If you have ever shared a home with a cat or two, you have undoubtedly laughed many times at their crazy cat antics. I have shared lodgings with cats for my entire life, and have been amused every day at their cat capers. They say that finding humor in our life helps keep us healthy, so be happy living with cats that make you laugh. I am now 80. My cats have kept me young.
OUR UNFORGETTABLE KODIAK ALLEY CATS
For this story, I will share some humorous moments I enjoyed with two cats, brothers, who joined our household in Kodiak, Alaska. My husband, Les, brought them home one day. He said he didn’t want the cats to be lonely, so he brought two instead of one. They were quite young when they moved in.
For some time they were nameless. What to call them? Eventually, our boarder gave them names that stuck. The two, though from the same litter, were totally opposite in personality. One was high-strung and nervous, like a cat whose tail has just been stepped on. That one he named Uptight Cat. This cat grew to be lean and fast. He looked like a miniature black jaguar.
The other cat grew up to be fat and happy; about as relaxed as a cat can be. This one the boarder named Loose Cat. He claimed
that Loose Cat’s calm personality could be attributed to the fact that he once stole into the boarder’s bedroom and ate a whole gram of hash. The boarder also kept a few joints rolled up and stuck in a cup on his desk. More than once, Loose Cat took a joint from the cup and chewed on it for a while. Needless to say, the name really fit.
CAT AND DOG INTERACTIONS
We remodeled a house in Kodiak and settled in. We added two dogs to our family: a foxy little Norwegian Elkhound named Sheba, and a big, gangly Great Dane-Labrador mix named Sabir. Sabir and Loose Cat became great friends. Once, Loose Cat came home from a hunt with a large rat in his mouth. He gave it to Sabir, who happened to be entertaining a guest dog from next door. The two started playing with the rat, which was still alive. It escaped and ran under the little travel trailer, parked next to the house. Loose Cat ran under the trailer, caught the rat again, and gave it back to the dogs. I can only imagine the unspoken message between cat and dog: “Here it is again — now, don’t lose it this time.” The dogs must have understood, as they promptly killed the rat.
THE GREAT ESCAPE ARTIST
We often went by skiff to Spruce Island, a 10-mile trip by water, to work on our homestead. I remember once when we were loading the skiff, we carried Uptight Cat to the loading ramp. The cat was sealed in a cardboard box, making him extremely unhappy. He told us in no uncertain terms that he wanted out! We left him in his box on the boat ramp and went back to the truck for another load. When we returned, the box still appeared to be sealed, but Uptight Cat was sitting on top of it. After that, we just put the cats in the skiff. Uptight Cat hid in the gunnels until we reached shore again.
THE CATS LEARN ABOUT CAMPING OUT
When my husband was discharged from the navy, we went to Colorado for a couple of years. As we were traveling by truck and pulling a camper, we planned to spend our nights in campgrounds along the way. We decided it might be a good idea to harness the cats and keep them on leashes to keep them safe.
“Not on your life,” chorused the cats. When we put the harness on Uptight Cat, he again put on his Great Houdini act. He twisted and wiggled until he somehow got out of that harness.
Not so Loose Cat. We put the harness on him, snapped on the leash, and tried to convince him to walk with us. He simply laid down. We could have dragged him anywhere on that leash, but he was not going to be submitted to being led around like a mere dog.
Thereafter, we just left them in the trailer until we were camped for the night. Then we let them out and they explored and hunted, coming home at dinner-time. In one campground, I sat on a hillside, writing in my journal. Les was below me, talking to some nice folks who were camped next to us.
From out of the brush, Uptight Cat came speeding toward camp, chasing a small, terrified chipmunk. The chipmunk ran into the group of people, frantically seeking a hiding place. He found a good one — he ran right into the lady’s pant leg and up her leg. She began dancing around, screaming, “Get him out! Get him out! Her husband finally retrieved the tiny creature and gave it to Les, who put it in his shirt pocket until the cat stopped searching for it. Then Les put it high in a tree, where it was safe at last.
LOOSE CAT’S ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE
For a few months before we returned to Kodiak for good, we rented a small house on a creek near Deckers, Colorado. A dam broke above our place, flooding the area. Les was visiting relatives in Texas at the time. I’d been warned of the flood danger and had moved with the cats to a motel in Woodland Park. The cats did not like being shut in that room, as they were used to freedom. On the first night there, I brought the last load of things from the truck to the room, and opened the door. Loose Cat bolted through the door and down the sidewalk. I hurried after him, afraid he’d hide somewhere.
The sidewalk was straight, past several motel units. Then it made a sharp turn to the left before continuing on. Just around that corner, a German shepherd snoozed in the afternoon sun. When Loose Cat reached the corner and saw that dog, he shot straight up into the air a good four feet. When he came back down, he appeared to be three sizes larger than when he went up. The dog, after one startled look at this creature from outer space, bolted across the yard before that apparition could leap on him. Fortunately, the distraction stopped the cat’s flight and I returned him to our room, securing the dog’s safety.
TELL ME SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CAT STORIES
These stories give you just a taste of the crazy cat antics I have witnessed and enjoyed. A little levity in life is definitely a good thing, so be thankful for cats that make you laugh. If you have any favorite stories about your cats and their misadventures, I’d love to hear about them. Send them to me in the comments section at the bottom of this page. Here’s to cats and laughter!
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I’ve always had cats in my life. Currently I am hosting my mother’s older cat who has taken some time getting accustomed to my young Labrador retriever. The dog wants to play. The cat wants to make it clear to the dog that he has seniority.
