 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / General Topics / January 2005high places
Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - anything in her way. Ken > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken Hunter instinct, I would guess. Easier to see the prey (you,probably) from higher up. Not just kittens, they'll always do this. I'm a bit more lucky, Meep doesn't like to knock things over, so she won't go onto high places that have stuff on them. jmc >> Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >> does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm a bit more lucky, Meep doesn't like to knock things over, so she > won't go onto high places that have stuff on them. Are you sure? Mine have always continued the shelf-sitting, they just learn not to disturb the rest of the contents. > jmc Because they can. I bet if you clear off the spot that it most annoys you, she will stop getting up there. > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken I agree with Karen, I think our owners like to do things to get a reaction out of us slaves. Clear off the space the kitty will more than likely give it up. Fluffy's favorite sleeping and grooming spot is on the satellite box which sets on top of the TV. It's about seven feet off the ground, and is the highest spot in the room that she could fit on. The only problem with this is when a leg or her tail hangs off the edge, it blocks the IR remote receiver so if I want to change channels I have to get up and move her tail aside. Sometimes she gets pretty indignant about it, but she usually doesn't even wake up. > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken All cats will jump up to high places. It is their nature to do so. Instinct tells them that there is a better view of prey from higher places. Not only that, but, prey are not as apt to see them when they are higher up. This gives the cat a better advantage of being able to pounce on and kill it's prey. >> Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >> does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > are higher up. This gives the cat a better advantage of being able to > pounce on and kill it's prey. They're also safer, where non-climbing enemies can't reach them. | Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine | does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - | anything in her way. | | Ken It's a dominance thing, also a way to see more as cats like to watch what's going on. Carola >| Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >| does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Carola Similarly, they will often go the the tallest person.  SignatureCatwalker aka Pu$$y Feet Chauncey, Silver Tabby Persion Bubba, Black & White Short Hair Bandit, Seal Point Himalayan Midge, Grey & White Medium Hair Chigger, Seal Point Siamese mix Killer, Beta > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken One of the cat books I read said that it makes them feel safe to have a good view of things. Another reason for why they jump: because they can. Bet it feels good. Rocket started this: He starts in the living room, runs down the hallway, run into the computer room, leaps up the cat tree, jumps to the bookcase, and them to the next bookcase. One day he is going to sling shot around and come flying back into the hallway. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=d701.jpg&.src=ph http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=e0ed.jpg&.src=ph Signature-Kim owned by Egbert, Niobe, Sekhar and Rocket take the cat out before you reply one cat just leads to another... http://photos.yahoo.com/sir_eg_of_bert http://picturetrail.com/ownedbycats > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken > Rocket started this: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=e0ed.jpg&.s > rc=ph Heh. "All four on the bed" http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=ab9d.jpg& .src=ph Not for long *smirk* > http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=ab9d.jpg& > .src=ph Oh, my, the white and ginger one could almost be a stand-in for Hodge! Signaturehttp://www.slywy.com/pages/hodge.html That is Egbert, my 16 year old who adopted me. He is sitting on my lap as I type this. We are due for 12-18" of snow today, but I should have time to run out to a cat show. Signature-Kim owned by Egbert, Niobe, Sekhar and Rocket take the cat out before you reply one cat just leads to another... http://photos.yahoo.com/sir_eg_of_bert http://picturetrail.com/ownedbycats http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=ab9d.jpg& > > .src=ph > > Oh, my, the white and ginger one could almost be a stand-in for Hodge! >That is Egbert, my 16 year old who adopted me. He is sitting on my lap as I >type this. > >We are due for 12-18" of snow today, but I should have time to run out to a >cat show. Got you beat. Got you beat. Some spots around here could get 30+ inches. We're also getting a heat wave now. Three degrees Fahrenheit. > Rocket started this: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > bookcase. One day he is going to sling shot around and come flying back > into the hallway. Clifford (RB) definitely had the slingshot approach, sometimes likened to a circular nuclear accelerator. He was known to dash around the