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Whenever I turn the shower on to get the hot water started (generally it takes a minute or so for it to get acceptably hot) my little orange ball of fur of a cat will be patiently waiting on the bench for me to appear. Yes, the master shower is large and includes a bench to sit on if you need. It's his favorite perch while I shower. The over spray doesn't bother him in the least.

After my shower is completed and the water turned off, Stub (he's a Manx, i.e., tail less) waits about 10/15 seconds while I'm toweling dry and hops down, looks at the drain for a moment and then licks some of the remaining water on the shower floor. He's a little weirdo...

If I'm gone for any length of time, no matter what room he's in, he'll come bounding into the room where I just unlocked the door to come inside. It's then my job to pat him quickly and alternately on his hind quarters whereupon he tucks his head under and rolls onto the floor with his 4 legs totally vertical. As soon as he's down, he pops back up again and we continue this routine for at 6/7 times. Throughout the time of this patting and rolling routine, he sort of barks with pleasure.

Do any of you have pet's with rather delightful, oddball peculiarities?

Abraham wrote:
Do any of you have pet's with rather delightful, oddball peculiarities?

I don't have any "pets," but my human staff has all sorts of oddball peculiarities. They're weird.

This past Sunday's "Bizarro" cartoon showed aliens entering
the presence of their leader.

The alien who had just returned from a trip to Earth was holding
a full grown cat.

His comment to his leader: "Excellency, we have brought this gift
to you from Earth. They make hilarious videos." :-)

SIA

When I take my boston terrier Tito on walks so he can relieve himself, he spins multiple times counter clockwise before going. Average amount of spins is about 3-5. My wife and used to laugh alot about it. Sometimes he spins a whole lot more. The most Ive counted is 18. We joke about how he always spins counter clockwise and how the world will end the day he spins clockwise.
Sometimes my son will toss him a chicken nugget that hes not going to eat and Tito will hold that chicken nugget in his mouth for hours. He always barks when we get a knock on the door and if he has a chicken nugget in his mouth when someone knocks, he will bark with it in his mouth.

Javier730 wrote:When I take my boston terrier Tito on walks so he can relieve himself, he spins multiple times counter clockwise before going. Average amount of spins is about 3-5. My wife and used to laugh alot about it. Sometimes he spins a whole lot more. The most Ive counted is 18.

He's just trying to generate some centrifugal force. Makes doing his business easier.
If he was in Australia, he'd spin the other way.

My Yorkie used to sleep on my Pitt mix.

I had a Manx from the time he'd fit in my hand to 16+ years later when he was an 18lb fur-covered meatloaf. Smartest cat I have ever known and he was a good friend for many years.

Enjoy your friendship!

Max

I have a cat that's fascinated with water. He won't get in the shower, but gets as close as he can. He loves to see water move, whether it's in the sink or tub or what-have-you. When he hears us turn on the tub tap, he comes running just to watch. When I pour water in the cats' bucket, he also comes running, and sniffs the water stream as it goes by. He's gotten wet a few times doing that. I've found that if I drop an ice cube in the bucket, that will keep him amused for awhile as he pushes it around. If I ever win a crazy amount of money in the lottery I think I will build him a Cabelas-type fountain.

A few years ago...well, more like 10 to 15 years ago, I guess, when I was still in the USAF, every morning as I put on my uniform a little girl cat I had would try to grab my laces as I laced up my boots. She never hooked me doing it, she just sat right at the toes of my boots and slapped at the laces until I finished, then she'd spin around and run full speed out of the room. I don't know what the running away was about, I never scolded her, and she would show up again the next morning. It was like she was suddenly embarrassed at having done something silly. I still think about that when I lace my boots now, makes me a little sad as she's been gone for some time, but I still smile about it too.

Miss BOO likes to ride up front with mommy and daddy when we go on bye-byes.

My dog is afraid of thunder and lightening. If it occurs when I am going to shower he will jump in the shower with me to stay close. Usually he gets so wet I end up bathing him anyway. He does not mind and it takes his thoughts away from the thunder and lightening going on.

