Question for Cat People

[Midwesthonky]

I was gone the 4th of July week on vacation. That week, a cat showed up at my shop. Naturally, the guys petted it and gave it water and then food. So it stayed around. I eventually took it to the vet and since there was no chip, she got a litter box and now sleeps in the office and show room.

So here comes my question. This cat is obsessed with the toilets in the shop. If she hears a toilet flush she will come flying to the bathroom to watch the water go down. If the door is shut, she will be banging on the door to get in and watch the toilet.

Any cat people have an explanation?

She is crazy friendly and makes it hard for me to get work done. I locked her out of the office yesterday. She tried to stand on the window ledge that looks out into the showroom. She didn't make it. I heard a thud and saw a cat fall past the window. Made me laugh...

 

[slipperybidness]

I was gone the 4th of July week on vacation. That week, a cat showed up at my shop. Naturally, the guys petted it and gave it water and then food. So it stayed around. I eventually took it to the vet and since there was no chip, she got a litter box and now sleeps in the office and show room.

So here comes my question. This cat is obsessed with the toilets in the shop. If she hears a toilet flush she will come flying to the bathroom to watch the water go down. If the door is shut, she will be banging on the door to get in and watch the toilet.

Any cat people have an explanation?

She is crazy friendly and makes it hard for me to get work done. I locked her out of the office yesterday. She tried to stand on the window ledge that looks out into the showroom. She didn't make it. I heard a thud and saw a cat fall past the window. Made me laugh...
View attachment 18925 View attachment 18926

Haha, yeah, cats are little pains in the butt! I have 2 of them.

I'm gonna guess, she probably realized that the toilet flush means fresh water. It's not uncommon for dogs or cats to prefer to drink out of the toilet instead of their water bowls, especially if the water in the bowl has been there many days.

But, cats tend to be finicky all around, so no telling. Some cats just love water! I've had 1 that would jump up in the sink every time I brushed my teeth!

You may consider trying one of those pet "fountains" that keep the water moving down a little slide all the time. Cat may love that, or may completely ignore it, that's just how they are. I wouldn't spend over $30 or so on that. If you look on ebay, you will almost certainly find a "used" one that the owner set up and the cat never touched!

One other item I have found over the years--cats love to scratch, and each cat has their own preference. You may buy a scratch post and the cat ignores it and scratches the furniture. That just means you need to keep trying to find something the cat likes to scratch better than the furniture. All cats are different--some like the classic carpet post, some like the rope-wrapped post, some like the cardboard, and I even had one that preferred a large wooden plank. Until you find what they want to scratch, putting double-sided tape on the areas you don't want scratched will keep them from scratching it b/c they don't like the stickiness on their paws.

 

[TheWarrior]

The take away is that people spend insane amount of money to please their cats. Bottle caps and running water typically go over better than anything!

 

[j_garcia]

Cat may just be curious about the water because it makes noise and movement. Not because they want to drink it. MANY want to drink directly from the faucet too, but I found that if you just don' t let them have what they want, they'll get over it like a kid for the most part (or you just accept how they are and live with it lol). Mine likes to sit on the toilet lid and shred the toilet paper.

Give it places to sleep that are out of the way or it will find its own. A well placed box with a towel in it will work.

 

[slipperybidness]

The take away is that people spend insane amount of money to please their cats. Bottle caps and running water typically go over better than anything!

Right!

One of my cats--she loves the little thing that you pull off the gallons of milk to open the cap, just about her favorite toy!

Both of mine also love to lay on something that is on the floor or the couch--shoes, a magazine, my shirt when I take it off and throw it on the bed. Doesn't really matter what it is, as long as it's something to lay on.

 

[j_garcia]

They're characters. When I moved and pulled the dryer out, there were a dozen little things the cat had "chased" under there. So I checked the stove - yep, same thing. Bottle caps, cat toys, various small items. Another cheap funny one is a tape ball. Laser pointer. Endless fun.

Then they get demanding. This is my mom's cat. "Service here sucks."

Mine:

Could you turn the heater up?

 

[slipperybidness]

"You can't just decide that I'm drunk!"

 

[Midwesthonky]

The shop cat has made herself right at home. I placed a moving blanket we use when delivering product onto a shelf behind one of our show room bars. She likes it because she can look out the window and be lazy. I just busted her and it looks like she knocked some of my brochures down there with her.

