I hear humans say over and over again, “I feel like I am just a servant to my cat!” I am not sure why this comes as any sort of revelation to them. So for Cat Appreciation Month, why fight the truth? Instead, do your darndest to be the best Cat Servant you can be! Here are some awesome suggestions that will make your cat feel well appreciated:
- Serve your cat breakfast in bed. A lot of cats get up before their humans and nag them for breakfast. Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise if you got up even before your cats and brought them their breakfasts to where ever it was they chose to sleep? Even better, make it their favorite food, and garnish it with a nice sprig of fresh catnip! Of course all of this will be difficult to see, since it will most likely still be dark out, but don’t worry — cats have an excellent sense of smell.
- Set out Bird TV treats. Humans like to munch while they are watching television; what makes you think your cat would not like to do the same? So when they are checking out the happenings outside, set out a bowl of treats for them to enjoy.
- Help your cat explore. You know we kitties like to get up high and look down on our kingdom, but there are still some places we can’t quite get to. That is where you come in. Hold your cat up and show him things he wouldn’t normally get to examine: ceiling fixtures, wall sconces, the tops of doorways, light switches, molding, etc. If you and your cat have not explored every room in the house this way, then you must do it! It’s great for humans too because it builds up upper body strength.
- Do not scoop immediately! I know this is counterintuitive for you humans who want everything to smell a certain way, i.e., completely fake and unnatural. But when we use the litter box it serves two purposes: we relieve ourselves and we let everyone in our general vicinity know that this is our home! When you instantly clean our litter boxes, you neutralize the latter purpose and it kind of bums us out. So next time you hear your cat digging around, don’t stand at attention, litter scoop in hand. Let it sit for a while so that the smell permeates the whole house. Then you can clean it up. Now that is what I call service!
- Make a waterbed for your cat… out of your body! The human body is approximately two-thirds water, so wouldn’t it be awesome to put all that liquid to use as a comfy sleeping surface for your cat? It’s easy — just lie on a flat surface and cover your torso with a large heating pad at a comfortably warm temperature. You will probably not even have to coax your cat to nap right on top of you — he will probably jump up on his own. Now you merely have to stay there until your cat is done napping. Simple, simple, simple!
Any of you kitties have additional ideas?
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Well we are not going to apologise to our mum, but it seems she is better than we thought as we can say yes to most of those things.
Eric: I haven’t had breakfast in bed, but in the summer when I have been outdoors sunbathing and too tired to go indoors, she has been known on several occasions to put the supper dish beside my head for me and I eat it without getting up.
Very clever advices for cat servants ! Fortunately my cats have a cat flap and go in and out as they want, and I don’t have fixed eating times either, dry food is always there and can food I give when they ask for. Nobody wakes us up in the morning. Aren’t we good cat servants ?
What GREAT ideas! We printed it out an are gonna stick it on the afridgerator. Well, as soon as we can pull a magnet off and get the paper unner it.
We heard our mom go “ugh” at the very first suggestion! See what we live with? She says, “Once is a habit.” We say, “Get with it, slacker!”
Sparkle, you look very serious! we are going to have to post this list somewhere conspicuous (sp?) for our mom. She especially needs to pay attention to point 4- she’s usually right behind us with the scoop before we can evey burry! sheesh! then we have to turn around and go again!
Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie
Zebby Cat does get breakfast in bed coz I keep a bowl of his crunchy food there (don’t let on that I hide his medicine in it). Zeb considers berdies to be a nuisance – making all that noise that wakes him up. And I get told off if I don’t scoop the poops immediately!
Sparkle i like the way you think i showed this too mama laura and she said in your dreams LL in your dreams I think i need a new mama
Lilly Lu
These are just simple practices the humans can do for their kitties that mean soooo much!
Come on people! Snap to it!
My mom must be pretty darned good because she is already doing many of these things!
Everytime Mom Paula scoops our box, we get right back in it (even while she still has the scoop in the litter).
Truffle and Brulee
Sparkle, you are brilliant! We’re going to make sure our mommy sees this right away!
So, I believe I would have to GET Bird TV in order to get TREATS to watch with Bird TV. hmmmmm, Glogirly? Are you listening???
-Katie
mama is clapping. she scores 4 out of 5 here. guess which one mama doesn’t do? it’s #2 🙂
Sparkle this is catmama: I am so ashamed to admit I have allowed myself to be a servant in the name of love 🙂
That is a great list Sparkle, I am going to print it out and leave it some where obvious!
