A Cat Who Thinks He's a Dog!?!?

[1tuffcookie]

We have 2 cats--one black and one white. We got the black one, Phantom, as a tiny kitten. He's now about 13 months old. Why do I say he thinks he's a dog? Because, (I kid you not) HE FETCHES. Not a stick, though. Phantom fetches small, round wads of paper. He loves fetching so much that several times a day he will dig a wad out from a hiding place, drool on it a little, and bring it to me. Then he stares at me expectantly until I fling it. When he returns, he will sometimes drop the wad right into my hand. He's very determined--he'll leap over tall furniture with a single bound, bounce off walls, and plow over the other cat to get to the wad. He also attempts to catch it midair, and occasionally succeeds. Sometimes, he just manages to block it, so that the wad ricochets off his paws back to me. But most of the time, he just does acrobatic flips in the air, lands, and retrieves the wad. When he brings it to me, if I say, "Good boy!" He meows back, as if to say, "I know, Mama, but just throw it again!" :cat:

[Sharon]

That is so funny! I have a dog that we nick named cat dog. She acts more like a cat than a dog! She even makes purr like sounds when we pet her.

[Sarojini]

That's great... my cat, Paddington (who is pictured in my arms in the pic to the left) also fetches paper wads. He does the same thing... chases one down, brings it back, and drops it into my hand. Then waits for me to throw it again!

:)

[SharonA]

How fun is that..:lmao: good kitty :cat:woof, woof...I love it :D

[1tuffcookie]

Jen, Paddington looks like a beautiful cat. I can't believe there's another cat that fetches! I've never heard of another cat doing that, and neither has anyone else we've told. How old is Paddington? Did you train him to fetch from kittenhood?

Sharon, wow! A dog that purrs? I've never heard of that. Darn, there goes one of my best points! That's one of the things I say when I get into a disagreement with someone over which is better, cats or dogs. I say that dogs can't purr. I don't hate dogs, though. I love all animals, but I just love cats the most, then horses. With dogs, I just get annoyed with the ones who jump on you, (and they always hit my bladder when they do that) bark incessantly, lick you all over, and/or hump your leg!

[Sarojini]

Hi... thanks for complimenting Paddington, he is my baby. A big baby (16 lbs at 11 months old... and as a Maine Coon he won't be fully mature until he's 3-4 yrs, so we are expecting a 20-25 lb cat) but a baby nonetheless!! :)

I did encourage him to fetch when he was younger... when he was about 5 months old, he started carrying things in his mouth during play, and I just built on that. I'd grab the paper wad, throw it, and if he picked it back up in his mouth, he got praised (and also a treat). Then I started making him carry it to me to get the treat. It took him about 2 evenings of practice to get the hang of really fetching :)

In addition to Paddington, I had a cat named Pepper when I was about 6 years old who would fetch one of those wiffle golf balls...

I agree... I like dogs too (we have one of those as well) but I don't care for all of the barking, jumping, and leg-humping :rolleyes: I prefer purring :)

[Dixiefireball]

wow what a cat. that sounds so neat i would like to see him LOL.:thumbsup: you need to send a video of your amazeing cat to one funny videos i bet you could win.
;) :cat:

[Katrina]

Hehehehehehe, on I want a white cat to go with my black cat.:dogrun:
:cat:

[Iris]

Paddington is definitely a beautiful cat Jen, I love Maine Coons, they are known to have such a wonderful disposition. I have had siamese that loved to run after wads of paper, then they would just look at you, one finally did bring one back. I now have a part siamese and ginger, he is getting up there in size, he is about 18 or 19 lbs and has the biggest butt when he sits down, but he is so cute, with the biggest blue eyes. I love cats. Hugs Iris.:thumbsup: :cat: :flower:

[1tuffcookie]

Another thing that's different about Phantom is that he's a vegetarian. He eats lettuce, tomatoes, just about any vegetable except carrots. Our white cat is like me--a picky eater. Guess what her name is? Cookie! Actually, my husband named her, and I named Phantom. Cookie has one blue eye and one yellowish-green eye. I read that most white cats are either born with two different colored eyes, or born deaf.

:cat:

[Sarojini]

Iris, you are so right... Paddington definitely has that easy-going Maine Coon disposition! I bet your Siamese is gorgeous too. I love all types of cats... they are sooo furry & cute!!! :)

Tuffcookie... that's funny about the vegetarian cat. :lmao: LOL. Paddington eats tomatoes and black olives... but will not touch lettuce. However, he has eaten corn, green beans, and carrot before. One time, I was baking something that required shortening, and he started licking plain shortening out of the container, it was so disgusting :) Also once, I left my bowl of cereal for I swear, 30 seconds, and he wolfed it down! He threw up after that, which was gross, but he was like a dog when he was younger.... you REALLY had to watch your food when he was around.

Now that he is older, he's better behaved. He sits there looking at you while you eat with big pretty-kitty eyes, and may occasionally put one paw lightly on your arm or leg, but he is nowhere near the impolite piggy he used to be :)

[1tuffcookie]

What about fruit? Does Paddington like it? Phantom has liked every kind of fruit we've given him: mango, orange, and kiwi, among others.

[1tuffcookie]

Hey, welcome to the ICN!:welcome: Wow, I'm reallly surprised that so many cats are fetching! But if I think about it, I shouldn't be, because cats are really smart. What kinds of things do your Siamese fetch?

[Sarojini]

Hey there!!

Paddington doesn't care for most fruits :) He WILL eat fruit if it is in yogurt though, but not fruit that is on its own. He hates the smell of lemons so much that I can just put a lemon out on the table and it keeps him from jumping up there, even when we're not home ;) It's a great training tool for him...

And I think it's great that there are other fetchers out there... asilinc, did you train your Siamese to do this, or did they just pick it up on their own?

[1tuffcookie]

The lemon is a neat trick! I've got to find something like that for Phantom. He is really sweet sometimes, but other times he's really ornery and won't stay off of things. Also, he does something odd with water that drives us nuts. He dips his front paw in his water bowl, licks his paw, then repeats the dipping. Consequently, his water bowl gets all this crud in it--dirt, pieces of cat litter, etc. Then if somebody sets down a glass of water, juice, or any liquid, he will do the same thing. So we have to watch our glasses like hawks! We've tried all kinds of things to stop him, but nothing has worked.

[chicky78]

I never thought I would hear about another cat just like mine!!! My cat :cat: whose two years old and named Sarabi (Simbas mother from the Lion King) does EXACTLY the same thing!! Everyone always comments that she think she is a dog!! :dogrun: She gets so excited when she hears even the smallest remote crumpling of any type of paper and when you throw a paper ball for her, she fetches it and prances back with it, drops it at your feet and looks at you expectantly waiting for you to do it again.....and again....and again!!

I got her last September from a lady who couldnt keep her anymore, she had just had a litter and I subsequently took Sarabi and the last of her kittens. I ended up giving the kitten to a friend because she was not weang from Sarabi and I had heard that mother cats can dvelop mammary cancer if the kitten doesn't wean by 10 weeks, this kitten was already 16 weeks!

Anyways, good to know there is another out there like Sarabi, how funny would it be to get the two cats together!!