# Is it cruel to annoy your cat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2000, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680 "2000-09-10T15:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/21 "2000-09-11T01:52:01Z")
My sister’s adorable ‘kids’, who I was lucky enough to babysit for a couple of months last year, are hysterical to annoy, particularly because of their different way of responding. Tallulah, the big fat black boy, was given the nickname ‘Jim Morrison’, because he thinks he’s a rock and roll god. If you bug him (particularly if you dare to wake him when he’s sleeping - usually on your lap), he slowly turns his head around to look at you as if to say ‘So, you think you’re some kinda wiseguy, heh?’ and goes back to sleep. Dali, the white fluffball girl, gets absolutely terrorised if you do anything, and will go running madly around the room, or do the circuit out the door, through the passage, back in the other door, before returning to where she was and forgetting about what happened. So yeah, I agree, cats are there to be annoyed, because as long as what you’re doing isn’t hurting them, they take it as just part of being a cat. Off topic slightly, is there any feeling funnier than when a cat decides to fluff up your stomach like a pillow before settling into it? HenrySpencer ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/22 "2000-09-11T04:01:56Z")
Annoying your cat is your duty to this world. As if your cat doesn’t think it’s his duty to piss you off. Fortunately, I have a wolf hybrid who LOVES to play with the kitty. Since he sleeps outside a lot, whenever Piewackit decides he wants to go out after being inside for less than ten minutes, I send him out the back door. Then he gets to run the gauntlet with Zen. Everybody has immense amounts of fun. Except Piewackit, of course. Funny how Piewackit now will sleep inside for the entire night, knowing that if he behaves, he gets let out the front door in an undisturbed fashion. Logic, ya gotta love it. Just the other day Piewackit was pissing me off enough that I threw a sock at him. It draped over his head perfectly and he was so engrossed with what had happened that he walked headlong into one of the microphone stands in my studio. What a delight to see this cool, collected master of the universe bonk right into a solid object. I almost wet myself on the spot I was laughing so hard. cornflakes: Beware EVER shining a laser into any creature’s eye, yourself included. The lens of your eye concentrates the beam to an even greater degree of Wattage Density. Even a laser pointer can injure your retina if shone directly into the eye for more than a hundredth of a second. I know this because I tried it once. It was an uncomfortable day or two while my eye healed. Fortunately I was exposed only for one second. Trust me on this. I have a dozen lasers, including a 20 milliwatt Argon laser that’ll blind you pretty quickly. That one always gets my respect. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/23 "2000-09-11T05:05:22Z")
It’s perfectly okay to annoy kitty, as long as you are not hurting or unduly terrorizing kitty. It is also perfectly okay for kitty to annoy you, as long as she is not hurting you or destroying property. It’s part of the unwritten cat/owner contract. ---
**Author:** ![Leah\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Leah\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leah_Zero)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/24 "2000-09-11T06:39:02Z")
Heh. PETA has a bounty on my head. Earlier tonight, I introduced Mr. Bigglesworth (yes, he resembles his Austin Powers namesake) to the Plastic Coat Hanger Animal. I didn’t hang him up once he was inextricably folded in it, though. But I thought about it evilly. Poor guy. I also put him in a kitchen cabinet and waited for him to ram his way out. And I put him in a laundry cart and wheeled him around the apartment. And I put him in a backpack and toted him around papoose-style. And I put him in a sleeping bag and zipped it up and poked it intermittently. And I make Cat Mountain out of him with the decadent quantity of pillows inhabiting our living room. And I stick my nose through the blinds when he’s sitting in one of my bedroom windows and sniff at him. He runs when he sees me coming, now. Damn. I think he likes Angie better. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/25 "2000-09-11T13:20:01Z")
I have two cats, as would seem to be the norm. My oldest, at 2, is a long-hair. Alexi Elise absolutely hates tape on the paws, feet-under-the-belly-when-walking, water in any form but in a bowl and rubber bands on the tail or around her paws. Her little brother, Dmitry, loves water, doesn’t mind the foot thing (he just hangs out, like it’s cool or something) and licks tape for fun. He does, however, hate rubber bands 🙂 I have a feather I hung form a doorway, just at the top of their reach. They both seem to get annoyed at chomping on the thing only to have to dangle from it at that point, since it’s not going anywhere. hehe. I do this with strings hung from the back of odd chairs, too. They both greet me at the door every day and sleep on my bed at night, so i don’t think they’re terribly annoyed…yet. ---
**Author:** ![Angie\_Gailbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@Angie\_Gailbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angie_Gailbird)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/26 "2000-09-11T14:06:45Z")
Mr. B has taken to sleeping at the foot of my bed. This slightly upsets our other roommate, Jennifer, because he’s her cat. He always has to sleep somewhere, though, that makes it impossible for me to move my feet. Cats are so great that way. The other cat in the apartment, Tequila, is of the cute, but very dumb variety. She licks soap. We haven’t yet figured out WHY she does it, but she’s done it on several occasions. Behold, Leah annoying Mr. B with [the backpack](http://home.earthlink.net/~saava/stalker/bp_3.jpg) and [the hanger.](http://home.earthlink.net/~saava/stalker/coat_hanger_3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/27 "2000-09-11T15:03:25Z")
