And, last night she figured out how to get to what is probably the highest point in the entire house -- the top of the DVD cabinet in the living room. It was really amazing to watch. First she jumped onto the mantel over the fireplace, then she jumped to the entertainment center, and then she made it to the top of the cabinet. And proceeded to sit there like an amber-eyed feline gargoyle as Matt and I watched our pre-bedtime Buffy episode.
Anyway, below is a picture of Cora quite triumphant atop her newly-discovered perch:
...and here is a video I took this evening of her making the upward journey:
I put one of her favorite feather toys on top of the DVD cabinet (when she was sitting where I knew she'd see me). And within seconds she made her way up there, knocked the toy down, and returned to the floor via the same route she'd come...and went right to where the toy had fallen.
I just thought that was pretty neat. And very very indicative of the fact that, yes, cats can indeed have rather complex planning and problem-solving abilities. Not that this is a surprise to me!
Also, it is interesting to see the different interests/priorities/predilections of different cats when it comes to such things as vertical terrain-exploration. Both girl kitties here (Cora and Nikki) are majorly into the climbing and the leaping.
Whereas the boys (Shadow and Brodie) are still a lot more likely to try and grab onto objects with their claws and scramble/crawl their way up. They will sometimes jump high when going after interactive toys, but they're not so much for the indoor climbing-gym stuff.
Cora and Nikki both also seem to do this thing where they jump very high in a manner that looks practically effortless; that is, there's not a whole lot of "wind-up". Which makes it almost look like teleportation sometimes!
Fey used to do the jumping without winding up thing. She could get to the top of the fridge in one jump. As she's gotten over and had that leg problem she winds up more and doesn't jump as high. My brother used to insist she was levitating.
ReplyDeleteMah kitteh is a slow thinker, but a deep thinker. He's right quick on natural cat behavior, like killin', and all, but has to take time to think about some of his interactions with humans. When he does make up his mind, he tends to act prudently and intelligently.
ReplyDeleteOh, Amanda? I have been defending you over at Socrates' place. I like you, and have liked you since you were Sggab the Slug on Alt.Support.Autism.