# Cats are the epitome of grace and coordination...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739 "2006-06-14T21:38:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/21 "2006-06-15T16:40:27Z")
Ever had your cat do the running-long-jump thing onto the table, not realize that the tablecloth is not secured, and skid directly into a big pile of cat-and-tablecloth on the floor at the other end? I have. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/22 "2006-06-15T16:40:38Z")
[QUOTE=jeffrice] Our black and white splotched longhair Estes loves to nap in the window sill in our bedroom. The other afternoon, while I was working on the computer there, unaware that Estes was napping, he fell out of the window sill. It startled me so badly I almost wet myself. But I got to thinking: With all the videos we’ve seen of sleeping cats sliding off their perches, does it ever happen in the wild? I mean, does a puma ever crawl up into a tree, nod off and slide out of the tree? [/QUOTE] You made me spit my coke out, now I have to wonder if the propane comapny will think I am a slob for having a dirty bill. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/23 "2006-06-15T16:40:55Z")
[QUOTE=Gorgon Heap] I misinterprited the intent of the thread. I apologize, and if the mods wish to eradicate my previous post, by all means do so. [/QUOTE] I believe I misinterpreted your first post. I thought it was made only to garner negative comments. It appears I was mistaken and I apologize. Now, can we have some more cute kitty stories? Being allergic to cats, I need to experience cat ownership through the SDMB members. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/24 "2006-06-15T16:41:57Z")
And it’s perfectly true that the true grace part is the aloofness after the disaster. My roommate’s cat pulls a stunt like that and she immediately walks away with this perfectly serene “I meant to do that” expression on her face. (My cat, being part dog, tends to sit there looking goofily astonished at himself for awhile. “Gravity!”) ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/25 "2006-06-15T17:14:09Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] And it’s perfectly true that the true grace part is the aloofness after the disaster. My roommate’s cat pulls a stunt like that and she immediately walks away with this perfectly serene “I meant to do that” expression on her face. (My cat, being part dog, tends to sit there looking goofily astonished at himself for awhile. “Gravity!”) [/QUOTE] In our old house, the cats had access to the living room and thus to the stereo speakers. On a regular basis, Bill the Cat would fall off one of the speakers - then stroll away with the “I meant to do that” expression. We came to refer to it as “checking to see if we paid the gravity bill”. Thud! Yep, gravity’s still working! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/26 "2006-06-15T17:30:04Z")
My cat’s breath smells like cat food. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/27 "2006-06-15T17:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=Jenny Haniver] (Pointedly ignoring **Gorgon Heap** ’s post) My cat once fell in to the toilet and pulled the lid down on top of himself in the process. He used to jump on the back of the toilet so he could watch me get ready in the bathroom mirror every morning, but on this occasion he shorted the jump. As he fell, his paws grabbed at the top of the toilet for purchase, but instead got the lip of the toilet lid. Splash. _Clank_. **MRRRREEEEOWRRRRR!!!** [/QUOTE] Mwahahaa! Oh dear. Yes, cats do funny things. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/28 "2006-06-15T19:34:47Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] “The Fog Creeps in on Little Cat Feet” Yeah, right. This teaches me that Carl Sandburg never owned a cat. Especially at 3 in the morning. [/QUOTE] When you have several cats chasing each other up and down the halls in the middle of the night, the term “thundering herd” is more appropriate than “little cat feet”. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/29 "2006-06-15T19:42:03Z")
Oh, I’ve got a real story, though it’s hearsay. Friend’s got a cat and hardwood floors. Well, the cat harasses the dogs, and takes off down the hallway. And always 1)either forgets that the hardwood floors tell the dogs exactly where she is 2) or forgets about the rug. You know, the one where she runs on madly and it bunches up underneath her, finally to shoot out behind her and have her slide across the floor on her butt, yowling the whole time? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/30 "2006-06-15T19:45:57Z")
