Sneaky (cat!)

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Very nice - the little dude probably can't believe its luck after years of poor treatment by its previous owners. Does he let you tickle his tummy? When this happens you really know he's comfortable with you.

BTW I read recently that to relax cats when they are gazing at you, you should look at them and slowly blink leaving you eyes closed for a few seconds instead of looking too intently at them. If the cat reciprocates it means they are relaxed and happy. Turns out that cats apparently do not like people (or other cats) staring at them too insistently as they see this as predatory. The slow blink is how they signal their comfort to one another and if you do the same they with them read it the same way as they would if another cat were doing it. Seems to work with my little dude.

He'll let me rub his belly most of the time.


The eye contact thing is common with a lot of animals. Dogs are the same. They see it as a threat; not predatory, but more of a challenge to fight over territory. Dogs actually like making eye contact with people they like, but if you stare into their eyes, it scares them. cats are like that as well.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Decided to check the oil in my car this morning. Popped the hood, pulled the dipstick; and Sneaky jumps up and sits on the air cleaner box next to the engine and watches.

I wipe the dipstick, put it back in and pull it back out. Oil level is good, put the dipstick back in, Sneaky jumps down, I shut the hood.

Can't do anything without the boss watching!

 

[dmr]

Decided to check the oil in my car this morning. Popped the hood, pulled the dipstick; and Sneaky jumps up and sits on the air cleaner box next to the engine and watches.

I wipe the dipstick, put it back in and pull it back out. Oil level is good, put the dipstick back in, Sneaky jumps down, I shut the hood.

Uh, you might wanna keep a good eye open as to where he goes around your car. I've heard horror stories of cats crawling into car engine compartments, like by the fan and belts and pulleys and such, and getting badly injured when somebody starts the car! 🙁

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Uh, you might wanna keep a good eye open as to where he goes around your car. I've heard horror stories of cats crawling into car engine compartments, like by the fan and belts and pulleys and such, and getting badly injured when somebody starts the car! 🙁

They do it a lot in the winter to keep warm. When I was a kid, my grandpa lived out in the country and had more than 20 cats. He lost a couple that way, and later began to check the car before starting it when the weather was cold.


Sneaky always runs over to me when he is outside as soon as I step outside my house, so I don't think I have to worry about him.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I wonder whether Sneaky could be a Siberian? This is Sasha:

Siberian and hypoalergenic.

She has the same ear tufts and a similar tail and ruff to Sneaky. Great cats. Very people-focused. Sasha is good company and eats all our mice.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Sasha knows a good thing when she sees it:

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I wonder whether Sneaky could be a Siberian? This is Sasha:

Siberian and hypoalergenic.

She has the same ear tufts and a similar tail and ruff to Sneaky. Great cats. Very people-focused. Sasha is good company and eats all our mice.

Sneaky does look a lot like your beautiful cat. Some have suggested that he might be a Maine Coon, but he isn't. I had a Maine Coon when I was younger, and Sneaky doesn't have the long tufts of fur between his foot pads on the bottoms of his paws, which all Maine Coons have, and Maine Coons have longer hair in their ears. He looks more like your Siberian.

 

[sebastel]

lovely commanders.
thanks to all of you, for giving me more than one big smile.

cheers.
sebastian

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Early this morning, I open the door to look for Sneaky. He had been out all night. He comes running in and demands food. I put a can on food in a bowl and we go back outside. He eats. That's when I notice that he has left me a GIFT right in front of the door! See it in the photo above?


Here's a closer view:

Of course, he didn't eat it. Maybe he thinks mice are good enough for the human slaves to eat, so he brought it to me. He was hungry this morning, but held out for the canned cat food he wanted.

 

[CMur12]

What a cat!



Chris, am I reading between the lines that Sneaky is now allowed to stay inside when he wants to?


(You said before that his flea treatment had to be completed first.)


- Murray

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

What a cat!



Chris, am I reading between the lines that Sneaky is now allowed to stay inside when he wants to?


(You said before that his flea treatment had to be completed first.)


- Murray

Yeah he comes in a lot, but he tends to get into trouble if not supervised so I put him back out when he starts getting in trouble. A lot of times, he'll ask to go out, too if he's been inside awhile. He likes prowling through my flower beds and bushes, but he rarely leaves my yard.

 

[CMur12]

It's interesting, considering his past, that he now stays so close to home.


- Murray

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

It's interesting, considering his past, that he now stays so close to home.


- Murray

Its home! 🙂🙂🙂


When we go places, he is always sitting in the driveway or sitting in front of the door waiting for us to return.

 

[sebastel]

this one looks like he would be accepting praise now.

🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I was outside in the morning taking pictures of the clouds in the sky a couple weeks ago, while Sneaky followed me around to supervise. He finally got tired of being ignored while I worked, so he laid down across my feet so that I couldn't walk around anymore!

 

[MrFujicaman]

I think cats do this as a "See ! I'm earning my keep around here!" thing

this one looks like he would be accepting praise now.

🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I think cats do this as a "See ! I'm earning my keep around here!" thing

Yep. And this morning, I found a dead bird in my driveway. I suspect that my furry little serial killer had a paw in that murder.


A huge vulture, as big as a Canada Goose, came along and ate it later!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

New photo of Sneaky! I shot this early in the morning a few days ago. Sneaky went back outside after he ate breakfast and stretched out on the driveway. He laid like that a long time, looking at me.

 

[peterm1]

Yep. And this morning, I found a dead bird in my driveway. I suspect that my furry little serial killer had a paw in that murder.


A huge vulture, as big as a Canada Goose, came along and ate it later!

A small bell on a collar around Sneaky's neck will fix those bird murdering inclinations. At least for a time; being sneaky he will eventually learn to move smoothly so as not to ring the bell and alert his prey. At least mine did.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A small bell on a collar around Sneaky's neck will fix those bird murdering inclinations. At least for a time; being sneaky he will eventually learn to move smoothly so as not to ring the bell and alert his prey. At least mine did.

With cats, murder is a feature, not a bug!


Like you said, he is sneaky and he has shown me that he is very smart and manipulative. The bell would be a waste of money, he'd defeat it quickly.