This quote is attributed to Jacquelyn Mitchard.
Does your cat sit on your lap at every opportunity throughout the year or does she just curl up with you during cooler weather, at certain times throughout the day or not at all?
Some cats are not cuddlers. Some cats cuddle only with certain of their people. And then there are those who will sit next to you, at your feet, on your keyboard, but never, NEVER on your lap.
Our formerly feral tortie, