Each of my kitties has one habit that I love best of all for that kitty.
When she really wants a bit of whatever people food I’m eating, Kitty 1 hunches her head down into her shoulders and widens her eyes, making her look owlish and eager. I can’t resist this. I think it’s adorable.
Kitty 2 waits for me outside the shower. When I step out, she licks the water off my legs and feet. She doesn’t mind that I drip on her while she does this. When my legs are dry, she jumps in the tub and attacks the water rivulets. She hates baths, of course, but she loves the tub after a shower.
When my dog wants a pet & a hug, she approaches me sideways. She sort of backs/sides up to me and leans up against my legs, licks her nose, and wags her tail. It’s very cute.
This morning, I was in the shower and she came into the bathroom. I have a clear shower door, so I saw her get something out of the trashcan. I told her to drop it and she did - it was a cotton ball. She backed up a few steps and stood there, looking at the cotton ball, then looking at me, then looking back at the cotton ball. When I turned the shower off, she came over and sat on the cotton ball - I guess she was hoping I had forgotten it was there and she didn’t want me to see it. I outsmarted her, though! I did remember it was there, so I threw it away again. She then licked all the water off my legs and watched me dry my hair.
Well, I just got a new kitty, so we’re still figuring each other out. So far, her most memorable trait is a stinky butt, but we’re hoping to replace that with something a lot cuter very soon!
The cat I just lost to cancer used to prefer drinking out of a water glass. I gave her the prettiest glass I had (mainly because it was big enough that her head wouldn’t get stuck in it). We kept it on the end table and she would sit very patiently on the arm of the couch while I went to “freshen up her drink” in the morning. She was such a dainty little lady.
My dog is great, very affectionate and loving . . . the best dog in the world, and she has a couple of cute quirks.
When Hubby is late coming home, or must be away overnight on a business trip, she searches the house for him. She goes into each room, looks under the bed, behind the sofa, in the closets, and then goes into the bathroom, and peers into the toilet. God only knows why she thinks that he may be hiding in there. She won’t stop searching until he calls, and I put the phone up to her ear. She must decide at that point that he has become lodged in the phone, but will find his way out, because then she settles down for the night. If you go out the front door and return, even two minutes later, she rejoices as if you’ve been gone for a week. But if you go out the back door, which is the door to the backyard, and return, she doesn’t even bother to get up from her repose on the floor. Hubby and I guess that she thinks we were just out there using the bathroom as she does and our return, even if it’s hours later, isn’t noteworthy.
Second, she brings us “presents.” Another thing that God-only-knows-why-she-does. She will go upstairs, and root around in the hamper until she finds a sock, which she will bring down, and deposit in our laps. She will then sit and wag her tail, obviously expecting praise. We’re perplexed, but we always thank her and pat her for bringing the sock to us, but it can get a bit embarassing when guests are over to visit.
Noel, if you pick her up, will reach up with her left paw and pat you on the face. I’ve heard most cats are left handed. Or if she’s asleep, and you pet her suddenly, she’ll just go, “Mmmhhhem?” sort of a purr-sigh.
Misty likes to give kisses-she’ll lick the skin off your nose, and as she’s an angora with very thick heavy fur, that tongue is ROUGH! She’ll also kiss Noel and Lassie…and groom them too!
Our dog, Lassie, if she sees your hand dangling over the side of your chair, or near the ground, will come over and nudge her head under it…so you’ll pet her.
My dear late Fluffy used to look up at you and go, “Meow?” as you walked into the room. Sort of her way of saying hello-that cat talked non-stop.
Well, Jake the wonder beagle has a thing about the pillows on my bed. Routinely, when I come home at lunch time or at quitting time, I’ll find him lying on the bed with the comforter pulled back and his head on the pillows. Twice I’ve come home to find him with his head on a pillow on the couch. Meaning he went to the bed, pulled the comforter off the pillows, grabbed a pillow, dragged it to and up onto the couch, and made himself comfy. All of this without opposable thumbs!