Yeah...I make bars for a living among other custom wood items. So far the customers like the cat. Very friendly with people and only really bites me when I stop petting or brushing her. She's awfully nice for a stray cat we took in. She's not into the few cat toys we have for her. But we have these short pink golf pencils we use in the shop (hey! they were free and I'm always losing pencils back there) and she seems to like to knock them around the office.

I have to take some of our drop material and make her a stand. So far she hasn't been scratching that I can see.

 

[herbu]

Any cat people have an explanation?

Yep. It's a cat.
It will be attracted to things for no reason, do things for no reason, like and dislike things for no reason. Your job is not to figure out the reason. You job is to simply understand what it likes and give it to him. Period.

 

[j_garcia]

Yes, this is your second job now.

Yep. It's a cat.
It will be attracted to things for no reason, do things for no reason, like and dislike things for no reason. Your job is not to figure out the reason. You job is to simply understand what it likes and give it to him. Period.

Pretty much. I am working from home today and mine wants to see what I am doing on the computer. JOB is correct - you are now a servant. In return, the cat will remove vermin and anything even mildly entertaining to play with from the shop.

 

[Midwesthonky]

Pretty much. I am working from home today and mine wants to see what I am doing on the computer. JOB is correct - you are now a servant. In return, the cat will remove vermin and anything even mildly entertaining to play with from the shop.

Yeah, there are times when I have to shut the door to the office so I can get work done. She'll hop up and rub against my face. If I'm not quick enough, I'll get a mouth full of fur. Ugh...

 

[herbu]

"The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe murderer." Paula Poundstone

Funny, but true. My wife admits to a number of times she became quite unsettled at night when I was traveling because one of the cats got that look.

 

[highfigh]

Haha, yeah, cats are little pains in the butt! I have 2 of them.

I'm gonna guess, she probably realized that the toilet flush means fresh water. It's not uncommon for dogs or cats to prefer to drink out of the toilet instead of their water bowls, especially if the water in the bowl has been there many days.

But, cats tend to be finicky all around, so no telling. Some cats just love water! I've had 1 that would jump up in the sink every time I brushed my teeth!

One other item I have found over the years--cats love to scratch, and each cat has their own preference. You may buy a scratch post and the cat ignores it and scratches the furniture. That just means you need to keep trying to find something the cat likes to scratch better than the furniture. All cats are different--some like the classic carpet post, some like the rope-wrapped post, some like the cardboard, and I even had one that preferred a large wooden plank. Until you find what they want to scratch, putting double-sided tape on the areas you don't want scratched will keep them from scratching it b/c they don't like the stickiness on their paws.

Yeah, about cats and clean water- I had a plastic tub that had been used as a planter and after I removed the plants, water accumulated in it while it rained. I was cutting the grass and looked in, seeing all kinds of stuff, including mosquito larvae. I went back to dump it and what did I see? One of the cats, on its hind legs, drinking from it. Another time, I saw the South end of a Northbound cat with its head stuffed into the end of my downspout, lapping it up.

Cats NEED to scratch, to keep their claws sharp. They grow in layers, kind of like an onion and scratching allows them to shed the outer layer(s), which may be dull and damaged from running and walking on hard surfaces.

 

[highfigh]

Dogs have owners, cats have staff.

A cat goes into a bar and asks for a glass of water, knocks it on the floor and says "another".

 

[lsiberian]

My cat greets us at the door and follows me around when I'm home. She likes her teeth brushed and her feather toys.

 

[j_garcia]

Mine is at the door too. "I'm hungry!"

 

[KenM10759]

We have three, two females of unknown origin and one make Turkish Van cat. He harasses the cat that appears to think she owns me, yet ignores the fat one that doesn't seem to care who is serving her.

While Van cats typically love water and will even swim without reservation, this one abhors it. But they all make me laugh. Mine is the only one who will play with toys, and does so at odd intervals. The Van cat has ONE stuffed mouse that is found at the entrance to our bedroom almost every morning. We've seen him with it now & then, but he only picks it up and moves it. He meows with it in his mouth, never actually plays with it.

The Van cat is unlike the others in that he is a walking clock. At 6:30 am and 4:00 pm every day, you'd better be feeding him his canned food or he is literally in your face. The other two are OK with open feeding of dry cat food.

I get a lot of laughs out them. They can stay. When one is gone we're definitely back to just two at a time. All cats under my wife's authority are 100% indoor cats. She feels they're far too stupid to have them running across the streets. She's right about the stupid part, with brains the size of a walnut.