the biggest thing we do that annoys the cats is picking them up. i have got a bunting the cats are put in. when julia is waving her tail, i will grab it in mid-wave, then let it go, let her wave it, then grab, and let it go ths is good for 5 minutes. little bastard is entertained for 10 minutes by a ribbon. both of them play with houseflies and moths that come in. they can annoy us too. julia begs for attention when we use the computer. julia also lies on the mouse pad and one’s arm when you try and type. little bastard begs for attention when people are trying to sleep. little bastard has a plaintive cry, and uses it constantly. little bastard escapes and will not come home for two days, or has to be brought back. julia lies on my book when i try to read. pissing contest?? one of them will leave a pile of shit on random areas? we have not yet caught either in the act. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/28 "2000-09-11T15:40:56Z")
I do not condone the physical abuse of any animal whatsoever. Cats, however, deserve whatever pisstakes you can think up. 😃 We had one cat, Maxwell, who was Monster Kitty (very large but not fat). The only reason the kitchen existed was so that humans could go into it and _FEED HIM_. “You’re in the kitchen. That means you’re making something for me to eat, right? Of course it does.” _winding around in that little figure 8 motion between your legs_ Needless to say, he needed to be taken down a couple of pegs. One favorite game was to hold him, pinning his front paws to him, and blow sharply in his face. His head would jerk back and he’d get this totally pissed-off look. The other cat of the household, BK, was a sweet, if mildly dopey for reasons of spending a few minutes dead, cat whom we treated with much greater kindness in general. Except once. We have this antique pulltoy (once belonged to Mamma O), basically a wheeled platform with blocks that sat on pegs and would rotate as they came in contact with the wheels. One day (keep in mind I was about 17) I hooked BK up to the string loop and let him go. He trucked across the living room, kinda confused about why he was suddenly a beast of burden. Then he hit the kitchen linoleum. The noise that toy made rolling across the floor freaked him out and sent him flying up the stairs. There was a moment of silence, then some of the blocks came rolling down the stairs, followed by the cart itself, end over end. I lost it completely. I realize now I could have strangled the cat if he’d gotten caught; I never expected him to take off like that and I fully planned on taking the pulltoy off after a minute or so. But events dictated otherwise and now I have something to laugh maniacally about every so often. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/29 "2000-09-11T17:36:52Z")
This is dogs again (all my cats seem immune to annoying…even the one that pissed on the brand new duvet & duvet cover the first time I was going to use it never seemed to get riled by anything…other than moving house that is!) I was looking after a big black german shepherd dog for a few weeks. I took her for a walk to the shops…tied her to a bin outside whilst i bought somehting. Heard a thump noise - she’d pulled the bin over…then I discover the bin is in two parts, a heavy outside, base bit, and a light NOISY metal bit - guess which one she was attached to? So she takes a step forwards, hears the metal on tarmac, freaks and takes off as though the hounds of hell were after her! Each step, there’s a bang thump of the bin and she tries to go faster… I can’t run that fast, so she’s way out of sight very quickly. A stranger stopped their car to see why I was in such a state (& being a wonderful judge of character), I explained & hopped in when she offered me a lift. We drove round in widening circles looking for her, then headed for home in the hope that she had learnt the right direction. There she was, so we stop a hundred yards ahead - it’s amazing she didn’t trip over her tongue, it was hanging out so far - and I start running to have a chance of being up to speed when she catches up (like those cartoons with the trains & the guy at the station… and manage to grap her (getting a hefty whack from the bin in the process). ## I then thank the lady, have to walk the dog home & give her plenty of water & calm her down, then carry the bin back to the shop & pick up my purchase…and walk home haivng run about 2 miles before being picked up. I get there, exhausted to find a dog who looks like nothing has happened and who wnats to go for a walk… On the other hand - my little guys go in rucksacks, laundry baskets (the carry ones and the ones you abandon your clothes in for a week), the new compost bin we got (while empty - it looks like a darlek), have the vacuum cleaner hose looped around the middle like a belt, socks on their heads, if youlet them lick out the yoghurt pot, they’ll carry it around in their mouths looking like Jimmy Duranti… They sometimes look offended, but they always come back for more… [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fiona.davison/ntlindex.htm](http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fiona.davison/ntlindex.htm) ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/30 "2000-09-11T18:41:55Z")
