Missy's Corner

When someone says, "I'm thinking of getting a pet to keep me company," people suggest dogs for companionship; after all, they are man's best friend and they learn to depend on you for everything.  Even now you can design a dog to fit your needs!  For instance, my brother has been jonesing for a puppy since August of last year.  While he was on vacation here, his free time was eaten up by researching for the perfect dog and the candidates at the time were the Australian Cattle dog, a Yorkie, and a Golden-doodle.  Those of you who don't know what a Golden-doodle is, imagine a dog that is part Golden Retriever and part Poodle.  Interesting mix, no?  In the end, that's the dog breed my brother went for and he found a breeder that has been creating these puppies for so long, he was able to choose certain attributes he wanted the dog to have; curly hair versus straight hair, tall or short, some what active or hyper-active and just this past February, his puppy was born!  (Congratulations to him by the way!  Cutie puppy pictures here!)

I've learned something over the past year about companionship from pets, and that is don't count cats out.  Before I was a cat owner, I always assumed cats were these aloof creatures that preferred the top of the refrigerator then a nice warm lap.   They sleep 14 hours a day, purr when they are happy with you, and you can't train them to do anything they don't want to do (i.e. nothing).  But, Monkey and Savannah are slowly proving me wrong.  I have learned that the aloofness of cats is all an act; they are always listening to you and watching you, they just choose not to respond.  For instance, when Kitty or Savannah would lay down with their backs to us and we'd call their names, eyes would open or ears would turn.  They knew we were talking to them, but they didn't want to recognize us.  This got me thinking, can these three cats learn their names and respond?  So, I embarked on the laughable task of training a cat.  I picked up some tips from dog training shows like "It's Me or the Dog" and put them into action.

With my hand and pockets full of treats and a clicker at the ready, I started pairing the clicker sound with a treat; every time I clicked I gave the cats a yummy treat.  Then I upped the ante and now, the cats only got a treat and click when they looked at me.  The final step was to start inserting a name when they looked at me.  Lo and behold, it worked!  I can now get Monkey to look at Mister or me about 90% of the time we call his name and Savannah looks about 60% of the time, while Kitty still responds if she wants to.

The next item on my list was to try and get the kittens to learn the "leave it command."  That was also an adventure!  Since I do a lot of crocheting, I have pieces in all different states of completeness all over the house.  I used to keep the items I was working on under the living room coffee table, till we woke up one morning with all my pieces in different states of chaos.  Some were pulled apart, some were obviously chewed, and most were drowned or drowning in the water bowl.  I started by holding a treat in my hand so they can sniff it but not get to it, and rewarded them every time they pulled their noses away.  Then, I added the words "Leave It!" and eventually got Monkey to the point where he would leave the treat unattended on the floor till I gave him the OK (unfortunately, he has now regressed).  I didn't think Savannah was getting the idea, until I was able to put it to the test.  I was working on some crocheted flowers and I saw her jump onto the table to sniff them.  Before I realized what the mischief-maker was up to, she swooped one up and ran under our bed.  I quickly grabbed the treats and every time she lifted her face away from the flower I said "leave it" and rewarded her; eventually, she was more interested in the treats then the flower and I lured her out and got it back.  Still, there will be mornings when I wake to discover she's climbed the bookshelf to get to some hidden craft, but its a start.

But what does this all have to do with companionship you ask?  Well, there were a few nights that I couldn't get to sleep or mornings I had trouble getting up and Monkey would get visibly worried.  One night in particular, I was not falling asleep.  I had watched hours of television and even tried reading to get my eyes droopy.  While watching the rerun of the 11pm news (just to show how late I was up) Monkey comes crying in and hops up on the bed.  He takes his little head and starts to nudge my hand.  I figure he's just being a pets-hog, but instead of wanting the rub, he just laid down and snuggled with me.  With out any provocation, he turned his purr-box on full and he stayed there, in my arms till the morning.  Another wonderful morning, I decided I was going to sleep in.  At normal wake-up time, Monkey came in to check on me and when I didn't get up, he snuggled with me again.   He stayed with me right up until I rolled out of bed.  It's nice to know that he cares, and it was amazing for me to see a cat outwardly show emotion.  Even Savannah does it now!  As I'm writing this post, it is raining and thundering something fierce outside, and she keeps coming to snuggle! 

Mister swears up and down that these kittens are not "cats" in the normal sense of the word.  They are too snuggley and, for the most part, respect our rules.  As far as we know, all three cats know the counters and dining room table are off limits and know being up there is wrong.  Whenever Monkey is caught on the table, all it takes is a little "UH-UH!" and he's off in a flash; and on the rare occasions that doesn't work, once we stand up he jumps off and saunters into the bathroom for kitten time-out. I'm hoping the training will get better as we go and hope to soon report more successes.

