Thanks for the laugh

@sallypup (57307)
Centralia, Washington
May 23, 2020 11:05am CST
I sat in my chair this morning, stretched my arms out, grabbing my hands together. Wonderful stretch!! Just as I finished, I looked down and huh?? Yes Sonny James- big kitty in my messy photo- sat on the rug in front me and stretched his arms and bowed as he did so. No I have not been drinking and I don't drink alcohol. I guess Sonny J. just decided that if his human needed a stretch, maybe he needed a stretch, too.
11 people like this
13 responses
• United States
23 May 20
He is a gorgeous cat! Pets like to mimic us from time to time. I don't have any animals, but one of my friend's cats is the cutest thing. She does what we call "self pets". When her human mom comes home from work, she rushes to the kitchen (where she comes in from) and all my friend has to do is say her name "chickey" "chick chick" and she starts rubbing against the counters and do a little dance. Usually followed by "swishy tail stompy foot." which is her "Hey, are you gong to prepare food? I'd like some." dance.
2 people like this
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
23 May 20
Thanks @ScribbledAdNauseum I don't think the average person realizes how social cats are. Your friend's kitty sounds adorable. The Siamese in my house would get depressed if he did not have my hubby to pester and pat and just all around hassle.
1 person likes this
• United States
23 May 20
@sallypup Yes, cats really do love to be social. They may nap a lot, but when they are awake they want attention. Her other cat, when I first arrive at her house, will wait until I put my stuff down. Then I say "Well, aren't you going to say hello?" and he runs right up to me and purrs and meows and dances around me. They are intuitive creatures.
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@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
23 May 20
@ScribbledAdNauseum I may have said this before. I adopted a girlie cat that is a sad gal. I blame it on her not living with a cat person in her early years. Dear Saia kitty spent most of her early months alone. Her owner was away at work. So she did not get social times. Now she is the loudest, worst growler and hisser I have ever heard from a house cat. We continue to try to live with her anyway.
@JimBo452020 (42639)
• United Kingdom
23 May 20
Sonny James looks like an awesome cat. Maybe he did copy you on purpose.
2 people like this
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
23 May 20
@JimBo452020 I've had other close times with my felines so maybe he was responding to me!
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (84360)
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
23 May 20
He was copying how sweet
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118224)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 May 20
Maybe stretching is contagious, like yawning! lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118224)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 May 20
@sallypup It is funny how pets were learn to emulate human actions, and humans learn to emulate our pet's actions!
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
24 May 20
@moffittjic Maybe so. The Siamese in this house loves to yawn wide and long. I imitate him!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
23 May 20
I adore Sonny James!
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@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
24 May 20
@DianneN Thanks. Snapping photos of Sonny J. is the only way most people get to see him. He is fantastic at hiding from anyone but me or my hubby.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
24 May 20
@sallypup I had a couple of cats like that. No one believed we had them.
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@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
24 May 20
@DianneN When we have a person in to feed the critters cause we're off on a road trip, I show the person a photo of Sonny J. He's usually crammed under my bed but I figure that at least the helper will know who to look for if it comes to that.
1 person likes this
• United States
24 May 20
It's like Petey. We've started a new game at night. He'll come in the house, curl up in my lap and we'll have a silent conversation. I'll open my mouth and act like I'm talking and when I close my mouth he'll open his mouth and act like he's talking back (no sound) and then close his mouth. We'll have a muted conversation for about 5 minutes and then he'll yawn and curl up and go to sleep. I'll pet him and he'll stretch and then say a few things, this time with the volume turned on and curl up tight for his before bed nap and then he'll curl up tight and close his eyes and go to sleep. Bill thinks it's funnier than anything. We've started up various games that are just between Petey and me and just for the fun of our having the games. We also play eye doctor and patient too. I'm the eye doctor who gets to clean the black goopies from the corner of Petey's eyes. When I finish cleaning the goopies I start to take my eye glasses off to set them aside but Petey will reach up with his paw and pull them down and around so that they wind up on his nose. He will look around and then push them off his nose and kind of shake his head "No" like they don't improve his vision and push them back towards me. After I get them back safely he'll stand up, stretch, and crawl up on his furry blanket on the back of the couch so he can lay down on his soft, fuzzy spot for his nap and he will curl up there and nap. He loves his games, but they are more "Adult" type kitty games than they are kitten games. Petey is totally a different cat that I have ever had in my life. I can't say I own him, I have never really owned him, we have more of a partnership than a situation where I own him. I make sure that he is well cared for and has plenty of food, water, and good treats..like I said in previous posts...salmon, crab, lobster, tuna and so much more; but he's worth every bite.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
24 May 20
@BearArtistLady The only time I feel like I own an animal is when I am expected to pay their Vet bill. Otherwise, like you say, its a partnership. You and your sweet Petey are pals. He sounds like quite a character. I have always loved the interaction that can happen between human and animal, if only the human will slow down and watch and let it happen. There's a ball and track toy here that Sonny J. loves. He bats the ball around the track and when it stops, I bat it toward him and we go on like that for a few minutes. The interaction is also why I have pups. I do not dumb down with the pups and expect them to learn and do things, up to the level of their ability. When my daughter visited, Leah brought an inside toy out onto the deck. I opened the door, told Leah to bring that toy back in. Daughter looked like Yeah, right. But Leah ran out, got the toy and brought it in. Just the way life should be- both human and animal communicating.