house once or twice, building speed, and then leap for the ceiling. We had paw marks on it. the higher up you are, the more you can see & the less likely anyone will bother you. www.mimiforsyth.com | Rocket started this: | | He starts in the living room, runs down the hallway, run into the computer | room, leaps up the cat tree, jumps to the bookcase, and them to the next | bookcase. One day he is going to sling shot around and come flying back | into the hallway. I wish my Micky (1 1/2) would do this, he's turned into a real sleepyhead. If he's not on business trips outside he just lies around. Carola I call this game "electric floors" The aim is to race around the room leaping over furniture etc. without touching the floor . Touching the floor will give you an electric shock ! Marie from OZ > | Rocket started this: > | [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Carola >I call this game "electric floors" The aim is to race around the room >leaping over furniture etc. without touching the floor . Touching the floor >will give you an electric shock ! > > Marie from OZ Stinky isn't much of a floor cat. I think he only gets on it to eat. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > Rocket started this: > > He starts in the living room, runs down the hallway, run into the computer > room, leaps up the cat tree, jumps to the bookcase, and them to the next > bookcase. One day he is going to sling shot around and come flying back > into the hallway. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=d701.jpg&.src=ph http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sir_eg_of_bert/detail?.dir=0f4e&.dnm=e0ed.jpg&.src=ph Oh what a lovely and tall cat tree!! They must be on it 24/7! :) >> Rocket started this: >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Oh what a lovely and tall cat tree!! They must be on it 24/7! :) Rocket and my Bubba could be twins. Bubba likes to stick his feet in the water too! http://home.comcast.net/~catwalker63/ SignatureCatwalker aka Pu$$y Feet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chauncey, Silver Tabby Persion Bubba, Black & White Short Hair Bandit, Seal Point Himalayan Midge, Grey & White Medium Hair Chigger, Seal Point Siamese mix Killer, Beta Yes, I hear your pain...I have a 17 lb. tabby who insists on sitting on top of the armoir (near 7 feet in the air!!) then - for no reason at all - leaps off straight to the ground as if he can fly! He stretches out completely as if is has wings! Often in the middle of the night - just for kicks - he'll leap off and on to the bed - right on me! Now you try having 17lbs of flying cat fur land on you in the complete darkness!! Good luck with it - just remember, its a natural instinct and they do grow out of it... > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. With humans, children are better tree climbers than adults. It provides some protection from predators. I haven't heard this, but I would think that sleeping on a on a tree branch would cause problems for fleas. If they jumped off or were scratched off, they wouldn't be able to jump back on until later. My cat seems to have a better horizontal jump than vertical jump. There are places she could get to if she had more faith in her vertical jump. I'm sure she'll get to those places eventually. She's almost 6 months old. The place that makes me nervous is the cable box sitting on top of the TV. It isn't bolted down, so the whole cable box could fall off. It fell off when my 1 year old niece was playing with the wires. Fortunately, it didn't hit her. <snip> > The place that makes me nervous is the cable box sitting on top of > the TV. It isn't bolted down, so the whole cable box could fall off. > It fell off when my 1 year old niece was playing with the wires. > Fortunately, it didn't hit her. Two words: duct tape. <g> SignatureCatwalker aka Pu$$y Feet Chauncey, Silver Tabby Persion Bubba, Black & White Short Hair Bandit, Seal Point Himalayan Midge, Grey & White Medium Hair Chigger, Seal Point Siamese mix Killer, Beta ["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.health+behav.] On 2005-01-22, Mike Rhino penned: > My cat seems to have a better horizontal jump than vertical jump. There are > places she could get to if she had more faith in her vertical jump. I'm [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > my 1 year old niece was playing with the wires. Fortunately, it didn't hit > her. Definitely be careful. When Oscar was a kitten, I had the typical post-college apartment setup and the VCR sat precariously balanced atop the TV. Oscar managed to pull the VCR down a few times, and we're both very lucky she never hurt herself in the process. Eventually I did learn and moved the VCR to the side. