Funny Pet Quirks
This is inspired by another thread. Most of us have pets and I'm sure they all do something funny. They all have such personality! I shared a story earlier about my cat Wilma. Whenever I leave dirty shirts out (even just when I'm at work for the day) I come home and my cat has dragged it into the living room or it's twisted all up (I don't know how she does that ;D ). I think it's somehow comforting to her. Once when she thought I was gone I caught her running around, dragging my shirt and meowing real loud. When she saw me, she dropped it and looked at me like "what? I wasn't doing anything weird."
I also like how when she tries to "hide" and I can still see her! ;D
Share your pet's funny quirks and maybe a picture too if you can! (I hope my pictures post)
One of my doggies I had growing up was such a weird kid....Jake truly epitomized the name of his breed(s): "Dorky", as in, a Dachsund + Yorky mix. ;D
Anyway, he used to have what my sister and I called "couch spazzes," where he would, well, SPAZ OUT on the couch! It happened almost every time he came back inside after going potty...he'd run inside to the living room, jump up on one of the couches, and flip over on his back, rolling around and kicking wildly, making weird little snorty noises! He was a tiny little thing, but he still managed to kick off at least half of the cushions and pillows every time.
At first, we worried he might be itchy from fleas or something, but we always gave him monthly anti-flea treatments, and the Vet never found anything wrong with him. I guess it was just his "thing"--y'know, spending about a minute's worth of flailing about on the couch just for the hell of it, then hopping right off and resuming normal activities. ???
OH! and another weird thing he did...
Most dogs, when getting scolded or yelled at, will lower their head and wear their tail between their hind legs, y'know....but my dog, upon hearing the angry shout of "Jake! Bad dog!" he would *always*, standing or sitting, turn his head around and sniff or lick at his genitals for a second or two, then look back up like, "wha? what'd I miss?"
When my cat is about to pounce on someone or something, he shakes his butt.
OH! and another weird thing he did...
Most dogs, when getting scolded or yelled at, will lower their head and wear their tail between their hind legs, y'know....but my dog, upon hearing the angry shout of "Jake! Bad dog!" he would *always*, standing or sitting, turn his head around and sniff or lick at his genitals for a second or two, then look back up like, "wha? what'd I miss?"
That has got to be the best reaction to getting in trouble ever.
"Oh, sorry. What was that? See, I just had to check out my crotch. You know how it is... ::)"
Oh, also, my cat HATES it when you watch him lick himself. If he catches you staring, he stops what he's doing and looks at you all like, "WHAT? What are you looking at? Can I get some privacy over here?!"
When my cat is about to pounce on someone or something, he shakes his butt.
My cat does the same thing, isn't it the cutest?
My cat Toby whines at me every time I cook, like I'm supposed to be cooking for him. I let him smell the food, at which point he gives up. Clearly, I don't know how to cook for cats.
It took me a long while to notice this, but whenever I eat (if he's awake), he'll come and eat too (the cat dishes are under the table). No wonder why he's fat.
My other kitty Lucy springs three feet into the air when she's surprised. I don't know how this works physically; it's like she's suddenly flying and then remembers that gravity exists.
She used to like sitting in plastic bags, but now she "snuggles" with them, eventually ripping them to shreds (it starts as making muffins, and it turns into a plastic-battle-brawl).
My turtle Maxine rarely likes staying out of water long, but when she does, she's impossible to find (I have her walk around the apartment). When I eventually find her, she's usually stuffed under a mattress or the laundry. She also likes to "bask" on pillows. She'll climb up to the highest point, stick her head out and spread her limbs out, sitting there for hours like there's sunlight. :o I wonder if domestication has messed with turtle's heads sometimes.
Oh! all this talk of eating reminded me of one of my other doggies, Sprocket. We had him longer than any other dog (from when I was in preschool until 10th grade), and he was a beautiful Basinji / terrier mix...slightly wrinkled yet long face, and a curly tail similar to a pug! so cute. anyway....
Sprocket was always really weird about eating, especially when we first got him. He was a neglected/abused dog that someone had abandoned at our town's vet clinic, and we adopted him from there when he was just about a year old. He was so bony and scrawny looking, and he often flinched if any of us tried to touch him....it was apparent that he was quite used to being hurt. :'( So when we offered him food, he was really hesitant to eat (despite his obvious NEED for food!), and would only do it in private for the first couple of months.
We provided a loving environment, and he eventually fattened up, became comfortable with people and with being pet (never did like being picked up and held, though), and could eat in front of us, and even got so comfortable as to beg for scraps (which he often got). He even put up with my sister and I constantly dressing him up in stupid hats and sunglasses and stuff... ::)
anyway, his really special quirk:
just about every time he went to his food dish to eat, he'd stop in front of it, lie down, fold his front paws over one another, and rest his head down with his eyes closed....he'd stay like this for sometimes 30 seconds or even a minute, then get up, and proceed to chow down. :o
My sister and I were convinced that he had learned to pray before every meal....that's really what it looked like!
