Cats
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Facts: Name: Pusur (Norwegian translation of Garfield) |
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I did not plan on getting a cat, but this cute little rascal had other plans! He's a regular escape artist, and had gotten out through an open window at his owner's house. His twin brother immediately took refuge at their neighbor's house, but Pusur somehow travelled a few kilometers to where he found us. By then (late the same day) he was tired of freedom and hungry both for love and food.
By the time his photo was in the paper and the owner contacted us (he'd obviously been well loved, considering how much he wanted to cuddle), he had already settled so well in his new home, the owner decided to give him to us. The daughter in the house was not happy about that, but in the end it was probably the best solution - though heart wrenching. I'm very glad I found his owner, because I got access to his medical records, and got my suspicions confirmed that he was part NFO (no-brainer after he went down a tree nose first, and had that glossy overcoat). I'll hopefully also know more about his mother's lineage eventually.
He's already jumped off our veranda a couple of times (though he doesn't go far, he's also a very fast learner - probably doesn't want a repeat of the first time he ran away!).
This cat has an enormous capacity for playing and rough housing, and for a while he connected the sound of me laughing with play time. Which means he sometimes come running if I'm laughing over something!
I had what must have been an NFO in the wild when I was a child. What I remember about him was his fierce intelligence. He didn't miss much! I don't know how intelligent this one is yet, but one thing is very apparent, he's a very fast learner. Show him something once, and he'll know how to do it next time (well, if he WANTS to do it, that is...).
Although this isn't a pure breed, I'd say if you are thinking about getting an NFO, chances are he'll be very playful, affectionate and intelligent. Pusur is absolutely a lap cat, when he wants to (which is very often). He's quite inventive when he needs to say something, using phrases I've never heard from a cat before when he gets really annoyed with us for not doing as he says. He does follow me around a lot, and would probably take walks with me if I let him. Not sure about the leash though...
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His first mouse, at five and a half months. I can't say for sure that he caught the mouse alive, because it was dead by the time I saw it. The same thing happened with the second mouse he caught. He's just as happy playing with a dead mouse (probably so used to playing with toy mice...). Maybe he hasn't yet figured out it's more fun if he doesn't kill it right away? |
If you love Cat stories, here's a place I've gotten more than one good laugh from:
Cat trees
This topic turned out to claim more space, so I've moved it to a separate page.
Play time
There are lots of toys you can buy for your cat. But Pusur appreciates the low cost home made ones a lot more than store bought toys.
The biggest hit is a long piece of string that I can use many ways, including just walking and trailing it behind me. It got so funny he even got used to the sound of my laughter, and would come wondering if it was playtime when he heard me laugh!
A big turkey feather is great. Especially if he's on the top shelf of the bookcase the home made cat tree is leaning against. Nose that feather into a tight spot that he can aaalmost get to, and he gets excited. Take the feather away and tickle him on a back foot, and he's in the game. The trick is keeping it interesting by varying the position and motion of the feather. The smell and taste of that thing (real) doesn't make it any less of a hit. He's really into parrot feathers too, but I won't let him play with them, since I don't have that many.
He's also big on cardboard boxes of different sizes. Kleenex boxes (the rectangular ones with the plastic "slit" removed) are especially popular, because he likes nosing into tight spots. Especially when I drop his mouse into the box! Absolutely hilarious! Also the two big boxes I put together to form an enclosure with a kitty sized hole in the top. He'll dive into it, then out of it. Especially if I combine that with the fish on elastic and he's in crazy mood. Laughs guaranteed!
For some reason he's also into newspapers dropped on the floor. He'll pretend there's something under it and go crazy. They're not even scrunched up! And wrapping paper at Christmas gets him absolutely crazy. The most excited I've ever seen him. Get a big mound of them and bury him in it. Then start rustling the paper, pulling pieces out from over and under him. Similar games are mice (real live ones) under snow, and hands under carpet.
Oh, and this is odd. He's taken a shine to a shoulder bag. He'll crawl inside it, take naps, play with it... I sometimes pick the bag up and walk around with it on my shoulder with the cat inside. He purrs very loudly and seems to think it's very cosy. But a paper bag is perhaps more interesting these days.
The leather sofa has buttons on it, and he'll make like they're something other than buttons and attempt to play with them, and then proceed to the coffee table that has such a slick surface he completely loses traction. Especially with this very lightweight table cloth on it that will slide in the opposite direction of him. He'll eventually get frustrated after trying to leap off the table and missing, and then scrunch the table cloth up and foist it off the table.
Toys you can buy:
- Tunnels. Pusur has two. But tubes work a lot better with more than one cat. Example: Tunnel system
- Cat Dancer and Cat Charmer. The Cat Charmer is really popular with Pusur (though hard to find in Norway). He doesn't get to play with it all that often, so goes nuts when I do take it out.
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This page was created by Ann Elisabeth Nordbo and has its home at
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Updated 2005-12-27
Premier issue September 2002