Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run

[Amelia]

Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run

1. CHAIRS AND RUGS:

If you have to throw up, get into a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If no Oriental rug is available, shag is good.

2. DOORS:

Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get a door opened, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it.

After you have ordered an outside door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things, This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, and mosquito season.

3. GUESTS:

Quickly determine which guest hates cats the most. Sit on that human's lap. If you can, arrange to have "Friskies Fish n' Glop" on your breath.

For sitting on laps or rubbing against clothing, select fabric color which contrasts well with your fur. For example: white furred cats go to black wool clothing. For the guest who claims, "I love kitties," be ready with aloof disdain; apply claws to stockings or use a quick nip on the ankle.

When walking among the dishes on the dinner table, be prepared to look surprised and hurt when scolded. The idea is to convey, "But you always allow me on the table when company isn't here."

Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It isn't necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

4. WORK:

If one of your humans is sewing or writing and another is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called helping, otherwise known as hampering. Following are the rules for hampering:

A. When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You can't be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on, picked up and consoled.

B. For book readers, get in close under the chin, between the human's eyes and the book, unless you can lie across the book itself. If it is a news paper, claw at it until shredded. Your human will appreciate a home-made toy!

C. For knitting projects, curl up quietly onto the lap of the knitter and pretend to doz. Occasionally reach out and slap the knitting needles or split yarn. The knitter may try to distract you with a scrap ball of yarn. Remember, the aim is to hamper work.

5. PLAY:

It is important. Get enough sleep in the day time so you are fresh for playing catch mouse or king-o-the-hill on their bed between 2am and 4am.

MOST IMPORTANT: Begin people training early. You will then have a smooth-running household. Humans need to know basic rules. They can be taught if you start early and are consistent.

[SandyColorado]

I am SO glad that my cat can read and follows all of the rules. It would be so disappointing if she couldn't keep up with the crowd. Especially walking across our table as we are trying to eat a meal, or jumping in the middle of the bed during the middle of the night.

We are well trained humans...

[Michelle]

LOL! Our cats, one in particular, were WELL versed in these rules! This one, who knew my dad HATES cats, would come and sit on the back of the sofa right behind his head, and wrap his tail right under my dad's nose! The look on my dad's face was priceless! Same cat used to "personalize" anything paper. He'd bite it, leaving a mark kind of like a staple-remover if you punched it through paper. The guy we got him from said the cat would "approve" of girls he'd dated by giving the picture his mark of approval!

Another cat we had would play with our feet in the night. We'd kick him, but he'd just jump over our feet and keep it up. So we started scissor kicking him, which would work every time. He'd jump over one and get kicked by the other. He gave up after that!

M