# Irritating Habits of Cute Pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737 "2014-02-07T05:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/21 "2014-02-07T18:27:23Z")
Jezabel likes to nuzzle and lick my elbow. I suppose it beats Banzai and his love of chewing on my hair, or Baby the 'teil liking to land on my pillow when I took naps and trying to groom my eyelashes for pin mites :eek: ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/22 "2014-02-07T19:09:33Z")
Picolo spends much of her life draped over my left shoulder, purring in my ear. …And this includes every time I sit on the toilet. (sorry, no kitty pics of this one) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/23 "2014-02-07T19:43:53Z")
My youngest girl tabby, Tessa-Bug, is the most adorable thing on four paws, and she knows it. She gets away with _anything_ because all she has to do is look at us with her big shiny eyes and all is forgiven. That said… She eats shoelaces. Well, doesn’t actually _ingest_ them, just gnaws on them until they’re useless. We’ve had to put every pair of laced shoes we own out of her reach because even now, at age 4, she still does it. I’ve actually watched her, as I’m putting on my athletic shoes, go after the one that I’m not currently putting on _as it sits right next to me on the bed_. She’s shameless! Did I mention she’s adorable? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/24 "2014-02-07T19:58:23Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > She eats shoelaces. Well, doesn’t actually _ingest_ them, just gnaws on them until they’re useless. Mo the dog is almost this. There is not a single pair of shoes in our house that has intact aglets on the laces. No damage to the lace or the shoe beyond that. She crunches off the aglet, and then leaves it alone. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/25 "2014-02-07T20:12:04Z")
He is a fierce hunter-kitty. Alas, we have no vermin in the house, and it’s kind of cold for an elderly fierce hunter-kitty to go outside hunting anyway. So he hunts slippers and socks. At 1 AM. Carries them off from the lair where he found them (usually by a bed, or in a shoe rack) and plops them prominently in the middle of a walkway. And then parades around all the occupied bedrooms "MREOW"ing loudly to announce his latest success and general hunting prowess. And he doesn’t stop until someone gets up. Usually, tripping over the slipper left in the aforementioned walkway. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/26 "2014-02-07T20:35:15Z")
My old and long gone pug, Zephram, was a boob man. While far from being the sharpest card in the deck, his dedication to the ladies with “huge tracts of land” was unwavering. Whenever guests of the female persuasion came to visit, he would carefully examine their respective endowments, select his mark and wait for her to sit. He would jump into her lap, dive face first into her cleavage, wriggle his head around until his “pillows” were adjusted correctly and let out a contented sigh. I was often accused of training him to do this and my protestations of innocence were routinely dis-believed. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/27 "2014-02-07T20:40:15Z")
Capt. Kirk ( Zephram) wins the thread. That can’t be matched. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/28 "2014-02-07T20:40:48Z")
Sadie the cockatiel. Frequently jumps on the computer and makes the task bar disappear. Is furious when she can’t find me and flies about shrieking. Hates so much for me to be out of her sight that she takes a bath with me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/29 "2014-02-08T01:25:21Z")
Stanley (his proper name) known as silly-silly has twined between my legs (does he materilize through walls?) so often while I’m standing at the toilet and peed on his tail he doesn’t flinch anymore when I chase him with a wad of toilet paper to wipe him down before he brushes against the walls. His littermate brother Oliver is perfect, only snuggles between my legs in bed after I’m settled and comfy. Silly-silly, oh no. He plops down on the corner of my bed purring away louder than a diesel truck inches away from my face. Dude! It’s a king sized bed with acres of real estate and nooks and crannies of blankets and warm biped bodies to snuggle against, you really can’t plop down an inch from my face and purr like a maniac. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/30 "2014-02-08T02:17:21Z")
Sadie again: loves to help me paint by grabbing the end of the brush and jerking it around when I hold it. Adolf the cockatiel: wrecks everything, gets into accidents (crash landings in oil paint and glue), makes the females nervous, and dances in circles on my head. ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/31 "2014-02-08T02:23:40Z")
Amethyst (the kb kitty) also must explore EVERYTHING. I’ve caught her trying to climb into the dishwasher and oven. O.o. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/32 "2014-02-08T03:02:03Z")
Sadie (amstaff/hound mix) – Loves to greet strangers! But loves it SO MUCH she will stand and stare at distant people, trying to will them to come touch her. Even if they’re, say, doing yard work for 2 hours. Simone (American Pit Bull Terrier) – “The calf inspector.” Likes to hang out almost touching you; likes to tap the back of your calf with her nose a few times an hour. It’s dangerous to back up or change direction suddenly in our house. Cosmo (cockatiel) – Puts his head down for petting, turns his shiny eye toward you, and mugs for attention. If he doesn’t get it fast enough, he will lean over and PULL OUT ARM HAIRS WITH HIS BEAK. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/33 "2014-02-08T03:21:13Z")
Good thread for today - it’s the Tough Dog’s 10th birthday and I hope for many more. He is made of awesome and I love him dearly, but some days [it’s really hard to type on this laptop](http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z300/romansperson/hardtowork_zps1f0b3428.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/34 "2014-02-08T03:26:40Z")