He is a fussy eater. Hard to get him to eat. ( I know for some of you this is really hard to imagine) He will not stick his face in a bowl. Usually has to be hand fed like a two year old child. Turns his nose up at dog food of course. What is interesting, he normally sniffs each piece of food as I hold it up to his mouth to judge the quality and freshness. He can tell if the chicken is more than two days old. He normally will not eat cooked chicken or turkey that has been in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. He prefers freshly cooked. He will only eat beef if it is freshly grilled and prefers filet mignon over other cuts of beef or hamburger.

All of your stories are delightful!

I'll add one more.

Stub also like to drink out of the tap, in fact he insists whenever I turn on the tap he gets to drink out of it.

Alright two more: His big brother Puppy (also a cat - they're not really related, but they're very close) I brought home from a no-kill shelter. He's a gray tiger stripe and really beautiful, but he'd been rejected and returned twice by adoptive people.

Why?

He'd been feral for some time and before being rescued had become a biter.

The first day home with me he bit me drawing blood. So, I got a stick with 3' or so string at the end of which was a ball of feathers and tinkly little bell. I'd wave it through the air to land here and there. Twice a day for a minimum of 20 minutes each session (I timed it) he'd chase that ball of feathers. He just loved chasing that thing.

Eventually, he came to trust me, quit biting and now, when I drink my morning coffee in bed he's in my lap and if I sit down on the couch he's in my lap for the duration.

Along with Stub, he and I are great pals.

We had a tortoiseshell rescue that had a very independent streak. After living with us in the woods of NC for several years, she ranged more than a half mile in her daily routine. We'd get the occasional call from our neighbor (a half mile away, across a creek!) that our cat had paid him a visit. We had a second cat (a gray tabby) at the time that was the polar opposite. A total homebody. Never saw her more than 30 feet from the house.

The two of them together were hilarious.

The tortoise would bring home live critters, bring them in through the cat door and the two of them would spend the evening chasing them around the house. Catching the cats with a gecko tail sticking out of their mouths was nothing unusual, but the real fun was being woken up at 3:AM to the sounds of two cats chasing a flying squirrel around the house. When I turned on the light the cats were sitting under the bay window looking up and there on the valence was a small squirrel. From 15 feet away it must have seen me as its only hope because that squirrel flew straight at me, slamming into a forearm that I instinctively used to block it.

The most memorable moment was when I was coming in to the house one night.... It was dark, inside and out, I turned the key and as I started to swing the door open it sounded as if someone had thrown a newspaper at me.... flying pages... Loud and close by. After jumping back and gathering myself, I opened the door and turned on the light to find a full grown robin flying around the house.

Ok.. one more... My mother was visiting us... We were all sitting on the deck enjoying a sunny Carolina day. Mom is very much a city girl. I see our tortoise coming out of the woods.... with... something... in her mouth. So, I say to mom... "Mom... whatever it is... don't get scared". Mom says "What are you talking about"... At which point a dead rabbit gets dropped at moms feet. Mom screamed. My wife and I fell out of our chairs with laughter.

philip964 wrote: ...
He is a fussy eater. Hard to get him to eat. ( I know for some of you this is really hard to imagine) He will not stick his face in a bowl. Usually has to be hand fed like a two year old child. Turns his nose up at dog food of course. What is interesting, he normally sniffs each piece of food as I hold it up to his mouth to judge the quality and freshness. He can tell if the chicken is more than two days old. He normally will not eat cooked chicken or turkey that has been in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. He prefers freshly cooked. He will only eat beef if it is freshly grilled and prefers filet mignon over other cuts of beef or hamburger.

He has you well trained.

Must be something about orange cats. We also have a large double shower, with a bench at the far end. If I come in the house from outside, dirty and sweaty, he knows I'm headed for the shower and he's waiting at the bathroom door. While I shower he lays on the bench, looking like a 6-year-old about to get a shot ;). When i'm done I call him over. He jumps down and walks past me while I direct the shower water on him. He stands still for a minute, then walks back the other way, under the shower the whole time. I let him out while I dry off. Then he gets a good brisk toweling (heated towels).
I think that's what he's in it for, just between us