Then, when I come home, he doesn’t even get up, he just looks at me with those sad beagle eyes. It’s like he’s either begging me to change the channel or get him a beer. Best dog around.
My Brat bird is pretty new to me (a 9 month old kakariki) so I’m just learning about his endearing qualities. He does one thing that makes me laugh. He sits on my shoulder and quietly says “What?” while I say “Sweet Baboo” to him:
Me: Sweet Baboo
Brat: What?
Me: Sweet Baboo
Brat: What?
Me: Sweet Baboo
Brat (leaning closely to my ear and then shouting): You’re bad!
I like this bird.
My now-gone retriever Kita used to chew the last bit of her dinner in that doggy chomp chomp style near me, and then burp in my face. A class act that always made me laugh.
The family cat (Nappy), used to wait for Dad to come home from work and then would follow Dad into the bedroom. Dad would remove his belt and dangle it for Nappy to play with. I still don’t know which of 'em enjoyed it more.
Nappy would also “ask” to be let out. He’d meow by the door until someone came over. We’d tap on the door knob and he’d streeeeetch all the way up to tap it with his paw. He always knew when it was bedtime, and he’d wait by his dish for it to be filled with kibble. As soon as it was, he’d race downstairs to his box. Sometimes I’d stop at the top of the stairs and wait, and in a few minutes, he’d be at the bottom looking up, saying, “But, the food is supposed to be down here! It’s my bedtime!”
My hermit crabs like to climb on my keyboard. It’s like a little mountain range. They also enjoy walking off of high things. (Good thing they have shells…)
My pooch (black Lab/Shephard) is so funny. For some reason it drives her nuts when I take a shower; she can’t see me. The whole time I’m shampooing and scrubbing away this inquisitive furry black face keeps nosing the shower curtain aside to make sure I’m okay in there.
If she feels I’m not devoting enough time to ear-stroking, etc. she prances at my heels, tail up, tapping my heels w/ her front paws–just as a reminder that we’re a pack, y’know. She usually sleeps on her floor pillow at my feet while I’m on the computer (she’s there now, snuffling and paws twitching; chasing dream rabbits I guess). But if I break up laughing she crawls out and flips my right elbow up w/ her nose, head tilted and eyes radiant. Just being companionable and wanting to share the joke.
She knows when I’m sick or down. I’m just coming off a nasty case of flu that went into walking pneumonia. When I was so sick, just freezing no matter how many quilts were on the bed, she’d turn around 3 times, wedge herself RIGHT beside me, snuggle her head on my shoulder and wrap her front paws around my arm. She’s a big dog so she’d streeetch herself out, getting as much of me warm as possible. No matter how restless I was, if I rolled over she was right there, snuggling in and keeping me warm.
She’s a mutt and I just love to pieces. I’m thinking of us going to the pound and adopting her another canine buddy for both of us.
Kitty 1 does a mellow-purr ‘twinkle toes camel back kitty’ against my leg when I sit down on the commode. Kitty two purrs and walks up my chest and butts her head against my glasses when I read in bed.
Dog 1 barks when I cut up apples because she knows she’ll get a slice. Dog 2 grunts when he get’s dried after being out in the rain.
All four rescues: Kittys from the yard (neighbor w/unfixed cats: yikes). Kitty 1 was weaned but young and sick with ear inf. and sinusitus. Had to worm four times over two months. Has a tilty head from nerve damage from the ear thing. Would have died without intervention. Kitty two was about three days old. Her mama ran off and her four littermates died. Four were alive when I got them to the vet, three died within an hour of rehydration. Kitty two is one lucky cat, having been days away from her mother. They still had their little dried unbilical cords.
Dog 1 was hit by a car outside Mrs M office. Guess who ended up with the bowed but not broken love creature? Dog 2 was found abandoned as a pup.
The most endearing thing they can do for me now is not have to go to the vet:)
::dustMagnate’s elbow soars upward; happy dog face peers upward for patting::
It’s a deal. Now stroke her ears and thump her sides for being such a good dog.
