually becoming less intent on maintaining his dignity.

He may yet turn out to be the genuine article and not a robocat. But what the hell, I like the little bugger anyway.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Heck that is the way my first wife acted. I really never did figure her out...but I was only married to her for 5 months..took that long to realize there was a difference 'tween love and lust...or somethin like that anyway...Lust first I'd guess?? Then there was that crazy woman I ran around with before her... An the gal who kept bringing me likker and nice clothes she didn't want me to wear....well not much anyway LOL

I apologize...too much thread drift..The statement about them staring at stuff and etc is just how that special cat Ruby Begonia acts too