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Remembering another genius cat
Aug. 16th, 2005 07:09 amI responded to someone in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
cat_lovers who asked if breeds had anything to do with a cat who loves water. Since I don't know if I ever talked about Patches the cat here, I thought I'd take my answer and expound upon it a little. After all, my interest in genetics was born with my cat's kittens in 1971.
My answer:
I don't think it has to do with breeds, but then I've always had mixed breed cats. The first cat I remember loving water was Patches, the offspring of my cat and the neighbor's. This was back in 1971 when we still believed a cat should have a litter of kittens to mature her. Both cats were "fixed" soon after the litter was weaned. Patches also reached maturity before he was neutered.
He had a fascination with water. He did physics experiments with a leather bootlace we used for a toy. He'd start by dragging it in patterns around and through the table and chair legs in the dining room while watching the end flip around. When he got tired of that, he'd drag it in a circle around the pot pie tins that held his water or milk and jerk it to see if he could flip the pie tin over. It took him a few tries to succeed. Sometimes he gave up and tipped the tin over with his paw to watch the liquid flow over the uneven floor. He'd chase the leading edge watching it intently and touching it with his paw if it slowed down.
When someone brought us a water turtle thinking it was one of our desert tortoises, we used to fill our wheelbarrow with water every few days to feed it hamburger in its natural environment. Patches loved it. He didn't care about the turtle at all. He liked to stand up on his hind legs and splash the water with his front paws.
Patches had a bob-tailed white grandfather, a calico grandmother and a mom (Binky) who was white with odd eyes. He was white except for two black patches on the top of his head when he was a kitten. The patches disapppeared with his adult fur. His father (Spooky) was a huge pure black cat with a keen mind and mellow personality. Our current genius reminds me a lot of Spooky in his physical build.
We have a cat now who also performed physics experiments with fluids until he was about two years old. Lee-Roy didn't have the tools to do Patches's experiments, so he would use his paw to carefully tip over any unattended mug or glass containing liquid just to watch the liquid pour out. Lee-Roy is half Siamese. When my hubby found him at the pound, he was in with his two seal-point Siamese sisters. He still tries to open all the cabinets and drawers on a regular basis. He taught the other cats how to open unlatched doors, no matter whether they push or pull.
I think it has more to do with active intelligence than breed.
*******
( Genetics and more about Patches's feline family )
cat_lovers who asked if breeds had anything to do with a cat who loves water. Since I don't know if I ever talked about Patches the cat here, I thought I'd take my answer and expound upon it a little. After all, my interest in genetics was born with my cat's kittens in 1971.My answer:
I don't think it has to do with breeds, but then I've always had mixed breed cats. The first cat I remember loving water was Patches, the offspring of my cat and the neighbor's. This was back in 1971 when we still believed a cat should have a litter of kittens to mature her. Both cats were "fixed" soon after the litter was weaned. Patches also reached maturity before he was neutered.
He had a fascination with water. He did physics experiments with a leather bootlace we used for a toy. He'd start by dragging it in patterns around and through the table and chair legs in the dining room while watching the end flip around. When he got tired of that, he'd drag it in a circle around the pot pie tins that held his water or milk and jerk it to see if he could flip the pie tin over. It took him a few tries to succeed. Sometimes he gave up and tipped the tin over with his paw to watch the liquid flow over the uneven floor. He'd chase the leading edge watching it intently and touching it with his paw if it slowed down.
When someone brought us a water turtle thinking it was one of our desert tortoises, we used to fill our wheelbarrow with water every few days to feed it hamburger in its natural environment. Patches loved it. He didn't care about the turtle at all. He liked to stand up on his hind legs and splash the water with his front paws.
Patches had a bob-tailed white grandfather, a calico grandmother and a mom (Binky) who was white with odd eyes. He was white except for two black patches on the top of his head when he was a kitten. The patches disapppeared with his adult fur. His father (Spooky) was a huge pure black cat with a keen mind and mellow personality. Our current genius reminds me a lot of Spooky in his physical build.
We have a cat now who also performed physics experiments with fluids until he was about two years old. Lee-Roy didn't have the tools to do Patches's experiments, so he would use his paw to carefully tip over any unattended mug or glass containing liquid just to watch the liquid pour out. Lee-Roy is half Siamese. When my hubby found him at the pound, he was in with his two seal-point Siamese sisters. He still tries to open all the cabinets and drawers on a regular basis. He taught the other cats how to open unlatched doors, no matter whether they push or pull.
I think it has more to do with active intelligence than breed.
*******
( Genetics and more about Patches's feline family )