One of our cats eats wool. And occasionally acrylic garments that look/smell like wool. We're not sure if it's the texture, the smell, etc. that he goes for. It's mostly when he's stressed or pissed off at us. There are holes in many of our jumpers... and the old chequered blanket that my parents had on their bed looked like red & black swiss cheese before they threw it out. Or like there'd been an invasion of giant starving moths. :o
The look on his face when he's in a nibbling mood is so loony... his eyes glaze over and he starts drooling, then munching... and if someone catches him, he tries to look all innocent, despite his big black crazy eyes. I swear it's like a drug to him. ;D
i love this thread and reading about everyone's animals! i know my brood is pretty entertaining, and there must be plenty of people as amused by funny pets as me. thanks for starting this topic, biodancer!!
i like the turtle basking on the pillows. now that's just cute!
actually, all the pet stories morph into cuteness in my head...anyway, here are a couple of mine:
one of my dogs bites his nails. he just lays there and nibbles of the edge of his dew claws - i find it to be endearing. he also loves to chew and lick carpet - yeah, i know - and gets in what we refer to as 'the chew zone' - his eyes roll back in his head and he just licks and licks, or chews and chews, in a perfectly timed repetitive pattern.
my other dog does this funny little spin when she's walking on a leash - out of nowhere she'll just dip into a little twirl and then keep on truckin. i have no idea why she does it, but it's pretty funny. she only does it when walking on a leash, so i often wonder what the neighbors think as she just busts into her pirouette.
cats, of course, are an amusement in themselves - what with opening closet doors day after day, laying on bags and papers...oh - one of my cats eats books and papers. literally! if i leave schoolwork out, i'll inevitably find teeth punctures on all edges of the pages or book covers...gee, thanks!
These stories are all so funny ;D I have another one about Wilma.
She insists, every morning, on drinking from the bathroom sink. I get up, feed her (because she can't wait) and give her a fresh bowl of water. It doesn't matter, she'll come into the bathroom with me and jump on the sink and start whining. If I'm using the sink she will sit on the floor next to it and STARE up at me like "are you done yet" Then she'll jump on the sink and I have to put a little bowl in it and fill it with tap water. If she doesn't SEE me fill it, she will not drink it. Like she doesn't believe it's fresh enough. Need I say she's a little demanding ;D
edit: and of course, I give in to her every demand!
Fun thread! Cute Stories!! As much as I love Dini-Dog, I can't think of anything that quirky that he does....maybe I'm just used to his quirks? Anyhow, Molly has a few!
When she first goes outside (esp. in the morning) she stands at the top of our patio stairs, stretches, howls, then runs/jumps down the steps. Once she tried to jump down all of them (maybe 4 or 5) and missed and ended up doing a somersault!
She also really like scratching at the floor. She sleeps on a big pillow on the floor next to our bed & scratches at it for a good 5 minutes before laying down. Sometimes when she is playing she just does this randomly at the carpet & then runs around the house.
She also really likes watching TV. She really sits & watches it. A couple nights ago we watched soemthing that had wolves in it & she barked & walked up to the tv & started licking it.
My rescue kitty Jordan would always sleep on my pillow, but his quirk was that if I was writing anything he had to bat at the pen. Like my writing was a game to him. Oh it was funny but frustrating too.
Gryphin loves to drink from the faucet in the bathroom too. Only if its dripping though. A stream and he turns up his nose. But his other quirk (aside from chasing his tail and playing fetch, strange cat) is to stalk me while I shower. He sits under the outer curtain of the tub, either on the floor or the edge of the tub and watches me through the plastic liner. Sometimes he even bats at the water dripping. Once he even fell into the shower. haha
Oh and when he was a kitten he used to sit between my arms while I typed on the computer. He was so tiny that it wasn't a bother. Now he weighs about 15 pounds and is pretty big. Needless to say when he jumps on the desk now, hes bigger than the space between me and the keyboard. haha
Awww...I love critter stories! I've always had at least one quirky kitty.
My childhood cat, Lacie, used to steal things from the neighbors in her younger days. She would wander over to our next door neighbor's and snatch whatever toys the kids left in the yard and drag them home (Barbies, stuffed animals, even a Cabbage Patch doll once!). Then, she moved on to garden gloves and expanded her "range". My parents used to keep them in a box and about once a month knock on our neighbors' doors and have them claim their gloves ::)
Joe likes to hop on my bathroom counter and knock things down just to watch them fall. Tweezers...whack! Toothbrush...whack! So much fun...He also "warbles" when he talks rather than meowing.
Lucy plays fetch (she retrieves yarn balls) and "nurses" on her red blankie. We got her from the shelter when she was very young (was likely separated from her mother way too young :( ) and she used to suck and knead this red blanket. Now, she just nuzzles her nose in it, kneads, and purrs every night when we go to bed. It's her routine.
