Story: Hide and seek cat
TweetEach of my cats has a different perspective about visitors to our home.
Athena believes that they have come to serve her, and she greets and inspects each individual to determine who has the best servant potential. If people sit down, she’ll stroll across several laps, considering the various pros and cons of each one until she ends up on the lap of my aunt who never has a hair out of place, and will soon be wearing cat fur on her spotless black slacks.
Elsa Clair will take a break from her busy agenda of alternately napping and pouncing the other cats, and come by to look at the visitors to see if if they have food or toys. When she realizes they don’t have any, she returns to her regularly scheduled program.
Dawn hides. Sometimes under the family room couch. Most likely she finds a way to slink up to my bedroom where she spelunks her way to the dark depths beneath my bed.
Calvin also hides. He’s a little more creative than Dawn. He’ll hunker down in my bookcase, usually scrunching somewhere behind the H’s, between James Herriot’s Dog Stories and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. Or he’ll scurry into a corner of of my office, thread himself between some photo albums, under an antique cigar stand and into a tiny space where I swear he must fold himself up like an origami cat, because even though I know he’s there, I cannot figure out how he fits.
Every once in a while Calvin miscalculates, and is caught unawares when guests arrive. While he might have a mental map of every hidey spot, he may find himself without a clear path to safety from Unapproved People.
Which is why, one night when my cousins from Michigan were visiting, he wound up in a new place.
Flour, check. Sugar, check. Cat…wait, what?
The poor cat was trying so hard to be invisible as all my guests gathered around to chuckle at Calvin’s predicament. I quickly shooed the humans outside to give my canister kitty some space and time to find a less public place to hide.
I, of course, had to snap some pictures.
Pay no attention to the cat behind the canisters. Actually, there is no cat behind the canisters.
And while the people were enjoying a lovely summer evening, watching the fairy show put on by lightning bugs, and the acrobatics of the flying squirrels that frequent our feeders, Calvin Tiberius Cat exited stage left and disappeared on slippered paws to take up residence under our bed, sharing space with a reluctant Dawn.
How do your pets react when guests arrive? Do your cats hide?
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LOVE the canister shot! Our cat hangs out upstairs all the time, so not much changes when company comes. The dogs, though, pretty much flip when anyone comes to the door.
Yeah, my pups still are working on their greeting skills. Sometimes they’re a bit too exuberant. But Athena the cat usually greets people at the door too. The other 3 cats either hide or aren’t interested.
Awesome hiding spot! One cat hides, the other one is right there, front and center with us dogs in the middle of the action. He is more dog than cat actually.
Goodness ours just ran for the closet! Only one cat, the bravest Peaches, would eventually venture out her curiosity getting the best of her.
Cats are so funny. Each one has a different reaction. BTW, I knew a cat named Peaches. She was a sweetheart.
great hiding spot! Now you have CATnisters :o)
Touche! I love it! Catnisters. 😀
Very creative hiding spots!
How in the heck did he get up there without dislodging one of the canisters?!
Aw poor kitty! Looks like a tricky spot to fit into! Shiner likes to bark out our guests. She’s not fond of strangers in her house.
My dogs know if they sit politely when visitors come over, they will get treats. But sometimes, it’s way too exciting!
Great dexterity. Mr. N adores visitors and insists on bringing out his toys to show off.
Sounds adorable!
That is a fab hidey spot!
We hate to admit it, but we run and hide when people come over. I’m usually the brave one in the group and will come out after awhile to say hello.
~Wally
Brave Wally. Bet you get extra attention that way. 😉
Bentley and Pierre love to have company. I did have a Manx cat that would hide the entire time someone was there. I don’t think very many people ever saw him! haha!
My dogs love company, and so does my cat Athena. (Sometimes I think she’s part dog.) But the rest of the cats don’t appreciate visitors that aren’t on the Approved List. 😉
What great photos! Newton loves having company. A fellow blogger visited a couple weeks ago and had to rescue the contents of his luggage because Newton felt the need to remove things from it for further inspection. Pierre will come out eventually — after 12 hours or so of scary strangers. And it took Ashton three days of having company in the house to be willing to come out of the closet. But none of their hiding places are anywhere near as cute as behind those canisters!
Thanks. My Athena loves visitors, but Calvin not so much.
That is impressive. It’s also impressive that you caught it!
Poor kitty was too scared to move. So it was easy enough to snap the photo. I felt too bad to take more pix.
Nice hidey spot!!! Nows, if that was me, all those canisters would be strewn all over the floor with a great BANG!
I guess that is the difference between kittehs and doggies…we are NOT subtle!! BOL
Kisses,
Ruby ♥
That’s what cats want you to believe. But I have learned that they can be quite clumsy. But they don’t want anyone to know.
Very well written and descriptive post. Mom thought origami cat was brilliant. Seeing Calvin’s ears behind those canisters must have been a huge surprise. Most of us are not fond of strangers, except Mauricio. He is always up in visitors’ faces demanding attention. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Thank you. Calvin is such a funny cat. He cracks me up. And he’s the sweetest thing. But those ears behind those canisters…priceless.
Love this! So hilarious. Delilah and Sophie are social and like to meet new people, Caster is indifferent, and Sampson is terrified. He always hides — in the couch. Not under the couch – IN it. He has created a hole in the bottom of the couch and then he gets inside. What a goober. That shot of Calvin is too funny!
That is definitely a creative hiding spot! My dog Sadie pretends to be brave and barks at the new people, but then runs behind my legs if they get too close.
Awww, poor Calvin! Milita is pretty unphased by guests. Carmine hides sometimes and other times not – I guess he goes with the vibe he gets from people.
All four of our cats react differently to guests. Athena greets them along with the dogs, Elsa Clair just can’t be bothered one way or the other, Dawn hides until the coast is clear. And Calvin…he just doesn’t like new people. He’ll get used to them if they’re around a few days, but new people freak him out.