Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Bird of Peace? Ha!

I heard this thumping sound against the balcony window and wondered what was up. I walked into the living room in time to see Misty run face first into the window, repeating the 'thump' noise I'd just heard, so it obviously was not an accident. Silly cat.

Usually he is the coordinated one. Misty plays soccer with toys, chases a laser pointer dot, etc. He's the sporty feline in the family... Ramses, well, he tends to be the one who leans over too far and falls off the edge of the couch. The only sport Ramses enjoys is riding in the laundry basket. Misty ... usually.... has all the grace and style. So, why was he repeatedly ramming his nose into the glass? The glass is dusty (yay sandstorms!) and covered in safety film, with a sheer curtain right in front, not exactly invisible!

It was a bird. We do not have anything on the balcony to attract birds... no seeds, no water (I'd like to have feeders, but do not want to attract rats).... the balcony itself is rather useless. Barely a foot and a half deep. Nothing for anybody to do out there. Definitely nothing for a bird to do... except bug the heck out of our cat...little instigator... and the way he was hopping around on the floor. Coming right up to the window. Jumping from floor to railing and back again.... this was definite purposeful harassment.

The bird was inches away (through the glass) and Misty couldn't resist jumping at him... I do not have too much sympathy for his bruised nose though. He knows better.
Sitting up there on the railing, looking all innocent. Oh yea... we know what you are up to.
Now, Misty will be plotting and scheming and checking the windows for the rest of the day. He does not give up easily. Every once in awhile he searches around our freezer, and you can tell he is remembering his rat... he sniffs around, looks up to the top, meows some questions, and that was over a year ago. He has also been known to hunt earthquakes... he's been through a few good-sized ones and after each, he'd spend the rest of the day patrolling every inch of the house... sniffing and searching... trying to hunt down the invisible house-shaking monster. Good thing I watered the plants yesterday - I don't think I want to open the balcony now. A distracted cat on the edge of a 3-story balcony? Not a good idea.

Oh, and here's a question for those with cats. Does your cat have radar? I can always tell Misty is hunting something when I hear this particular clicking noise.... (and no, he usually does NOT signal his hunts with window thumps! He was just being a goofer today).... The noise is an open-mouth, kinda vibrating/rattling, "tch tch tch" sound. He's done this, instinctively, since he was a kitten. Funny thing is, when Ramses was younger and willing to join Misty on 'hunts', he learned how to use this click noise, that we call "radar", too. He doesn't do it anymore though. I have no idea what this noise is called or if it is common. I'm curious if others have seen this behavior?

8 comments:

Nicole said...

How funny! Our cat is an indoor cat also and he sits at the window and makes these funny little noises when he sees a squirrel or bird. I feel bad for him, if he were actually my cat, I would let him go outside. But he is officially my brothers and he says no. Dang it.

rachaelgking said...

I've definitely encounter cats that make "hunting noises"! It's kind of weird, since technically wouldn't it warn the prey that they're there?

♥ Braja said...

Yes, my darling little Tabby cat, Billi, used to do that when he was hunting! :)

Diane Mandy said...

YES! IT's how I know when there is a bee in the house. She hunts it down as if it was a bird. Oh how I love her for it!

Connie said...

It is great to hear that Misty isn't the only one!! I'd never had a cat who did this before and it is definitely a hunting noise. Why is it that we all know what a meow is, what a purr is, but what is that 'clicking' named?!?

Connie said...

It is great to hear that Misty isn't the only one!! I'd never had a cat who did this before and it is definitely a hunting noise. Why is it that we all know what a meow is, what a purr is, but what is that 'clicking' named?!?

srsr said...

Yep, KC does that too. Not too often, She's more apt to look at my as if to say "can ya fetch that for me?"

Connie said...

Honor misses KC! :-)