I love these stories!! Keep 'em coming!!
MacLean (my younger cat) is pretty adorable (but whose cat isn't?? ;D ). In the mornings when I am eating my oatmeal (breakfast of champions), I am usually leaning over with the bowl balanced on my knees while I do my morning Vegweb catch-up. MacLean will come leaping up onto the arm of the sofa, greeting me with a head-butt and meow, then climb under my arm and into my lap to watch the steam rise from my oatmeal. He never tries to sample the oatmeal, he just likes the steam. Does the same thing when my tea is steeping.
But the CUTEST is when it's cold in my apartment and he wants some "warm cuddles". If I'm wearing this particular fleece, he will get in my lap, nose his way into the fleece, position himself in the space between my arm and side, and then wait patiently for me to zip up the fleece so only his head is peeking out. He will usually stay like this for hours, even if I have to get up and go in a different room. He's my baby pouch boy! :D ;D :D
But the CUTEST is when it's cold in my apartment and he wants some "warm cuddles". If I'm wearing this particular fleece, he will get in my lap, nose his way into the fleece, position himself in the space between my arm and side, and then wait patiently for me to zip up the fleece so only his head is peeking out. He will usually stay like this for hours, even if I have to get up and go in a different room. He's my baby pouch boy! :D ;D :D
That IS the cutest! Awww...I want a jacket snuggler!
But the CUTEST is when it's cold in my apartment and he wants some "warm cuddles". If I'm wearing this particular fleece, he will get in my lap, nose his way into the fleece, position himself in the space between my arm and side, and then wait patiently for me to zip up the fleece so only his head is peeking out. He will usually stay like this for hours, even if I have to get up and go in a different room. He's my baby pouch boy! :D ;D :D
I'd love to see a picture of that!
When my daughter takes Blue to the dog park, he only plays with the human animals. If she tries to get him to play with other dogs, he looks at her as if to say "you want me to play them????" ???
Anyway, he used to have what my sister and I called "couch spazzes," where he would, well, SPAZ OUT on the couch! It happened almost every time he came back inside after going potty...he'd run inside to the living room, jump up on one of the couches, and flip over on his back, rolling around and kicking wildly, making weird little snorty noises! He was a tiny little thing, but he still managed to kick off at least half of the cushions and pillows every time.
OH! and another weird thing he did...
Most dogs, when getting scolded or yelled at, will lower their head and wear their tail between their hind legs, y'know....but my dog, upon hearing the angry shout of "Jake! Bad dog!" he would *always*, standing or sitting, turn his head around and sniff or lick at his genitals for a second or two, then look back up like, "wha? what'd I miss?"
Check on both of these for Little Dog. He also does a "face spazz" thing, where he rubs his face on the entryway rug. I think it's because we feed them homemade wet dog food, which I guess gets a little stuck in his "beard," but sometimes he does it when it's not mealtime. He is a very very weird little animal.
Little Dog also adores licking stinky feet. If you've just come home from a long day at work, you can sit down on the couch, and he just stares at you until you take the socks off. If you prop your feet up on the couch, he will literally paw at your socks until you take 'em off. Then he goes to town. He's ridiculous.
one of my dogs bites his nails. he just lays there and nibbles of the edge of his dew claws - i find it to be endearing.
And Big Dog does this too.
He also thinks he's a little dog or a lap dog. I think it's because he's so used to seeing our Little Dog in people's laps and whatnot, so Big Dog tries to put his big clumsy body in spaces that are way too small, and then freaks out because he's squished in between the wall and the couch or something. He's ridiculous.
Little Dog loves all people and animals and things, except for 1) crickets and 2) trains. We live a few blocks away from a train that passes through the city, and when the trains pass through, he just stands out on our back deck and yips his little head off. And crickets, he tries to kind of squash them with his little paw, and then he barks at them until they hop away. He's so funny.
My dogs are so quirky it's ridiculous, I could go on for hours.
anyway, his really special quirk:
just about every time he went to his food dish to eat, he'd stop in front of it, lie down, fold his front paws over one another, and rest his head down with his eyes closed....he'd stay like this for sometimes 30 seconds or even a minute, then get up, and proceed to chow down. :o
My sister and I were convinced that he had learned to pray before every meal....that's really what it looked like!
Wow, your dog says grace. I'd feel bad if my kitties were more "devout" than me.
Lucy likes tomato soup and popsicles.
She also used to (no more :-\ ) knead in my hair when I was trying to sleep, and occasionally she'd catch my neck :o She stuck her nose in everything she kneaded, like she was nursing. She was removed from her momma at 12 weeks though... not too early for most kitties, but she's super needy. Like a dog-cat-child.
She gave up the old infantile habit as soon as we got a kitten. Weird?
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