Breaks in the routine
Cats are so smart they seem to immediately notice anything out of the routine (that is, of course when they’re awake). Washing windows? They want to check out the view. If you’re not careful, kitty could jump out the window, and you’ve either got a very lucky cat or a new big vet bill. Nine lives just became eight.
Let’s say you’re painting or staining or varnishing something around the house or yard. Then you remember the cat and try to police the area or a least put up barricades so it doesn’t accidentally wind up tracking white paw-prints all over your house, or licking toxic oil paint off their paws. They seem to know, somehow, the thin line between curiosity and danger—hence the myth of nine lives.
They’ll come right up to the freshly painted or stained area, sniff at it, and even look like they are about to track through it—just to torment you. Then they’ll sneak a sidelong glance to make sure you’re paying attention before they saunter off for their afternoon nap.
Fresh laundry
Does your cat seem to have a knack for finding the warm, clean clothes piled in your laundry basket—and curling up like it’s his or her own private laundry service? For one hilarious cat’s point of view, check out this fresh laundry video. Again, it’s uncanny—they seem to know you were planning to put those sheets on the guest room bed for your allergic visitor; same with the towels. When you least want cat hair, your cat suddenly seems to be shedding extra and in the very areas you just vacuumed.
Wet feet
It never fails—you mop the floor or shampoo the rug—and the cat wants to know all about it. Suddenly, they’re hungry and go traipsing across the freshly mopped kitchen floor—often giving a distasteful flick of their paws—what is that on the floor? Same story on a freshly-shampooed rug. Notorious clean freaks, cats hate weird wet textures on their paws. It also happens when they venture out onto the porch or balcony after it’s rained. You kind of have to nudge their butts out the door because they’re so reluctant to get their feet wet.
High jumps
What is it with heights? Every cat worth its salt likes to hop up onto surfaces—whether it’s means lying in the middle of the dining room table directly under the ceiling fan—to enjoy a cool breeze on a warm summer night, or this whole tree-climbing business. Is there anything scarier than seeing a cat in a place where it can’t really get down without hurting itself? Luckily, like humans, as they get older, they tend to play it a little safer. Obliviousness to danger (or is it bravado–look what I can do, ma!) seems to be the central thesis to the great cat mythology of nine lives.