We recently got a new addition to the Shakes household. A kitten of about 10 weeks old.
Ranger, (my dog. German shep/with something else) loves his new friend. I have another dog but he’s too old and doesn’t like to play. Neither does my older cat. Ranger and the kitty get along rather well.
This morning, I’m in the kitchen. I grabbed a few things from the fridge, then went back to my bedroom. A few minutes later, Ranger comes in and pokes his head in my lap whining. I asked him what was wrong; he starts barking, trying to lead me towards the kitchen. So, I do indeed, that.
When I get to the kitchen, Ranger is scratching at the refrigerator door. I can also hear the faint sound of meowing. I open the door and sure enough, there’s kitty!
Aren’t dogs awesome? That whole deal could have turned out really badly for the kitten had it not been for my dog.
It’s a phase cats go through. It’s called being a kitten. They eventually outgrow it when they get bigger but every kitten I’ve ever had or fostered tries to get in the fridge when I open it. If you have a kitten and a fridge you always need to make sure to check for the kitten before closing the door, I guarantee it will be nearby trying to climb in the fridge, even if you thought it was napping two rooms away.
Not all cats outgrow this phase, by the way. Three out of our four cats want to take inventory of the fridge, freezer, and pantry. The dumbest one will try to climb into the oven. No matter that she’s burned her little paddy paws several times. Cats will also climb into washers and dryers and dishwashers. And cabinets.
Mine eventually outgrew it. I think closing the door on them repeatedly eventually taught them. My fattest does sometimes still come to the refrigerator and gets in the way hoping for some ice water but she doesn’t try to get in.
I’ve done that a couple of times to my cat. If i’m just getting something to drink I’ll open the door and leave it open until I’m done pouring and put the container back in the fridge. Luckily each time the cat immediatley started meowing so I open up the door to let her out.
Ranger is definitely a good boy for looking out for his friend.
When my cat was but a wee little kitty, the same thing happened, except I had no dog to play the part of Lassie. Lucky for the him, he followed me EVERYWHERE. (usually preferring to be exactly where my next footstep was about to be :smack:)
So I sat down with my newly acquired munchies, took a bite or two, and realized the kitty wasn’t with me. From where I was, I would have been able to hear if he was eating, drinking, or in the litter box, so the only other possible explanation for him not being present was that he was up to no good. (chewing on wires was his habit, back then)
I looked everywhere until I realized that something weird was afoot, since he wasn’t the type of cat to hide, or not approach me when I was nearby. So I finally started thinking outside of the box (or in this case, IN the box) and opened the fridge, only to be greeted by a casual “meow” and an otherwise unconcerned looking and “chilled out” kitty.
If he wasn’t the type of cat that always follows me around, and who doesn’t stay out of sight for long, that funny story might just have been a tragic one.
I wonder how long a kitten could last in a refrigerator? I’d think the fur coat would stand up to the 40-degrees or so, so it’s presumably a question of oxygen. As small as they are - could they make it from one meal to the next (assuming you aren’t snacking)? I’d not actually run the experiment, of course.
