The Roaming Cat

I feel like I’m entitled to the occasional cat entry, right? For those of you who experience this as your first-ever jameystegmaier.com blog entry, go to the About page for a more well-rounded experience.

For the rest of you, here’s what happened: I took my laundry out of my washer/dryer combo tonight. Lately it hasn’t been completely drying my clothes, so I had to lay out all of my shirts on the bed. I knew right away that Biddy would sit on one of them, but I didn’t know which one (these are the games cat owners play).

Within a minute of spreading out the shirts and taking the first photo, Biddy had settled down. So I took a photo. But then I turned around a few minutes later and realized he had selected another shirt. Then another. Then another, where he continues to snore as I write this. All were Banana Republic t-shirts–he’s a name-brand cat.

What is your animal’s favorite spot to settle down for a good nap?

18 thoughts on “The Roaming Cat”

  1. Unfortunately, I do not have my own pet/cat, but my parents cat likes to nap pretty much anywhere my mom doesn’t want her too, like the kitchen counters or on her papers. Then there is this one spot on the sofa she really likes. To mix it up, she also has a spot of the week that she uses and then disregards. Oncethe spot of the week was a little cubby hole in a book shelf! That was a good one!

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    • Sounds like your parents have an awesome cat. I’m so intrigued that cats always want to sit on papers or clothes or anything you put down on the bed/counter/sofa. I wonder why that is.

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  2. When I still lived with my parents our dog (who we don’t have anymore) used to nap right in the middle of my bed. Most of the time he used my pillow. Very cute but I couldn’t move him to save my life if it was time for me to go to bed. So, I would have to leave him right where he was, find another pillow and curl up next to him to sleep. 🙂 Miss that dog!

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      • I thought about this after I posted my last comment but when I was studying for school he used to come up and put his paws on top of the textbook I was reading. Then he would lay his head down. If I didn’t pay any attention to him he would take my pen or pencil out of my hand. 🙂

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  3. I have no schmoopy cute animal sleepytime stories to relate. (Ok, fine, truth be told I have so many schmoopy cute animal stories that telling one of them would put me at risk of unleashing the whole pandora’s box worth of them, so I’ll just spare us all instead.)
    So rather than a catnap story, may I ask whether you have a specific theory about why Biddy won’t lay on the Festivus shirt?

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    • Sarah–Good question. Biddy despises Festivus. Whenever I have my annual Festivus party, he is confused and disorientated by the crowds of people. It may be his least favorite day of the year.

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  4. I encourage cat entries! The pictures are funny. It seems you made Biddy very happy with the buffet of shirts. Cats seem to love to mix it up & always find new spots to nap. I guess for an animal who sleeps most of their day this makes sense. Teddy is no exception. He loves sheets or towels warm from the dryer, a placemat on the table, the newspaper I’m reading (but only if I’m reading it, otherwise he’s not interested), my laptop, a book, one of the rugs, the foot of my bed, my suitcase…you name it, he sleeps on it!

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    • Stefanie–I wonder if there’s some sort of evolutionary purpose behind why cats would rather sit on something on the floor/bed/counter/etc instead of the actual floor/bed/counter. It seems like a universal behavior among cats.

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  5. Hey put the Festivus shirt in the middle of the bed and see if Biddy avoids it as well. Must mix up the variables to get a true understand of what he is picking to sleep on. Very cute pictures in deed.

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  6. I think it is also applicable to dogs – the idea of sitting on something on a surface rather than just the surface itself. I think both cats and dogs prefer softer surfaces, so a T-shirt on a bed is double the comfy factor. Something like a towel on the floor is just a no-brainer – soft surface on hard surface vs. hard surface alone? Soft surface will win every time. And I think the smell of their human owners on certain items attracts them.

    Lavern prefers spots where she can schnoogle a person. Not necessarily me, really just any ole’ human will do. She is basically dog velcro and prefers to be touching a person at any given time. She likes a good couch snuggle and leans against my side or chest. If I let her sleep in bed with me and a move of mine results in no dog-on-human contact, she will adjust her position accordingly. I roll over on my side away from her, and within seconds she inches over to curl up in a ball against my back. It’s pretty cute.

    But the best was last winter when I woke up one dark morning and couldn’t see her little shadow in her crate. I checked the couch and her bed in the living room – nothing. When I walked back to the bedroom, I glanced over to my packed but still open suitcase. She was all curled up on top of all my clothes! Adorable! Like she didn’t want to get left behind!

    Reply
    • That suitcase example sounds absolutely adorable. And let this mark the first time that the word “schnoogle” has ever been written on this blog. Congrats!

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  7. I just looked at the series of photos again and it still makes me laugh out loud. The fact that he remains in about the same position throughout each T choice change is hilarious, even down to the look on his face! He never seems to fully relax on any one, stretch out, or pause to say, “Aahhh. This is where I will rest.” It looks as though he could’ve been plucked up and replaced on each T, but I know that wasn’t the case. Almost like he knew what he was doing. Well done, Biddy.

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  8. My personal theory is that they engage in this behavior for two reasons (from observing my own cats of which I have three).

    1. Floors, countertops and sofas are just vast expanses of the same monotonous surface for cats. Add a T-shirt, piece of paper, or plastic bag and voila, the layout and texture of the landscape has changed. Never underestimate the power of novelty value.

    2. If your cat is anything like my Tigger, no surface that has not already been christened by her fur is safe, as she likes EVERYONE to know that this domicile belongs to her.

    The pictures of your cat are very cute. Biddy looks like a Biggy. ^ ^

    Reply
    • Eun–I like your theory about novelty value. That could very well be it.

      Biddy isn’t territorial, nor does he force himself into my attention span, fortunately. 🙂

      And he’s perfectly in shape, weighing in at a svelte 18 pounts. 🙂

      Reply

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