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. Because cats use vertical space. It's really a good idea to expect cats to act like cats, not humans in little fur coats. :) Signaturehttp://www.slywy.com/pages/hodge.html >> Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >> does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >:) Bear in mind cats when they are born are hard wired for survival in a rough world. They like high places because they can the predators down below, they are on a high ground that they can defend, and they can survey the land below. When a miliatry operation occurs in a particular country, the military aims to claim a high area that is easier to defend, offers a better view of the enemy, and offers warning of an approaching enemy. That is one of the reasons Israel insisted on keeping some of the occupied territory. It offered areas that overlooked the territory below so it was easier to defend, offered a view of the approaching enemy. Also I would add when a cat is hurting/inured they will find an isolated area where they can feel safe and recuperate and regain their health. That spot maybe under a bed/chair or on the top of something high. Remember cats have been battling these enemies for millions of years, many of these survival skills are hard wired in at birth from millions of years trying to survive in a dangerous rough world. Just make sure any potential leaps are not outside the capacity of kitty as they can get hurt mis-judging a leap. > > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > :) Ah, but it goes both ways. One of the key requirements for a modern fighter pilot is that they have to think, visualize, and observe in three dimensions. If they can't do that, they get assigned to other duties. Not all people can do it. > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. Not just kittens - it's a common trait of ALL cats (w-e-l-l-l NEARLY all). However, older cats aren't quite so prone to disturbing whatever is ON the shelf - unless they intend to. (I once had a cat who would regulary threaten the cat-collection I kept on an open shelf, whenever he decided I'd been on the phone too long!) >> Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >> does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > regulary threaten the cat-collection I kept on an open shelf, whenever > he decided I'd been on the phone too long!) Ah yes. Tanada loves to prove to herself, and the rest of us, that the laws of gravity are still in effect. She also had to prove to herself that my new thin, flat screened monitor will not hold her weight. Fortunately she didn't break the monitor, and the only real damage was to her dignity and my peace of mind. When ever she gets mad at me now, she climbs the cat pole beside the desk and touches the edge of the monitor with her paw like she's going to either step on it or push it. Pam S. > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken She will become more graceful as she ages a bit! Mine is about a year old now, and she still likes the high places, however, she is more careful in getting there. When she was little, she would hide under the sofa, and poke her paw playfully out at whatever came within reach. Woe was the unsuspecting visiter that happened to sit with their ankles in the "claw range"! | > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine | > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] | playfully out at whatever came within reach. Woe was the unsuspecting | visiter that happened to sit with their ankles in the "claw range"! Cinderella helped me hang up the washing today: she climbed up a damp jacket, installed herself on the clothes lines and hit me whenever I wanted to hang up anything. She's a great household help anyway ;-) Today she also sat in the middle of the ironing board, preventing me from doing my work. I can't imagine she wanted to get ironed. Now she's in my closet! She's 9 ? months old. Carola > Cinderella helped me hang up the washing today: she climbed up a damp > jacket, installed herself on the clothes lines and hit me whenever I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Carola I have a "supervisor" here as well. Midge is interested in every activity, particularly ones that require me to work on something on the floor. She has worked on every piece of assembly-required furniture since she moved in. <Come back here with that! I'm gonna need it! Hello?> SignatureCatwalker aka Pu$$y Feet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chauncey, Silver Tabby Persion Bubba, Black & White Short Hair Bandit, Seal Point Himalayan Midge, Grey & White Medium Hair Chigger, Seal Point Siamese mix Killer, Beta Also beware...... cats with flea allergies will also do this as they try & escape any floors in the house as they know that is were they pick up the fleas! Some cats have been known to never touch floors at all. Jut leaping around all the different furnishings until they find a spot they consider 'secure' even in really odd places. Before I found this out I had a very elderly cat that refused to sleep anywhere but the top of the fish tank! Regardless of all those great products ie Frontline, Revolution etc, etc,they still get an occasional flea & if they aren't used to fleas they will react quite madly as you have described, so check it out,before it gets totally paranoid about coming into the house. > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken Because shes a cat! :-) I blue tack everything down to stop kiwi breaking all my ornaments! SignatureBadger Badger Badger > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. Most of my pens are selotaped up :) Cos Shaddow keeps knocking them off the tables and I keep stepping on them :) I have not one good pen in the house! :) Why? Its fun for her I guess :) As for high places, cats love climbing, and love hights