eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog: Downy Looking Back, and Cat behavior...

Hi all,

Once again, I was roaming around our collection of bird photos, and found the shot above. I don't know why, but there is something just so compelling in that image (at least for me). Perhaps there's a certain sadness or hopelessness there?

Onward

Earlier, one of our readers asked about bird behavior... I generalized that subject into the realm of animal behavior, and more specifically, our ragdoll cat's activities, and have been keeping mental notes... Here's what I've got so far... Toby's life seems to boil down to just eight activities: Sleeping, eating, cat box stuff, watching out the slider, fear (a knock on the door horrifies the creature), waiting to play, and play. Of those eight, the first six speak for themselves. But it's the last two that offer true insight into his character. While he is capable of what some might call affection (he likes to sleep on my feet), the big deal for Toby is that of "games". Here's a list of games the beast likes to play:

"Pouncing Pirate": In this one, he waits in hiding and then leaps out to great "surprise". This bit o' fun is premium for "His Furiness".
"Kibble Under the Door": Toby will simply sit and stare at the bottom of a door waiting for his little food bits to magically slide out into his presence. That's a rip-roaring time in a librarian sort of way.
And then there's "Eat the Kibble off the Top of the Half Filing Cabinet": (Obviously, that's a high maintenance game.)
The "Inspect the Refrigerator Game" is a must in the morning... Oh goody!
Who can forget the "Booga Booga" game? Really, this is just an extension of the "Pouncing Pirate" game... But in "Booga Booga", the idea is to chase him around shaking your hands over your head while rumbling, "Booga Booga!" That's highly entertaining until he runs into something like he always does. (It just ain't pretty.)
Not to be left out is the "Garage Game": In this one, the cat gets a chance to scoot into the garage and roll on the cold concrete.