He “noses” me. By which I mean that he is obsessed with keeping in constant physical contact with me, especially touching my bare skin with his nose. His cold, wet, slimy, nose. It’s basically like having someone follow you around the house all day with an ice cube, poking you with it. I haven’t worn a skirt or shorts in a year, because as I walk around the house he tries to keep his nose in contact with the back of my left knee. Every time I sit down he is immediately on my lap and sneaking a tap on my arm or neck with his little schnoz. An he absolutely can not bear to let me wash my hands and actually have them clean for more than a few seconds. I walk around with my hands up like a TV surgeon who has just scrubbed up for surgery, because if I put them down within jumping distance he will nose my hands the moment I have washed them. He’s getting better about it, but it’s always worst when he’s stressed, which is generally because he senses that I am stressed, which is the worst possible time to have something cold, wet and slimy leaving yuck spots anywhere it can reach. He’s a rescue dog, the sweetest little cuddle bug, but with the heart of a lion when he’s guarding the Celtling. He’s had a lot to learn and adjust to, and has generally responded well to civilized life, but this is clearly an emotional need he has, and it just drives me absolutely apeshit. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/35 "2014-02-08T03:39:30Z")
Another one here with an impossibly cute cat who likes to walk on laptop keyboards. She also likes to lie on top of stove burners (when they’re off, thankfully, but it scared me half to death the first time I caught her up there). And in the middle of the stairs in the dark. And she’s extremely stupid and seems to genuinely not understand “NO.” ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/36 "2014-02-08T03:44:00Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > My “baby” has grown older and his joints are bad. Unfortunately he is no longer able to jump off the bed at night as he will injure himself and knows this. Instead, to awaken me, he climbs on my head. As with most older mammals, he has to pee frequently at night so I am constantly letting him off the bed and putting him back on the bed. At least three or four times a night. As irritating as this is, I do thank goodness for the doggy door. Before you ask, no he will not tolerate staying on the floor but will paw and bark until I pick him back up. The cutest part is his “brother” who is a year younger, lifts his head with an expression like “again???” each time I am awakened to put him down to go out. I found a relatively inexpensive [set of steps for my arthritic (hips and spine, on the lower step in pic) old man kitty, Noodle](https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1/644501_508202772548748_1455573196_n.jpg), and he took to them right away. I left them there even though he’s gone now, the other cats seem to like them and still use them all the time. They’re marketed for kitties, but they look nice and as you can see from the picture (Nimbus on the top step is 16 pounds), plenty big for a dog. I suppose if your dog is huge, these won’t work, but also figure if he was that big the bed wouldn’t be much of an obstacle even with arthritis. Found the steps on Amazon, [here.](http://www.amazon.com/Faux-Fleece-Three-Step-Tree-Ivory/dp/B003SZX9VG/ref=sr_1_21?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1391830577&sr=1-21&keywords=armarkat+steps) ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/37 "2014-02-08T04:24:08Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Another one here with an impossibly cute cat who likes to walk on laptop keyboards. She also likes to lie on top of stove burners (when they’re off, thankfully, but it scared me half to death the first time I caught her up there). And in the middle of the stairs in the dark. And she’s extremely stupid and seems to genuinely not understand “NO.” Well, both kitties (Amethyst and Starbuck) certainly PRETEND that they don’t understand “When are you going to start paying your part of the rent? Seeing as how everybody charges pet rent around here?” They just meow innocently…😛 ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/38 "2014-02-08T04:33:25Z")
How do you keep all of the black hair off that nice cream colored comforter? I know all about washing machines and stuff, but the black hair just seems to stick to the linens. Steve, the house feral, has learned that he can sleep on the bed, but if I reach down to touch him, he slaps me. I’m so happy that he is on the bed and sleeping that close to me that I smile and move my hand. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/39 "2014-02-08T06:32:32Z")
My comforter? It’s there, just framed far enough away and overexposed enough it’s hard to tell, that’s all. That fleece does seem to pick up more, and the cats like it and tend to hang out on it more than the comforter itself, easier to pick up and throw in the wash. Or is there another bedroom pic I didn’t notice? > [@](#): > > Steve, the house feral, has learned that he can sleep on the bed, but if I reach down to touch him, he slaps me. I’m so happy that he is on the bed and sleeping that close to me that I smile and move my hand. This is so sweet. ---
**Author:** ![chronometer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@chronometer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chronometer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737/40 "2014-02-08T09:57:07Z")
The rabbit likes to supervise DIY activities. When I’m building another bunny house he gets into the tools, the timber, the wire mesh, etc. etc. I have to be very careful when using power tools in case he walks into the sparks from the angle grinder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritating-habits-of-cute-pets/680737.md?page=3)