# What's the biggest secret your pet keeps from you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905 "2022-02-04T16:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/1 "2022-02-04T16:23:30Z")
My kitty [Vienna](https://imgur.com/vAYNYlw) loves to play with little catnip mousies. They come in a package of 5, three white and two black. She prefers the black ones, but they keep disappearing. I’ve looked under the furniture and found a few, but by and large they’re gone. There’s no vent or other hole they could have disappeared into. And there’s no indication that Vienna eats them. I just keep buying them, and the black ones continue to mysteriously disappear. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/2 "2022-02-04T16:33:16Z")
Every night before I lock the doggie door, I have to scan the house to make sure the cats are inside before I do. I check the living room; nope not there. I’ll check the kids rooms; nope not there. I’ll check my room; nope not there. Then I walk back into the living room; Oh there you are! I have no idea where these little fur ninjas are hiding. God forbid they come when called. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/3 "2022-02-04T16:52:56Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I have no idea where these little fur ninjas are hiding. God forbid they come when called. Same here. The secret is the location of the magic portal that allows them to go “poof” and then reappear at will. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/4 "2022-02-04T21:14:07Z")
Her name and her provenance. I have posted about the cat that uses to visit me every evening and who adopted me before . > [@An uninvited feline late night guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-uninvited-feline-late-night-guest/947162): > > Disclaimer: I’m living alone in a subterranean apartment with the windows to the garden side about two feet above ground level. So I was sitting here in my living room on a lazy Friday night at 10 PM, watching football (soccer) on TV and listening to music, when I caught a glimpse of a black shadow in my left eye. Now, I’m not easily shocked, but I first thought of an insect or a spider, these are the usual suspects when something other than myself moves here, but this was too big. Turned out t… I still don’t know who she belongs to and of course not her name, but for me she is Ada. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/5 "2022-02-04T22:24:46Z")
My kitten Milo still won’t tell me where he stashed my hairbrush. It’s been missing for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/6 "2022-02-04T22:45:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > …little catnip mousies. They come in a package of 5, three white and two black. She prefers the black ones, but they keep disappearing… If and when you find them, you’ll find all the missing socks, too. > [@Grrr](#): > > I have no idea where these little fur ninjas are hiding. This. But it’s just my one cat Tikva. After her recent visit to the vet for annual shots, she disappeared outside from Friday until Sunday morning. In the past, she has gone under the house, but I closed off that opening. Clearly she had some other way to get under there… or she goes into another dimension. I was beside myself and considering trying to get used to the idea that she might be gone forever 😥 when Sunday morning I looked at the overnight playback on my porch camera and there she was, the little stinker! I still don’t know for 100% sure where she was. This business of looking all over the house and being absolutely positive they are NOWHERE… and then they casually sashay out of the NOWHERE into the HERE is crazy-making! ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/7 "2022-02-05T14:32:48Z")
Juno: why exactly the litter in the box is a toy that must be flung out. Also Juno: why is THIS squeaky mouse preferred to that one. They have the same squeak noise. Rocket J. Squirrel: where do you hide sometimes, dude? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/8 "2022-02-05T14:59:30Z")
Ursala tries to hide the fact that she gets on the dining room for sunbaths, but I’ve busted her a few times. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/9 "2022-02-05T18:29:07Z")
Mischief, why after two weeks of calmly letting me give you your insulin shot while you’re eating you canned food have you suddenly decided that you don’t want me near you while you’re eating? You’re not going to get better if you don’t get your insulin. it’s not as effective if you don’t get it until four hours after you eat, when I’m finally able to catch you. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/10 "2022-02-05T21:08:04Z")
My cat Summer is not a talker, at least to me. Occasionally, she will give me an almost silent “meow”. But for some reason, she talks to the doorway from the hall to the living room. She does this at least once a day, most often at night after I have gone to bed. When she first started doing this some years ago, I would stand in the doorway to see what she was talking about. I thought maybe there was a bug or something up there. But, no, she just looks up and has a conversation with … something. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/11 "2022-02-05T22:34:33Z")
I don’t know the biggest secret they keep from me. Seriously, am I just misunderstanding this? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/12 "2022-02-06T12:13:05Z")
Yeah right? I don’t know _any_ of their secrets. Eddie Izzard believes cats have a secret drilling operation going on. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4TjcYBkkWk0/hqdefault.jpg "Eddie Izzard - Cats and Dogs [extended] (Unrepeatable, 1994)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TjcYBkkWk0) ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/13 "2022-02-06T17:24:37Z")
I used to keep my bread in the cabinet above the kitchen counter. No good reason- it was just easy to access there. But soon, I started noticing little holes in the plastic and in the bread itself. I thought maybe I had mice, but it seemed kind of weird to have never seen any other evidence of mice when my bread was all torn up. It seemed like the only real explanation I could come up with, though, as the only known animals in the house apart from myself were my two cats and they were shy and good and never did anything naughty like jumping on the counter, opening cabinet doors, or eating people food. Well, I’m sure you can see where this is going. It took me probably three or four loaves (he didn’t do it immediately to every loaf) before I realized it was indeed my boy cat and his naughty streak had just been well-hidden and he had a weird bread-biting habit. He wasn’t really eating it- just biting the package. He still knows not to get on the counter when I’m looking, but definitely does it when he thinks I’m not. And I keep the bread in the pantry now. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/14 "2022-02-06T21:16:52Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > He still knows not to get on the counter when I’m looking, but definitely does it when he thinks I’m not. It’s difficult for a cat to keep the secret of getting on the kitchen table when I’m not home, for the same reason that it’s hard for the dog to keep the secret of getting on the couch: namely, the fur that they leave behind. I could say that the biggest secret they’re keeping is ‘where did you come from and who first showed you that you like to be patted?’ but I’m inclined to agree with @Napier: whatever it is, they’re keeping it secret, so I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/15 "2022-02-06T21:37:57Z")
1. My cat climbs up into the bathroom sink when I’m not around. I have never once seen her do it, in the 6 years I’ve had her, but her pawprints and fur are unmistakable. Once in the middle of the night I heard her jump down as I approached, but I’ve never caught her in the act. 2. She also hides dead vermin under my bed. Idk why she doesn’t leave them where I can praise her, instead of scaring me when I eventually run across them. Is she truly collecting and hiding them? Or trying to give me a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/16 "2022-02-07T05:28:31Z")
I once had a cat that left paw prints on the ceiling. Nobody ever saw her jump up, or had any inkling of why. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/17 "2022-02-07T13:52:01Z")
890124019 102.01 7129930413 ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/18 "2022-02-07T14:23:56Z")
??? (CharLim) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/19 "2022-02-07T16:25:30Z")
Long story. ---
**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, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905/20 "2022-02-07T16:30:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Long story. - The cat was trying to type a warning and only had a calculator? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-your-pet-keeps-from-you/958905.md?page=2)