The publicist was out taking care of my goat pen today and Sherpa the Farm cat let out with a big MEEEEOOOW. She saw him jump on the wheelbarrow. She went over to him and he jumped on her shoulder. He wanted to go back inside! He did not like the snow on the ground and he wanted a taxi ride back to the house.
The publicist said she is a slave to the animals on the Farm.
Isn’t that they way it is supposed to be?
Duh! What part of the job description did she not read?
Breakfast in bed is a great idea! I sometimes bring treat to wherever my kids are relaxing.
I usually scoop up right after they use bathroom … I should be patient and wait!
Thank you for all the suggestions!!
That Male keeps say cat appreciation month is the month we should appreciate him. I hope to appreciate him like I appreciate my litter box if he doesn’t do one of those things…
What a great post! We knew about the waterbed..ummm.. Mom, but the other things are a bit new to us! Sometimes Mom will serve Big Noah wherever he happens to be because of his arthritis is so bad, she likes him to rest.
Happy Friday!!
~ The Bunch
Great suggestions!!! Gonna show my human your list today.
Whoa! What a list! I almost got breakfast in bed yesterday a.m. I was so comfy on TW’s pillow that I failed to get up and “TW brought the bowl in to me. Then, just as quickly, she headed with the bowl back to the kitchen with me following the food. Oh, and she’s REAL good at leaving my offerings in the box until the GEL, whatever that means. Hmm, Pop might make a good waterbed. I just don’t do sitting/laying on humans.
These are all such wonderful ideas you have. I’m gonna have a good sit-down with my peeps this evening and explain how they can do better. Thanks so much.
I LOVE the waterbed idea! It’s a great opportunity to bond AND for your hooman (who we all know is subject to stress we cats just don’t want ANY part of) to get a nice little nappy in him/herself! Plus you’re both warming to each other … it is a win-win proposition!
PURRS!
Selina
We don’t get treats nearly often enough but we do get pretty good service around here. The one thing we’d like to be assured of is that we can somehow get our mom to share her toys because they all involve things we like–paper, boxes, fabrics, paintbrushes, little sticks that she draws with! Like when she gets out her drawing paper, we should be able to bathe and nap on it before she uses it, and mark our approval on the corner with signature tooth marks. Some of us are pretty good with pastels too, and we could add our pawprints as finishing touches. Before she packs something, she should always let us explore the box, rub our faces and bodies inside and out, and leave a few cat hairs for other kitties, since we know everything she ships goes to someone else with a kitty, what’s the problem? Sometimes she actually closes the door to that room that is really ours! The list could go on, but we think we could be better served if she learned to share her toys.
We’re so printing this out.
Lishy and I tag-team in our attempt to turn mum into a waterbed. She claims we nearly squash her flat.
We are also make Mommie give us brushing on demand, anytime we want them.
ha ha – M is laughing because she never thought of herself as a water bed. he he , but I guess it is right.
Excellent post…I’m sending HH over to read it.
Have a great day.
pawhugs, Max
Our Mum is a demon litter box scooper – sometimes she scoops while we’re still thinking about it!! However we do get the water bed although she is a little bony – we don’t get bird TV cos we go outside, or breakfast in bed, or the high up exploring because we’d leave floof up there. So we score our mum 1/5.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Sparkle, we’re gonna show this list to our mom right now! These are excellent!! ‘Specially the litter box one…we hate when our mom cleans it out right away!!!
OH Sparkle, that is very funny. That sounds like our house every day. We especially like the water bed idea and the treats for Bird TV. We are going right now to start some cat appreciation around here. Those are very good ideas. Have a great week end.
Sparkle,those are marvelous ideas!!!!!
Trying to train Mom ,however, is a daunting task!!
Humans are a bit slower than we kitties would like :/
However, we can still try! heehee
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Tiger, Treasure and JJ
We’re working on breakfast in bed. When the indoor cats cry & Mommy hears, she comes. When the outdoor cats see a light & the bowl is empty, at least 1 cat will stand post at the sliding door. We sometimes get the waterbed & get held up high. Mommy does a decent job. Even with the litterbox she lets the litter absorb a bit fur easier scooping. We’ll keep her!
Our human has failed at most of these, though Derry gets the water bed sometimes. Nicki’s not a lap cat. And we do get held up to explore. 🙂
Well. I have failed miserably in getting breakfast in bed, but I do get the human water bed service sometimes.