for good view, and would live on a ceiling if they could! Hence their forever need to climb trees! Once I fugured this out, I redecorated the house for them! I put cat stairs on a wall that lead to topof high cupboard, then placed cat beds on that cupboard for them. They LOVE to sleep there! Also all other high surfices were clearedof anything breakable and all glass went behind the closed doors:) Hey, you have to furr-childproof your house ! :) >>Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >>does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - >>anything in her way. > > Most of my pens are selotaped up :) Cos Shaddow keeps knocking them off the > tables and I keep stepping on them :) I have not one good pen in the house! At least she leaves them out where you can find them! Melisande steals mine, and they disappear forever. She CAN't get out, so theoretically they HAVE to be in the apartment, somewhere - along with at least a dozen assorted furry mice and small rubber balls. (Uunless, as I strongly suspect, she has beamed them all up to the mothership.) > :) > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > were clearedof anything breakable and all glass went behind the closed > doors:) Hey, you have to furr-childproof your house ! :) >>>Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >>>does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > furry mice and small rubber balls. (Uunless, as I strongly > suspect, she has beamed them all up to the mothership.) Just move the dryer. <g> SignatureCatwalker aka Pu$$y Feet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chauncey, Silver Tabby Persion Bubba, Black & White Short Hair Bandit, Seal Point Himalayan Midge, Grey & White Medium Hair Chigger, Seal Point Siamese mix Killer, Beta > At least she leaves them out where you can find them! > Melisande steals mine, and they disappear forever. She > CAN't get out, so theoretically they HAVE to be in the > apartment, somewhere - along with at least a dozen assorted > furry mice and small rubber balls. (Uunless, as I strongly > suspect, she has beamed them all up to the mothership.) A friend of mine used to build/furnish dollhouses as a hobby. She also had three ferrets. Whenever anything went missing, all she had to do was look in one of her projects. When I dropped off Pudge for her to watch while I traveled (Pudge had her own room, away from the menagerie, and apparently spent most of her time in the friend's lap, watching TV), she pointed out that the one house was FULL of pens. Hilarious. Signaturehttp://www.slywy.com/ | > Most of my pens are selotaped up :) Cos Shaddow keeps knocking them off the | > tables and I keep stepping on them :) I have not one good pen in the house! [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] | furry mice and small rubber balls. (Uunless, as I strongly | suspect, she has beamed them all up to the mothership.) I keep finding all these things and the stolen lighters underneath the carpets. When all the 20 or more table tennis balls have disappeared, then I think it's time for spring cleaning <ugh> Carola > | > Most of my pens are selotaped up :) Cos Shaddow keeps knocking them off > the [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Carola Would they fit in the heat vents? Let me add one more important reason that has been overlooked. Heat rises and it is warmer up high. We have a box/bed on the highest bookcase in the house for our Tiny,who hates being cold. She sleeps there, but only during cold weather - I presume because it is toasty warm up there. On the other point, I don't think cats like to accidentally knock things down. As your kitten grows into a cat she will learn how to manuever around things without knocking them down. During christmas,we stand our chritmans cards on the entertainment center. I was amazed to see our two cats chase one another through this maze without knocking down a single card! Enjoy your kitten. Minus "ken" <kphifer1934@yahoo.com> wrote in news:1106315040.382471.279320 @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com: > Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine > does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - > anything in her way. > > Ken > Let me add one more important reason that has been overlooked. Heat > rises and it is warmer up high. We have a box/bed on the highest > bookcase in the house for our Tiny,who hates being cold. She sleeps > there, but only during cold weather - I presume because it is toasty warm > up there. Excellent point, never thought of it, but yes, cats love heat so this is definitely a good reason to go upstairs in winter :) >Why do kittens want to jump up to the highest places in a room..Mine >does this and in doing it, she knocks off phots, books, cd's, - >anything in her way. Well, Snowball is an adult cat, and I know why she climbs up to the stack of spare litter pans on the top shelf in the mud room - within inches of the ceiling: protection from a couple of the big males who like to pick on her. And yes, they sometimes follow her, and all sorts of stuff gets knocked off, including the cat carrier - most of which lands in litter pans. <http://gearbox.maem.umr.edu/tdavis/cats/snowball/snowball_ceiling_1.jpg> SignatureT.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.