Smarty Cat

There are many challenges to living with a smart cat, especially if the cat is smarter than you are! When you think of living with a smart cat you typically think of cats who check to see if you are looking before they get on the counters or cats who figure out how to turn on the faucet so they can drink fresh water. You forget that sometimes the biggest challenge is not letting them see you laugh at their antics!

Friday is not just smart he’s downright brilliant. He can open doors. He stands up on his back legs and turns the knob with his front paws and I’m not talking about fancy door knobs with a little lever. I’m talking about plain round door knobs. He even knows that outside doors have to be unlocked before the knob will turn but thank God, he cannot manage that on his own.

My husband and I typically use our dining room table as mere decoration and like so many American families we flop down on the couch and watch TV while we eat our dinner. Friday knows better than to beg me for food. I’ll only shoo him away. His father is another matter. Brian has been known to sneak him a piece of chicken on occasion so Friday restricts his begging to the most productive quarters.

Friday will sit on the arm of the couch next to Brian and stare at him. When staring doesn’t work (he typically allows 1.2 seconds for this tactic) he’ll poke Brian’s arm with his paw as though Brian might not have noticed the twelve pound cat leaning toward his plate. When direct tactics fail to produce food Friday pulls out his “cute” weapon. I assure you he can be extremely cute when he decides to be. Worse still, he knows he’s cute!

If Brian is eating something like a hamburger, he’ll hold it up with both hands just in front of his mouth and wait. Friday in full-tilt cute mode will start rubbing his head on Brian’s shoulder as though the burger doesn’t even exist and he simply wants to tell Brian how much he loves him. As his love deepens, he begins to move down Brian’s arm rubbing more passionately with every inch. Suddenly, he “accidentally” finds that his nose is near the burger. Of course, he was just loving Brian but when there’s such a juicy temptation so close to his sensitive little nose… He stretches out and just as he’s about to get a taste of the burger Brian moves it away.

Ok, now we sound like cruel and unusual cat parents. I’ll accept the unusual charge but cruel is going to far. Friday always gets a piece. Brian just doesn’t let him do it for himself! I’ve often scolded Brian for teasing Friday so much but I’ve got to admit it really is funny to watch Friday scheme. The funniest part is watching Brian shake as he tries not to laugh and interrupt Friday’s progress.

Would Friday act this way if it didn’t get him somewhere? Of course not. He rarely bothers to ask me for people food because I don’t give it to him. Tip of the day: if your cat is exhibiting behavior that you don’t like examine the situation and see if you could actually be the cause of the behavior. In this case, Brian certainly is the cause but we’ve decided the comedy out weights any inconvenience to us or our dinner!
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