Wednesday 8 June 2011

Tell Tales

I had  promised to continue with the escapades of the our group, however I found that instead of musing I was becoming more anecdotal. So I will do a complete flip and take some inspiration from the felines who are sprawled lazily around me and giving me the once over with a half open eye, this being a favorite way of being there and not being there all at once. Let me explain.Cats have this habit of sleeping a lot. When they are fast asleep and dreaming it is another matter altogether, the paws move , the moustache twitches and the tail flicks at the tip depending on how juicy the mouse is or which stage of bird chasing they are in .

Having  mothered these creatures for over fifteen years now, I could call myself some sort of expert in deciphering their communication codes, but whenever I think I have cracked the code, another decoding has to be dealt with.

That said, the kitties in my like have been a wonder to watch and  very relaxing to be around with. Cats,as any lover of feline knows are very independent minded, unlike their canine compatriots.They absolutely WILL NOT beg to be loved or show the least bit of interest in your comings and goings, they continue to sleep or at best acknowledge you with one eye. However when one is a feeling somewhat low spirited they do rally around show uninhibited empathy.

To understand a cats language code one has to look at the rear appendage, YES the tail. They have so much to say, are not vociferous as dogs, preferring the quiet genteel method.

I had a favorite one "Tidda" by name, his love used to drip from his beautiful eyes,an expression which I have not seen since.

Getting down to the tail or getting behind it, the understanding of the instrument gives a fair insight to the mood of ones feline companion. Most house cats are well cared for, I mean why would anybody keep a cat? A dog is better for ones ego.So if you have one or more then it is because you have chosen to have it or then it may be the other way round,you may have been chosen.Probably the latter is more true.

So we find our feline curled up with his/her tail wrapped around itself completely relaxed and content, I- am-happy-well- fed- thank you very much, positioning.
Then there are the moments of irritation ,the upper tip of the tail has quick movement, its you're getting on my nerves time.
Have you seen a cat trying to catch a bird or a rat/mouse rabbit? Complete and undivided attention and utter concentration, the crouching cat's tail moves back and forth almost 180 degrees, what most people would want in their children, the concentration, not the tail.
This concentrated effort could well lead to an attack which is denoted by a quickly flicking tail from the center up, it is getting ready to jump-charge the object of its dislike. 
Lets get to the positive movements and there are many of those, the side to side slow happy movement, then we have the straight up,slightly bent at the tip telling you in fact that you are the favorite person to figure in his life. A kitten approaches the mother cat in much the same manner with it's tail held high.

Tidda had a way of coming to me with an upright tail quivering at the base,it ended with a considerable shaking of the entire appendage. I understood much later that it meant excitement, and when I would scratch him on one side ( near the tail on the upper thigh ) his tail would bend to one side,perfect arousal that. A male cat approaching an intersting female will have his tail angled to either side.
If you are giving it a toy or playing with a ball then there is the slow and gentle movement , I-am- feeling-happy-and- playful.
My little Dhanno Rani does this all the time, approaches shows her bottom with her tail raised and moves on quickly.She has just told me that she has acknowledged my presence but there are other interesting things to do.Okay got it Dhanno, as long as you're happy, thanks for looking at me,though.
I have been accosted a few time with the tail in my nose , phew that was quite a surprise, later it dawned on me that Patchu was just greeting me and saying in a catappropriate way that I was his, smell -me- we-are-buddies.

Meeeoooow!













                


6 comments:

austere said...

You could do a doctorate on cat psych.
Whoa!

Unknown said...

haha!

kalpana said...

so you did elaborate on the 'cat tails'agree with austere here, you could do a doctorate on cat psych!

Gautam said...

nicely written. Much better than your weather updates!

Gautam said...

But I don't think that any cat could match up to the late lamented "kali". What a personality she had!

Anonymous said...

Daisy would love this posting! I enjoyed hearing, and seeing your kitties, myself. And you are so right in that many times, they adopt YOU, rather than the other way around. That's what happened with my all time favorite cat, a black cat named Kettle.

BTW, I LOVE your monsoon descriptions! The more the better!