Skip to main content

My Cat is a Klutz

I used to think he would grow out of it. That he was going through a developmental stage--an adolescent time of awkwardness when all four limbs weren't working harmoniously. I thought that explained his sometime clumsy failure to successfully complete a jump onto a garbage can or some other object a distance away.

Now he's definitely an adult. A very mischievous, playful feline who doesn't seem to reason things out completely before he commits to them. So he's still messing up occasionally on his jumps-- he's either stupid or gymnastically challenged. I've seen him hanging by his claws, dangling on a surface he didn't quite reach. Yeah, it's funny, but he's not laughing.

I've never had a cat so uncoordinated. Most of them when they're young and healthy have no problem with jumping everywhere. I've had cats jump on top of refrigerators, washers/dryers, kitchen counters, and all types of furniture. They usually do it gracefully with a touch of smugness. They seldom need help except for the nutty ones who scramble up a tree and then realize, no, I can't jump down 20 feet. It was easy scrambling up, but this drop could do bad things to my bottom

I've decided not to worry about his equilibrium deficits, but I can't help thinking he might have some bizarre neurological illness that will someday manifest itself and incapacitate him. Or else maybe he's just slow in developing--a little backward for his age. It's anyone's guess. I don't want to call him retarded because dementia could be just around the corner for me, so why should I make fun of a creature who also may be struggling with health issues.

His name is Toodles, and it fits him. He's as silly as his name, but he's done one thing that no other animal in the house has done. He's made friends with my hubby. Not only that, but he shows a marked preference for his lap when we watch TV. I love him for that alone.

So when I say to him, "What's new pussycat?" I'm really thinking in the kindest way possible, have you learned yet how to leap from one surface to another without injuring your butt?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Never Had a Nickname

They say it's the little things in life that destroy marriages: he doesn't lower the toilet seat; she never listens to his work anecdotes; he eats with his fingers; she never can find her car keys. The same adage applies to self image or self concept. It's the little things that can build or destroy egos. Although my parents had baby names for me that they used at times--for example, "cookie" and "pussycat," these never morphed into appropriate adult nick names. For instance, no one in my house ever called me Jan. That would have been the most common and appropriate nickname for "Janice," but no one ever came up with it. Was it a severe lack of creativity? I don't think so. In hindsight it said more about parenting style than it did about their opinion of me. My parents ran a rather strict household. We laughed but it was either behind the parents' backs or at a time when my father decreed a joke or anecdote was funny. My point is tha...
1 comment
Read more

Bitching is My Life

Yeah, This is another one of my bitch/gripe essays. How can I keep up the challenging pace? It’s not easy but I work at it. I try to find something negative in everything I see and do. And it works for me. Just yesterday in AZ everyone woke up to a blue sky and warm temps, but I quickly dispensed with that happy development. All I had to do was walk out on our fake grass and I was hit with one big negative after the other. Our fake grass seems to have been infected with real grass and the two don’t complement each other. So I bitched about that over breakfast and pretty soon I had my husband outside pulling out the real stuff. Boy was he miserable! But I scored again! Then in the afternoon I went to the supermarket, and sure enough, I found something else to gripe about. It’s an upscale store. I mean it’s got a Starbucks, a salad bar, about a million bottles of French and domestic wine…..and a homeless guy hanging around at one of the exits. That’s disgusting. Maybe most people do...
1 comment
Read more

Should Old Acquaintances Be Forgot?

In the Scottish dialect of the old New Year's Eve song Auld Lang Syne, the composer posits the question: Should old acquaintances be forgot? The short answer to this is "Sometimes." One example will suffice. A "friend" of mine emailed me the other day and although she is not a writer, her words spoke plenty. Her first rebuke was that I don't answer her calls, and this is a claim I cannot deny. But the accusation was caustic, mean-spirited--it was as if I had neglected to visit her in the hospital, that's how grievous my omission was. She insinuated so much by those few harsh words. Why did she call? Purportedly to inform me of her physical status and that of her dog Murph. Being the obedient child I still am, I did call her afterwards, and we spoke. Mostly S spoke of her new illness--osteoarthritis of the spine--and her dog's possible diagnosis of valley fever. I listened and listened and listened until I just couldn't take it any more. The...
2 comments
Read more