You’ve got a greeble. Greebles are creatures that are invisible to humans but visible to cats. Cats like to stare at greebles. Greebles are very common in houses with cats, and they can either climb walls or fly- my cats will often stare at greebles on or near the ceiling.
They’re just waiting for their hotpockets but they heard the adage that a watched pot never boils so they’re pretending to be non-chalant by not looking directly at the microwave. Only 36 seconds left! Hey, I have that same microwave.
By the way, I agree with a couple of the actual serious comments, you probably have mice. I had cats staring at a spot in my kitchen, shortly after I found a mouse hole in that spot. Mouse was kind of stupid to chew through where a predator was waiting. You have tile so the stupid mouse can’t chew through. Have someone check for entry holes outside and cover them up.
We had moles that came in through the garage and entered the house from a small space under the cupboard. They entered to eat the cat food that sat in that spot.
Talk about walking into the lions den.
Cats don’t see the same way humans do. It’s not significantly different, but may be enough to make it more interesting.
Are they just hanging out there warming your countertop or are they sitting like they’re waiting and watching for something?
I’d say put a mousetrap behind the microwave and see what happens.
Indeed. My cat has been waiting in one corner of the kitchen for eight years. A few days after we moved in, we (me and the cat) saw one mouse scramble through a crack in the baseboard. The crack has been repaired, I have never seen another mouse or mouse droppings, but the cat is still waiting. I suspect he might not even remember there was a mouse, exactly – but he only has to remember he sits in that exact spot from one day to the next.
There are other places on the counter to sit and stare at a reflection in the tiles, if that is what they’re doing. More convenient places, too. And they seem like they’re waiting/watching for something.
And I absolutely will not put a mousetrap behind the microwave. [Hint: OpalCat is an animal lover, to the degree that she made the decision to be a vegetarian over 21 years ago. She carries bugs out of the house and dodges ants on the sidewalk. In high school, she once hit a gang member for trying to kill a bee.*]
*true story, and yes I knew immediately it was a stupid thing to do, and I’m very glad I didn’t get my ass kicked.
(I’m not ruling out the mice thing, by the way. It’s just that we’ve checked and there are no holes or anything over there, nor any signs whatsoever, so even if there are mice in the house, why look for them there?)
It’s ghosts they’re observing. You might as well move out now.
Barring a demon invasion, I’d guess they can hear something in the wall that you can’t. Wood expanding or something. Or maybe one time a bug ran behind there and they are still hoping for a reappearance.
Cats are weird.
Where there are mice there are almost always mice-poops. If you found none behind the microwave it’s a good sign.
You could put a humane mouse trap out, like this one or this one, that is designed to trap mice alive and unharmed so you can release them somewhere more appropriate for them to be.
(The mouse in the image of that second one looks just like my cats’ toy mice. A trap that would corral all their toy mice might be useful…)
Yeah we sometimes get mice in my family’s summer cottage, and it’s usually pretty obvious. We haven’t seen poop anywhere in the house at any point, nor have we seen any chewed open food or other signs. And we leave stuff like loaves of bread out on the counter all the time–you’d think if a mouse was there he’d be in that bread in two seconds flat.
Cats are weird. I agree with the “something interesting happened there at least once before” idea. Doesn’t need to have been mice. A bug will do.
Yeah, I’d be more likely to use one of those traps, Anne Neville, if we ever noticed any kind of significant mouse problem. But we have never noticed any sign of mice, and I find it unlikely that even if there are a couple of mice in the house, that they would be a problem. This house has been here since the 1950s and it isn’t overrun with mice yet–plus we have three cats in the house. If they aren’t bothering us to the extent that we don’t even know if they are there, then I’m not going to do anything about it. (For one thing, it’s all cold and snowy outside–I’d feel like a big meanie letting them go out there!)
But back to the cats. I just went to the kitchen for some water, and there was Cory, in his spot. I’m leaning toward the ghosts or alien signals theories, personally.
This reminds me of a tune…
<Talking Heads>[I]Psycho kitty, qu’est que c’est?
Meow-meow-meow-meow. Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow. Meow, better…
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away.
AIeeeee…*.</Talking Heads>
Have you guys tried moving the microwave to see if they sit there still? Clear out the whole corner for a day or so and see what they do.
Just by looking at the picture (not being a cat owner myself) I’d say that one time that box [microwave] did something very exciting or produced something very delicious and they are waiting to see if it happens again.
There isn’t anywhere else to put the microwave, and we use it many times every day. I can tell you, however, that they aren’t looking at the microwave. The picture may not show it but my many observations conclude that they are definitely looking at the wall in the corner (which by the angle wouldn’t even be reflecting them, for whatever that is worth).
As for the whole reflection thing, let me just say that these are ceramic tiles. They’re very shiny when you shine a light on them, but back there, over the microwave, under the overhanging cabinets, in the shadows, they don’t reflect much at all. I don’t think it has to do with any sort of reflection. It seems more like they are waiting for something to come out of the wall.
Yep. Our kitty saw and chased a big bug in our dinette but couldn’t catch it. For the rest of the day, and for days afterwards, KK would stalk and sniff around the dinette, looking for that bug.
It never returned. Smart bug.
Termites in the wall, perhaps?
Warm spot? Nice breeze? Interesting smell?
(Hey, look. If you sit right here and stare right there, she’ll eventually come over at try to find what you’re looking at. The expresions on her face are just priceless. Remember not to laugh, that would give it away.)
Our male does that. Did it in our last apartment, does it in this one; we’ve never found rodent or insect infestation in either. (And, since I’m not the greatest housekeeper, we’d notice - a box from pizza delivery might sit around for three days before someone takes it out to the dumpster, but it’s never attracted mouse droppings or bugs.)
We’ve just decided he’s been a very, very naughty kitty (unbeknownst to us) and is putting himself in a Time Out. 