(True fact: we’re doing the flip/stroke/praise thing right now…and her tail is wagging a mile a minute…dusting.)
I’ve mentioned this before- usually in response to some misguided assertion that cats are no good because they don’t DO anything- but, my cats can fetch.
They all do, but Thomas is the most enthusiastic. I’l be lying on the coach or in bed in the morning and suddenly there’ll be paws everywhere and Thomas will drop one of his toy mice in front of my nose. So I won’t miss it. Then he will sit there and glance expectantly from me to the mouse to whatever direction he thinks I might possibly throw it to me to the mouse…etc. So I throw it and he leaps six feet off the sofa and runs (or slides if I threw it into the kitchen) toward it, recovers it and comes jogging back with his head held high and drops it in front of me again.
You think dogs doing this is cute.
This is so fucking cute, you could die from how cute this is.
DeskMonkey’s story (sorry to hear about your loss, Monkey!) reminded me of a former endearing pet.
I had this parakeet, named Nietzsche (hey, I was a pretentious kid) who we let fly loose around the house (well they arn’t any fun otherwise!). If you left a glass of water- or iced tea, he liked ice tea- around anywhere he would perch on the rim and drink it. And if you left a half empty, or three quarters empty glass he would hang on to the rim and lower himself down into the glass till he could drink. A couple of times it was too far down and he fell in. There is nothing sadder in this sad, sad world than a wet parakeet. Do you think he knew I was laughing at him?
Oh, one more thing- he liked to knock things off of other things. I would line a bunch of stuff up at the edge of a table- a spool of thread, a chapstick- and he would methodically go down the line and knock each of them off. Then I’d line them up again and he’d do it again. Come to think of it, he’d get the same self-satified air as my cat coming back with the mouse.
My rabbit Kiki oinks like a pig whenever she’s eating good food, usually banana chips or parsley. Actually, I don’t know whether it’s more like an oink or a Tim Allen grunt, but it’s pretty strange.
My other rabbit Kangchong enjoys interior decorating. She isn’t happy until everything she’s strong enough to push (usually recycling bottles and boxes) are distributed evenly across the kitchen floor. This is sometimes endearing, sometimes infuriating.
My dog in Canada, Sheba, likes to watch small animals. She doesn’t chase them, she just likes to watch. Her favorite animal is the chicken, though beavers and squirrels rate well up there too. Sometimes she lies still, and chickens come right up to her. Then she makes a sound and the poor birds scatter.
Sheba has been known on occasion to steal puppies from other neighborhood families. Once she tried to carry my sister’s terrier around by his head.
I have a very strange cat. I know everyone says that, but if tsarina is around anywhere, she can back me up on this. Tugger is one of those kitties who rules the house in a very…eccentric way. She does all of the normal kitty things, but she does them with such vigor and frequency that they become abnormal.
She keeps the world safe for democracy by destroying any pencils, milk jug rings, or rubber bands she might find. If you leave any of these things on the table, a brown paw will certainly come snaking over the table’s edge to bring the offending object to justice.
Yarn is her deadly enemy. When she was a kitten (barely 2 months old) she dragged a skein of yarn that was bigger than she was around my parents’ waterbed. Twice. It was wrapped so tightly that we had to cut the yarn to clean it up.
Any box or bag that comes to rest on the living room floor instantly becomes Cat Base One. She will defend this territory to the death if necessary. Also, all plastic objects we own are in desperate need of cat spit. I didn’t know chewing could be a problem with a cat, but it is. All of the “expensive” plastic shopping bags in our house (the kind you get from Maurices or White House/Black Market. It’s a translucent white plastic that holds its shape very well) have a border of teeny little holes left by Tugger teeth.
She likes to lie on her side and scratch at the vertical face of the bottom step of our main staircase. She invariably prefaces this action with a foreward somersalt as a means of assuming the proper carpet-destroying position. (This is easily the strangest thing I have ever seen a cat do on a regular basis.)
