Hello, I’m Christopher! Learn my introduction to study extra about me and my foolish Russian Blue cat, Olga.
Cats’ searching instincts affect how they play with toys, however their play classes contain greater than evolutionary developments. Home cats are predators, and we frequently assume their conduct is predetermined by genetics. It’s arduous to dispute that they love searching and enjoying, however most cats are clever sufficient to differentiate between them.
Olga the Hunter
My cat has solely hunted and killed bugs in my dwelling; just a few years in the past, she chased down an anole (Anolis carolinensis), pinned it to the ground, and prevented it from scurrying underneath my dryer. She didn’t bat it round or chew it in half. Olga is sometimes aggressive however doesn’t have a robust prey drive or need to torture and eat a small lizard.
I’m not claiming that she’s extra peaceable than most cats since I haven’t let her exterior to chase birds or rodents. She may very well be a ruthless killer of small animals, however I’ll by no means know since I feel her play conduct isn’t a superb indicator of her searching expertise.
Olga hits her toys and assaults them, however she additionally snuggles as much as them and generally falls right into a deep trance. If I let her exterior and he or she handled mice and birds the identical means, the animals would injure her and presumably suffocate after she fell asleep on them.
The Toy-Induced Trance
When she’s purring and stretched out with a toy nestled in opposition to her head, I can rub her stomach with out getting my hand ripped up. She purrs louder when cuddling along with her toys, and I feel she enjoys it greater than petting. And not using a toy, she would latch on to my hand and sink her fangs into it. Apart from the Siamese cat I owned, most felines hate it when anybody touches their intestine.
I used to assume that solely her plastic plant holder despatched her to a different world. Nevertheless, catnip mice, paper balls, and silvervine sticks additionally calm Olga down and make her much less protecting. She doesn’t all the time do it however appears to get pleasure from sleeping on her toys. Within the morning, I generally see a paper ball or plush mouse on the foot of my mattress.
Olga’s Consolation Blanket
When she was youthful, she used to pull her plant holder round the home and drop it at my toes to encourage me to play with it. She acted like Linus together with his ragged blue blanket; like him, her favourite inedible object comforted her. When she’s in a toy trance, I can examine her stomach for parasites and bumps, however she ultimately will get aggravated and doesn’t permit me to brush her.
After Olga’s dental surgical procedure, I thought of giving her a toy to distract her whereas I squirted the antibiotic into her mouth with a syringe, however I made a decision in opposition to it. She wasn’t very cooperative when she noticed the oral medicine in my hand, however I didn’t need her to affiliate one among her toys with a traumatic expertise. She’s blissful when she’s in a trance, and since she’s typically a grumpy cat, I like seeing her in a superb temper.
This text is part of Christopher and Olga’s collection.