I'm sorry I missed my post last month and I'll try to keep on top of it better.  Especially, since next month is a pretty important month!  Just a few business type things, I am still painting and crafting my little heart out, so please feel free to view my pieces at Missy's Creative Corner.  There is a menu link at the top that will always announce when I've updated the site with new artwork.  Feedback is always appreciated!  Also, all lolcat pictures were found at icanhascheezburger.com.  Enjoy!

Recently, I got an e-mail from Belly's adoptive mother saying "this is random but I was curious as to if any of your cats had any Maine coon cat gene in them? I am the owner of Pippin (Belly) and  he is quite massive for only being about a couple months old!"  Since Kitty and her mates were strays, we can only guess about the kittens' genetic makeup, but that question definitely got Mister and I thinking, "What could be in our babies genes?!"  On their vet records, Monkey, Savannah, and Kitty are all listed as "DSH"or Domestic Short Hair tabbies.  This "breed" along with the Domestic Medium Hair and the Domestic Long Hair are the nice umbrella terms for all cats that do not fit into a recognized Cat Fanciers Breed.  Luckily, Mister and I just started Tivo-ing a show on Animal Planet called "Cats 101," which goes through four or five different cat breeds an episode; so we decided to do some educated guessing on our cats lineage.  Little did I know just how many cat breeds there are, and most have come into existence within the last 50 years. *Just a little note, all the links in this post are to "Cats 101" videos about the breeds.*


There are some breeds that in my opinion, are absolutely ugly looking - the Exotic, the Scottish Fold, and the Sphynx are just a few- and some that are elegant looking.  There are even breeds of cats that have "curly" hair called Selkirk and Cornish Rexes, one being long haired and the other short haired, respectively. But instead of focusing on what Savvy and Monkey are not, lets get to what they possibly could be!

Let's start with Kitty because she is an easy one, an American Short Hair.  The American Short Hair cat is a long, lean, and powerfully built cat that was used as rodent exterminators on the early voyages to America.  It can be recognized by its round head, rounded ears, and short coat that comes in eighty different colors and patterns.

Next up in the game of "What's in a cat?" is Monkey;  I have "narrowed" down the possibilities to two breeds, the Somali and Maine Coon cats.  Maine Coons are known for their sheer size.  Males can weigh anywhere between 15 and 25 pounds and can reach a length of 40 inches including the tail!  The looks on people's faces when Mister or I tell someone that we have a 8 month old cat that weighs over 10 pounds is astounding.  They are also know for having tufts of fur between their toes used to keep their feet warm while walking on snow.  The Maine Coon breed is known to have above-average intelligence which makes them relatively easy to train, which I have found to be true!  I have taken up the task of training Monkey and Savannah to recognize their names and while Monkey took to it instantly, Savannah is still having trouble.  Meanwhile, the Somali cat is also known as the Fox cat, and has a really bushy tail.  The breed also features a black stripe that runs down the cat's back, large tufted ears, and a full ruff.  Their coats are ticked, which mean one strand of hair usually has up to four color variations from light to dark, and are also know to have dark rims around their eyes that make the cat look like its wearing eye-liner, as well as white patches on their chins and muzzles. Below are side by side pictures of a Somali on the left and a sleeping Monkey on the right.  See the similarity?  Also below are pictures of his Maine Coon traits, the tufted feet and length (that is an 18 inch ruler he is delightfully chewing on!).



Miss Savvy on the other hand was almost as easy as her mother to figure out, but like Monkey shows traits from more than one breed, Abyssinian, Bombay, and a hint of Havana Brown.   The Abyssinian breed is supposedly one of the oldest cat breeds known to man.  While the origins of the breed are hazy, representations of the cat can be found all over ancient Egypt.  They have broad, wedge-shaped heads and almond-shaped eyes that come in gold, green, hazel, or copper.   The Abyssinian coat is medium-length with three or four-colored ticked bands.  While the breed doesn't come in an all black color, there is a Silver Abyssinian that is considered a separate group; the undercoat is always a white color and the markings can come other colors, one being black! The breed is also known to be formidable hunters and can play with toys for hours (or in Savannah's case, until she "kills" them!)  The Bombay has a very unique voice and has almost 200 vocal tones, unlike a dog who has 90.  They are heat-seekers and are often called "Velcro cats" because they love to sleep on top of, next to, or under the covers with their people.  As for the Havana Brown in Savannah, every now and then, in the right light, I can see that her coat also reflects brown.


And there you have it folks! Those are the breeds that Mister and I believe make up our mutts! The Abyssinian, American Short Hair, Bombay, Havana Brown, Maine Coon, and Somali are all mixed up to make beautiful babies. Who knows, I found a website that does DNA testing on cats for $39 a test; maybe it would be interesting to find out if I'm really correct with my guessing!  Till next time ya'll!