Tugger doesn’t really like to be touched or handled much, but she always wants to be with you. Just so long as the two of you aren’t touching. This makes the cutest thing she does even cuter. Despite the fact that she is an engine of chaos, she demands complete domestic tranquility. If someone is shouting (not necessarily in anger; she does this if you’re just calling to someone in another room, too.) or crying, she comes to comfort you. She rubs against your legs or hops into your lap. Then, if you are not sufficiently soothed by this performance, she bites you. Hard. As if to say, "You won’t settle down? Fine. I’ll give you something to be upset about.
The dog I remember most from my childhood was Rebel. He got that name because he never did anything he was told. We had a hickory tree at the top of a hill by our house…he used to sit at the bottom of the hill chasing the hickory nuts as they rolled down. He would bark until we threw one for him to chase. He got this awful green slime all over his mouth, but he seemed to love it. He would break them open then spit them our (the squirrels just loved it). He used to wait up for me until I came home from my late shift at McDonalds (at two a.m.). I used to bring him stuff.
After him came Buffy. One of her tricks was to flop on the edge of the bed to wake me up in the morning when she needed out. She was a rare one…I took her when my mother moved into an apartment and couldn’t keep her. She had spent about the first five years of her life outdoors, but became housebroken in a couple days. Unfortunately, her food did not always agree with her. She would lay on the floor right by where you were, and give off these nuclear farts. I mean, some serious, eye-watering, peel-the-paint-off-the-wall radioactive farts.
My current brat is Lil’ Bit (short for BitBucket). He sleeps on his back, feet up in the air, with his head on a pillow. And, I inherited Amber when my mom passed away; she likes to climb on top of you when you’re trying to sleep, with her front paws on your shoulders and lick your nose.
I just had to put my dog Molly to sleep a few weeks ago, and yet these kinds of memories are still sweet, albeit painful. She used to come up whenever I sat anywhere and stick her head through the space near my elbow, nosing it open, peeking through and then cock her head up at me, wanting to be petted. Man, I miss that.
Watson, our English Springer loves to bury ANYTHING. We are paying him even more attention these days, and I was chasing him around the yard on Thursday, he ran carrying a big bone. Every time, he thought he had a good place to bury it, he’d look back up at me, wondering just how delicious I might think this bone actually WAS! He’d change his mind and not bury it! He looked adorable.
My cat Cleo, if I’m up past her bedtime (11pm), will sit by my feet and howl till I go to bed. She also does this with Elkwoman until we are both in bed. She also has a bizzare sleeping behavior. She will curl up on the top of Elkwoman’s pillow, right on the top of her head. It looks like she is wearing a Davy Crockett hat while she is sleeping, as Cleo is a very shaggy long hair.
Our other cat, Keiko, is apparently brain-damaged, because the keeps trying to hide UNDERNEATH the piano, as opposed to behind it. If she tries really hard, she can squeeze her head underneath, but then we have to rescue her. She has also tried this on the wooden shelves in our basement. Unfortunately, she is very pear shaped, and got stuck halfway. The floor being cement, she could get no traction to go forwards or back. I have no idea how long she was there before I rescued her…
I’m so sorry about your Molly, Anti Pro. Critters give so much if you let them, but their lifespans, most unfairly, don’t match ours.
Great description, thea. Cracked up through the “green slime” account. At home we had a shag-bark hickory and a black walnut in back. If you think hickory slime is bad, our pooch loved picking up walnuts, chewing on them, then happily depositing the results at our feet to play with.
For those unfamiliar with walnuts, the tidy shelled things in stores grew inside skinned husks packing a thick, dark stain. Time–and only time and lots of it–will dim it a little. Radiantly happy dog w/ walnut in mouth: 1. how to wrestle it away (hint: favorite dog game) without staining your hands and clothes for the next decade or so, 2. how to leave the entrancing nut toy outside and 3. how to persuade happy dog to gargle, removing nut muck (hint: now is the time for food)
To cat fans–and I’m one, too–this is very similar to the Prized Dead Mole gift.