Zenster: > [@](#): > > cornflakes: Beware EVER shining a laser into any creature’s eye, yourself included. The lens of your eye concentrates the beam to an even greater degree of Wattage Density. Even a laser pointer can injure your retina if shone directly into the eye for more than a hundredth of a second. I know this because I tried it once. It was an uncomfortable day or two while my eye healed. Fortunately I was exposed only for one second Right. cornflakes: > [@](#): > > Don’t shine it in their eyes; it probably won’t burn them, but you want to be safe. [osha](http://www.osha-slc.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iii/otm_iii_6.html) > [@](#): > > d. Class IIIA: intermediate power lasers (cw: 1-5 mW). Only hazardous for intrabeam viewing. Some limited controls are usually recommended. [Indiana State U’s EHS department](http://www.ehs.iastate.edu/publications/manuals/lasers.htm#IIIa) (a little clearer of read): > [@](#): > > Class IIIa lasers are systems with power levels of 1 to 5 mW that normally would not produce a hazard if viewed for only momentary periods with the unaided eye. They pose severe eye hazards when viewed through optical instruments (e.g., microscopes, binoculars, or other collecting optics). I was thinking more along the lines of retinal scarring than temporary damage. FWIW, I know that I looked at IIIa beams (_yes, by accident_) before my last laser exam, and the picture didn’t show any scarring. Regardless, it is a bad idea to shine any bright light into an eye, as your example clearly points out. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2000, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/31 "2000-09-11T22:58:25Z")
My favorite way to annoy one of my cats is to “set her off”… let me explain. You get her totally into something… usually this requires an accomplice with some enticing toy. She gets crouched down, pupils huge, totally focused and intent and about to race over to pounce… and just at the height of her preparation, you goose her right above the tail. She’ll bound off like she was going to, but then stop, confused, because she wasn’t ready yet. It’s hilarious. I also have been known to put a hair tie over their ears, so their ears go together at the top, and watch them try to get it off. Doesn’t hurt, and all it takes is a little twitching and they look funny 🙂 I’ll admit to the tape on the paws thing, too, but only ever for a minute or so. Kaia and I also like to play “I’m poking you on this side! Now I’m poking you on this side! Now I’m poking you on this side again!” until she finally anticipates me and catches my hand. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 11, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/32 "2000-09-11T23:29:44Z")
I like going outside when either Misty or Noel is sitting on one of the ground floor windows sills. I love throwing leaves at the windows! I always take Misty into my room with me when I go to sleep and try and make her stay with me, but since it’s warm out, she won’t. ☹ So I hold her and cuddle her while she squirms for a minute. I also like blowing on her fur. And because she’s a Turkish Angora, she has little sprigs of hair in between her toes. I like playing with the pads of her feet and she gets all annoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/33 "2000-09-12T00:27:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Or I’ll take her tail and tickle her nose with it. She starts biting at it, and then licking at it. > \*\* I’ve known a number of cats that do that. _WHY_ do they do that? Just because they’re cats? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/34 "2000-09-12T00:31:10Z")
If there’s anything more unsettling than an Irritated Pussy, I don’t want to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Michi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Michi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/35 "2000-09-12T05:52:44Z")
Heh. I get PAID to annoy cats! Then I come home from work to my own FIVE cats, and they annoy the hell out of me. But I love them anyway! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/36 "2000-09-12T05:59:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michi \* > \*\*Heh. I get PAID to annoy cats! > > Then I come home from work to my own FIVE cats, and they annoy the hell out of me. But I love them anyway! 🙂 \*\* You know, I opened this thread, read it, and was in the middle of posting to it, saying “I’m telling on all of you to Michi!” and I click on the preview and see you here. Next time I’m not previewing. Imagine the timing if you showed up a minute later! ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/37 "2000-09-12T19:39:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Cynical \* > \*\*If there’s anything more unsettling than an Irritated Pussy, I don’t want to know what it is. \*\* An angry beaver, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/38 "2000-09-12T21:44:20Z")
**katrina** and I annoy our Fuzzy Black Land Shark from time to time. Actually, she does it rarely, I do it frequently, so it averages out nicely. My favorite trick (for the moment) is, if I see him yawn, I reach down and put my finger in his open mouth, crosswise. His eyes close when he yawns, so he has no idea – until he finishes the yawn, starts to close his mouth, and finds my finger there. His eyes pop open, and he makes this little “urk, urk” noise; then he opens his mouth again and backs his head away. The expression on his face is priceless: What on Earth possessed you to do that? Every single time. The funny thing is, if my wife does it, he doesn’t just look at her funny, he attacks her. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/39 "2000-09-12T22:06:00Z")
I love turning my cat’s ears inside out. He just calmly shakes his head until they flip back. My other cat never gets annoyed at anything. He’s just happy you’re paying attention to him! ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kid\_Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680/40 "2000-09-12T23:41:57Z")
Of course it’s cruel to annoy your cat. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fun. Do I have to mention that I’m just joking? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cruel-to-annoy-your-cat/32680.md?page=3)