[QUOTE=Bookkeeper] When you have several cats chasing each other up and down the halls in the middle of the night, the term “thundering herd” is more appropriate than “little cat feet”. [/QUOTE] No, the proper term is “a thundering herd of little cat feet”. Ah, such a unique sound!–irritating and _cute_ , all at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/31 "2006-06-15T19:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=Bookkeeper] When you have several cats chasing each other up and down the halls in the middle of the night, the term “thundering herd” is more appropriate than “little cat feet”. [/QUOTE] Bonus points if you sleep with the bedroom door open, and the cats use your stomach as a springboard to reverse their trajectory and go flying back up the hallway. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/32 "2006-06-15T19:48:19Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] Bonus points if you sleep with the bedroom door open, and the cats use your stomach as a springboard to reverse their trajectory and go flying back up the hallway. [/QUOTE] BWAHAHAHA…I can totally picture that. Plus your awakening and OOF! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/33 "2006-06-15T20:10:30Z")
What I want to know is how cats can selectively increase their mass. Our cat weighs 6-1/2 pounds. And yet she can leap on you with a force of at _least_ two tons. It’s quite astonishing. All I can figure is that she’s able to manipulate matter at a subatomic level. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/34 "2006-06-15T20:25:03Z")
My cat (age 1) has learned that he can climb up different things by jumping up to the point where his front paws hit — where he can lift the rest of his body up to where he wants to be (like the top of my bookshelves, kitchen cupboards, etc! Cut to yesterday, there’s the ironing board in the living room. He jumps up, front two paws hit the top of the board, but immediately it starts to tip over. I watch, as the board falls over in slow motion with kitty hanging on with his two front paws. Terrified to move, he lands on his back with the ironing board slamming into his chest. Freaked me out for a second, but he was fine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/35 "2006-06-15T20:28:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Tiger] What I want to know is how cats can selectively increase their mass. Our cat weighs 6-1/2 pounds. And yet she can leap on you with a force of at _least_ two tons. [/QUOTE] Not only that, but after dark they unscrew their paws and replace them with wooden piano legs to walk on you with. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/36 "2006-06-15T20:54:45Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Not only that, but after dark they unscrew their paws and replace them with wooden piano legs to walk on you with. [/QUOTE] **I knew it! I knew it!** Now I just need to find where my cat George stashes them. Incidentally, George was named after George of the Jungle for the unusual frequency that he would run into walls back when he was a kitten. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/37 "2006-06-15T21:03:38Z")
Our apartment: leads to a porch, sperated by sliding glass dorrs, open slightly ot allow for cat-passage. Goldie chasing Jelly. Jelly tears throught the living run, heading for the porch. Chooses the wrong side of the open dor, banging his face into the glass. Hard Goldie, surprised at Jelly’s sudden stoppage, slams into Jelly’s butt face-first. Force of Goldie’s head/butt contact bangs Jelly’s face into the glass for a second time. Three seconds later: Jelly chasing Goldie through the apartment … ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/38 "2006-06-15T21:04:39Z")
Jeepers, I can’t spell “door” today! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/39 "2006-06-15T21:10:47Z")
One of our largest cats (we have six), Piper Grace, is probably the most graceful, dainty and elegant of all of them. She’s a big, waddling thing, but somehow she manages to eat very slowly and ladylike, she jumps over the babygates (to keep the dog out of the upstairs and the laundry room) with nary a sound, and manages always to be very dignified. Except for the fact that she waddles instead of walking. Then, the second smallest cat, Noel, the one you’d THINK would be very graceful by looking at her, has all the grace of an elephant on a bender. She clomps down the steps at high speed, lands crooked when jumping, makes enough noise for twenty cats, and bullies everyone around her. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739/40 "2006-06-15T21:11:26Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#): > > Jeepers, I can’t spell “door” today! That’s okay, it wasn’t a door anyway. It was ajar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-the-epitome-of-grace-and-coordination/360739.md?page=3)