Thanks for the comment, Theresa. I’m thinking of adding a kind of “column” — kinda like a mini-blog, I guess, where I share a few stories and get my readers to share their humorous stories about funny or smart things their animals do. What do you think?
Iv often thoughts of cats as very peculiar creatures. They always seem to do what they want, when they want and how they want. But i love how this article sheds so much light on cats, even to the point of cat stories. It definitely gives them more dimensions especially for people who don’t know that much about them. Good Stuff!
Good comment! I’d thought I would gain the most readers from folks who were cat lovers, but it is very nice to know I can pass on information to others who do not know so much about these fascinating creatures. That’s almost better! Glad you enjoyed the material.
I enjoyed your post Fran. I love the humour you add to the article. Cats definitely are hilarious creatures. One day I’ll have to tell you about an old cat of ours, but it would take up to much space here. Well structured , interesting article. I hope that Loose cat behaves itself from now on. I just love the names. Uptight and Loose, very original. Thanks for the great read. All the best. Jim
Jim, I am so glad you enjoyed the cat stories. I would love to hear about your cat…send the story to me. If I can collect enough stories from other folks about their cats, I just might put them in a little book. Yours can be the first. Think about it, and if you have time, send me the story.
I love your stories! I love cats to bits, too! The names themselves are absolutely hilarious, Uptight and Loose! I wonder what they would think if they understood the meaning of their names!
I used to bring strays home, when I was much younger, my dream was to save all the cats in the world from hunger. But being the strays they were, wild at heart, they would all wander off and never come back when they felt ready to explore the world. So cats definitely do have a mind of their own, forget about leashing them! 🙂
It’s great to connect with other cat lovers. Glad you liked the story of Uptight and Loose. They will be revisiting from time to time.
Yep, hard to save all the needy cats, but good of you to do your bit. I’m sure the rescued ones appreciated you.
If you have any favorite cat stories you’d like to share, I’d love to read them. Send them on.
The old chipmunk up the pants trick, eh? I’ve got funny stories like that too. My last cat lived in a high rise apartment with me just outside of DC in Virginia. How fortunate for us, we were there the last time the cicadas came up from the ground, which is only like every 25 years or something. I usually let my cat out on the balcony to get some air, which she loved. Since we were on the 2nd floor she couldn’t really get away. Anyways, when the cicadas came up they were everywhere for about a month and a half. I was terrorized and dive bombed by those giant, red-eyed buggars every time I walked to the metro. SInce they had been out every day I stopped letting Salome out on the balcony so she wouldn’t eat them. After about 5 weeks it started to die down, so I decided I would let her out again one night, since she had been cooped up so long. After about 30 secs I start to hear her litle paws patting on the sliding glass door, so I turned on the light and there she was in full attack mode. The glass door was covered with maybe 30 cicadas that she was lunging at. I reached out and yanked her inside. It was like a scene in a horror movie – 3 cicadas came into the apartment with her and she had one buzzing around in her clenched jaw. I got her to drop it and quickly closed her in the bathroom, when I returned to the kitchen they were flying all around and I started running around with a broom trying to knock them down and sweep them out. What a night!
Although I don’t have a cat, my kids do, and it is always fun to watch their sweet or silly antics. Laughter is the best medicine! Keep on telling humorous stories and I will keep on reading!
Yes, they are very amusing. I will keep the humor coming as long as I can. Thanks for your comment, Annie.
Hi Fran, I used to have cats but was allergic to them so that wasn’t happening unfortunately. By daughter and son-in-law have two cats and I am forwarding your website to them because they are really into cats. That’s all they talk about! I hear stories from them everyday. It’s nice to hear that they are so excited about them!
How many cats do you think are too many? 🙂
~Rob
Rob, thanks for your comment, and for forwarding the website. I think you have too many cats if you can’t care for all of them adequately. And, I would love to hear some of your family members’ stories. Tell them to let me know if they comment on the site.
I haven’t had cats in a while, we live next to woods and every cat would get out and not come back (makes me scared to go in the woods myself, lol). So we settled on dogs. But I love cats, and I LOVE your stories. Cats can be so intriguing. I really liked your site with all the history and helpful advice. Thank you for sharing and bringing some sun in my dreary day.
Oh, I am so glad you enjoyed my stories. I think you would also enjoy my book, “Chronicles of Carlos…” as there are lots of good cat stories in there. You can read about the book on here — the “purrfect pet companion” post. Interesting, that the woods did your kitties in. Must have been coyotes or wolves out there. I have lived in or near woods for years; my cats went out during the day, and I never lost a cat to the woods. In fact, we often hiked in the woods together. I do hope the sun keeps shining for you today. It’s raining here…lol…come back again and visit.
You had me chuckling, Fran! I especially loved the story about the cat bringing the rat for those silly dogs who can’t fend for themselves 😀 That’s cute! “Why am I always the one solving your problems? Sheesh!”
Our current kitty, Dizzy, constantly makes us laugh. She is one peculiar soul, which makes us adore her that much more. (Though sometimes we have nearly lost ourselves working with her!)
Thanks for reminding us just how great laughter is for the soul and for sharing awesome kitty tales! All my love to you & yours!
Thanks for your great comment, Holly! Yes, kitties can often be a great source of laughter, which is good for us. I, too, love reading stories about other people’s cats. You’ll have to tell me some stories about Dizzy. She must be a character.