Do cats have favorites?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Our cat is not a lapcat. The lap of a human being is a horrrible, horrible place, and to be forcibly held in a lap is an insufferable imposition. She doesn’t mind a cuddle and a good scratching when we come home, and the occasionally stroking as she walks by is tolerated–barely. But for some strange reason she’s a crazy snuggle fiend at night. One of her favorite positions is lying between my arm and body, on her back, all four paws in the air, head tucked in my armpit.

Yeah, that’s right, my armpit. She sleeps with me. This is because she loves me best, obviously. This is because I am a Better Person than my husband, more virtuous, more scrupulous in my personal hygiene. I snore more softly, am more attentive and considerate to my bedmates, and for the discerning feline in search of warmth and comfort in the night, I am the obvious choice.

Or that’s what I thought, until the hubby and I decided to switch sides of the bed one night.

Then the cat slept with him.

Three words: location, location, location.

22

I just pee’d on myself.

Thanks, Podkayne.

23

God that was a funny post, Podkayne.

I don’t think my cat has a favorite, but he has carefully cultivated Mr. Cranky as an ally. Mr. Cranky had never owned a cat before we moved in together. My cats have always, wisely, sucked up to him in clever ways.

Our late cat Simon was a wanderer. If he was outside for the night, I’d roll over and pull the cover up to my chin and say “It serves the bastard right for not coming in when he had the chance” and sleep peacefully. My Cranky, however, the person who never liked cats for 35 years, would get up every two hours throughout the night to open to door to call for the cat. :slight_smile:

24

My kitty pretends to like me most, but I think she is just using me to make my SO jealous.

If we are both home the cat wants nothing to do with him. She won’t even look at him. If he calls her she jumps on my lap.

When I am home and he is not she doesn’t seem to have any use for me. She wants to spend all of her time sitting in his chair and smelling his shoes.

He swears that when I am not there she is follows him everywhere and is aways in his lap.

Who can understand cats?

25

I was once a live-in catsitter for a friend who was away somewhere. She came back home in the middle of the night (which meant I had to move out from her bedroom to the livingroom). Anyroad, before we went to bed we had some tea, and I must say I felt rather proud when the cat chose to sit in my lap instead of her owner’s.

My friend also said that before that time the cat had always been rather shy when in the company of (human) males, but living with me had made her much more relaxed.

26

Well, my cats hate everyone but me and the dogwalker/catsitter, and my mom (they stayed with my parents for several weeks when my condo was a construction zone). But then again, I am the only human who lives here. They were very shy when I got them 10 years ago, and have gotten slightly less scaredy-cat over the years. The will sometimes poke their noses out if I have one person over - any more than that and they just hide in the closet the entire time.

27

I am, regretfully, cat-free due to allergies. But I grew up with a notoriously cranky Siamese (I’m not sure if they come in any other form) named Dinah. She was Mom’s Cat, and she did not appreciate this pink, bawling critter (read: me) whose presence was in the house had not been precleared. We have these terrific pictures of me as a newborn, Dinah with a classic suck-the-breath-out-of-the-squalling-bastard look on her face.

Really, the only person who got along with Dinah was my godmother’s 13-year-old daughter, Valla, who minded me when I was a baby. The first time she babysat, my parents gave this long speach along the lines of “Just leave her be, she’s okay unless provoked, etc. etc.” They returned to find Valla fast asleep on the couch, wrapped around an equally asleep Dinah.

My father was never that much of a cat person - Mom had acquired Dinah while Dad was safely away on a business trip. Dad had grown up with dogs.

That changed when my mom died, very unexpectedly, when I was five. The poor cat had a terrible time, there was no way she could understand.

After a few weeks, though, she suddenly became Dad’s Cat.

Dad, who previously wouldn’t let Dinah in the bedroom, was suddenly dozing with her on his chest. In his bed.

And Dad also became completely uninterested in dogs, while loudly praising Catdom with the enthusiasm of the newly converted.

Dinah still didn’t think much of me. I remember a real breakthrough in our relationship came when I was about 7 or 8 - Dinah was watching me sweep the back porch, when I remembered that she herself liked to be swept. So I took the broom and swept her - hard, so that she could really feel it in her joints, which were already somewhat rheumatic.

The purr was deafening.

She still wasn’t too keen on touching me, I suspect because of an unfortunate whisker-teasing incident from when I was 4. (She bit me but good, and I remember thinking to myself that I probably deserved it - Dad had warned me.) As her memory begain to fade, I gradually came to be quite enamored of her. But I knew I was never in the same league as my father. She would yell herself hoarse when I went out of town; I always felt so sorry for her. I’m sure she was afraid that he would disappear, too, but he always came back and then she was OK.

She made it to 18.

28

yes, cats do have favorites. my favorite is the BIG NICE GIRL, but the BIG NICE BOY who comes over sometimes is fun too. but i hate the LITTLE BRATTY BOY because he always pulls my tail, and he’s begging for a puppy now. the BIG MOM gives me the food, but also bathes me, so i’m not sure if i like her or not, but the BIG DAD is EVIL! he is NOT NICE at all. he’s always giving me catnip to videotape me making a fool of myself, and if there’s one thing cats don’t like, it’s ruining their DIGNITY!

sniff sniff
ooh, caaatniiiip…
jumps off thread and starts doing tricks for the BIG DAD

AAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!