Lakin Loves Boxes, Any Size, Anytime

by Kevin Burton

   We’ve got a cat fact today that is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, at least for our youngest cat.

   I’ve been piecing through a Good Housekeeping article, “20 Surprising Cat Facts You’ve Never Heard,” presenting the facts and responding to them.

  “How well do you know your cat?” is the question behind the article.  We’ll pick up today with their fact number 11 as it relates to our cat Lakin.

11-Boxes lower feline stress.

   “As the meme goes, ‘If it fits, I sits!’” wrote GH reporter Alesandra Dubin. “Confined spaces provide security for cats, helping them feel safe

and calm. Studies show that cats given access to boxes adjust faster to new environments, such as shelters or new homes. A simple cardboard box can be a powerful stress reliever.”

   It’s hard to imagine too much stress for a cat in the Burton household. But Lakin is big, big, big on boxes.

  “What can brown do for you?” asks a delivery company tagline. “Bring me a big beautiful box or two,” Lakin says.

   She loves, equally it seems, to get in open boxes and to sit/lie on closed boxes. She likes them so well that I have a medium sized box placed in the mancave, next to the beat-up recliner where I do my morning devotions.

   As our other cat Ronnie is demanding for food, so Lakin is demanding for attention. But since that box is near me, she is happy with proximity rather than attention, at least for the moment.

   When we get a delivery, I often leave the box and perhaps some packing material, in the living room, to see if Lakin will take any joy from it. Rare is the time when she pays it no mind.

   I know that cats like to be in high places, above any potential threats. But her affinity for boxes goes beyond that.

   We have to be careful not to leave boxes on the dining room table, which would give Lakin a dilemma:

   “Well….I know I’m not supposed to be up there….and I don’t want to get sprayed again…But there is a box there. A box!…And it’s a me-sized box….and it’s right there!”

   File that one under, “lead me not into temptation.”

   Our other cat Ronnie has a favorite cloth bed that she sleeps in every night. She has no use for boxes though.

12

Purring doesn’t always mean happiness.

   “Most of us associate a purring cat with a pure expression of joy… and that can be the case. But cats also purr when stressed or in pain,” Dubin writes.

    “It’s a self-soothing mechanism, much like humming to calm ourselves,” explains Dr. Ambika Vaid, an integrative veterinarian and advisor to the pet nutrition brand Badlands Ranch.

   I have never observed any stress purring from my cats. Then again, neither do I hum to calm myself. Ronnie purrs all the time. She even purrs at the vet’s office.  You could argue that this is stress purring, but she has also been known to lick the vet.

15

Tail wagging signals irritation, not joy.

   A cat’s tail can reveal its mood, and a flicking one usually signals irritation or overstimulation. “It’s the opposite of a happy dog tail,” explains Dr. Vaid. If you see that sharp, twitchy movement, it could be your cue to give your feline some space.

   I think my late cat Mex did express irritation by tail wagging.  But she was the irritable sort.

   Ronnie whips her tail. This is tail wagging at the next level, especially since her tail is longer (I think) than my other cats’ tails.   My wife Jeannette calls Ronnie’s tail a deadly weapon, and she’s not wrong. 

17

Cats need to “hunt,” even indoors.

   “Cats need outlets for natural instincts,” said Dr. Colleen Guilfoyle, a veterinarian with Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization. “Toys that mimic hunting (think puzzle feeders or toy mice) help satisfy their urge to stalk and chase.”  These activities keep cats mentally sharp, physically active, and safely entertained indoors.

   When Lakin flops down on the floor, this is what she is asking for. She wants me to play with her, with one of the small toys we have on strings.  This is how she got her nickname, “the acrobat.” She leaps like a basketball player, swiping with either front paw, tracking the object with her mouth open.

   When she goes into “zoomies” sprinting crazily around the house, it’s probably because I haven’t played with her enough.