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
25 May 20
@BearArtistLady Your description about your play days is priceless. It belongs in a novel. Thanks for that. I did not do well with dog training when Sally and I went through several gyrations of it. I learned to communicate with Sally but I just could not get the hang of the generic have tos: Stand straight and tall!! Do that when your back refuses to uncorkscrew?? Not in my life time. And folks saying that Sally was high strung. Duh. She is a pure bred Cattle Dog. High strung is her M O. Same with me, I guess due to my being a poet. We got through and we learned the skeleton of what obedience is- and were able to pass it on to Leah pup. She continues to also be high strung, not doing well with other dogs. At home, where it really counts, she is a sweet helper. I agree with you about a home being a home only when it has fur kids roaming around. I hope you are doing well.
• United States
25 May 20
@sallypup For those who are faint of heart, please excuse the grossness... Petey likes his water rather fresh, and I have posted in my discussions in the past about the CEO of the company having his coffee break and pictures of that break. Well he likes having his drink of water out of the toilet and when he comes in the house he will disappear and I know where he has gone so I follow him. He is sitting in the bathroom on the counter, yelling in his soft voice for me to come and deal with the toilet. I come in and flush the toilet and as I am turning the handle he jumps off the counter and leans on the edge of the toilet seat and watches the water. He'll look up at me a couple of times, waiting. Finally, I'll look down at Petey and tell him "It's okay", and he'll jump up on the seat and carefully put his feet on the dry area of the toilet and lean in and get his drink. I'll turn off the light and go beck to work. In a few minutes he'll come back out from getting his drink and jump back on my lap, grab my hands and check out the teddy bear I'm working on to make sure it measures up to his standards. If it does he lets me continue to work on it. If it doesn't it gets jerked out of my hands and dropped on the floor. I then have to pick it up and check it out for what isn't right. What's funny is it is usually a stitch that isn't in line where there would be a hole that I would have to sew closed later from the outside. It's easier for me to remove the hand sewn stitch from the side that I was doing the sewing on now and resew it now than to sew it from the outside later. Petey is an incredible cat. I worried about him with the various wild critters in the area until a few days ago when a neighbor stopped by to get some paperwork signed. He had his dog with him and the dog saw Petey and decided to pick a fight with him. It didn't work out well for the dog. All the neighbor and I saw was a mass of orange fur and claws working over a black and white dog. There was a LOT of hissing, spitting, growling, and a yelp from the dog as soon as Petey decided that the dog had enough. Petey came casually into the house and sat down and slicked down his fur. I no longer worry about him with the local wild critters...they're on their own! You are so right, if you dumb down to an animal you're going to have a "dumb" animal. If you treat an animal like they are intelligent beings they are going to behave like they are smart. Animals, like humans, need input to keep their minds active and to keep them learning. I had a poodle that was a riot. I don't sing well and if I would sing the poodle would chime in. If we didn't want him to do something I would tell him if he didn't stop I would sing. He usually would stop. There was, on occasion, when he would stop and howl. For one of my drama classes I had to learn a song for a solo. I tried to get across to the teacher that I couldn't sing to save my life, but that didn't matter to him. The program we were presenting was a comedy night. I had an idea and I asked him if I could bring a "prop" for the presentation. He thought about it for a minute and finally said "Okay, as long as it didn't sing the song for me". That night I showed up in full costume and checked in with the teacher. He wanted to see my prop. I told him he couldn't see it as it was a surprise. He told me I couldn't go on if I didn't show him the prop, and I informed him it was fine because I told him prior to the event that I couldn't sing worth a darn so it was no skin off my nose if I didn't have to sing. He tried threatening me with an "F" for the class and I told him I would challenge the grade with the school board...he gave in, especially since it was about three minutes to curtain. I raced back stage, gathered up the prop, and hustled on stage and onto my spot in time for the curtain to rise. The light slowly brightened and the music started playing and I started singing...as awful as usual. My prop looked up at me, threw his head back and howled loudly. As I sang my way through "Bye Bye Black Bird", Woo (my standard poodle) sang along with me. When we finished I had him stand up on his hind legs and dance then drop to all fours and take a bow. The people were laughing so hard and clapping just as hard as they were giving us both a standing ovation. I exited the stage and the teacher met us off stage, sputtering. All he could managed to ask was "Why didn't you tell me?" The show was three hours long and several of the other students wanted to borrow the dog for their presentations. At one point Woo disappeared and I was frantic looking for him, until, he was pointed out to me. He was crawling across the stage behind one of the egotistical students who was supposedly doing a humorous soliloquies from Shakespeare. The student finally got some laughs but wasn't happy how he got them and threatened both me and the dog after he was off stage. I got an "A" for the semester and no one ever topped my performance. The Shakespeare guy got a "C" for the semester and a bad attitude towards me and dogs. I wouldn't have a home without at least one furry human..preferably 3 or 4. They teach you a lot and they can learn a lot from you if you're willing to interact with them. Animals are simply beings of a different culture that speak a different language and if you were to take the time you could learn the language.
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58487)
• Germany
23 May 20
He`s so cute. I can imagine how cute he is when he did the stretching
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@rebelann (110771)
• El Paso, Texas
24 May 20
Kitty see kitty do. He sure is a handsome boy.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
24 May 20
@rebelann Good to hear from you. Sonny was basically short furred for the first couple years.
• Bucharest, Romania
26 May 20
Nowadays it is pets having / owning humans not humans owning / having pets. I mean, I noticed that you called yourself “his human”
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57307)
• Centralia, Washington
26 May 20
@Cristi_Ichim Exactly. I am Sonny James's human. He's not a statue that I have owned for over 14 years. Sonny is his own person, just not like us humans.
@wolfgirl569 (93495)
• Marion, Ohio
23 May 20
Very pretty boy
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 May 20
What a cute cat. I would have laughed too.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (153134)
• United States
23 May 20
Some pets can mimic their owners. All animals are so cool.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
23 May 20
That is funny, our cats watch us more than we know. Such a pretty cat. Mine talks to me all the time.
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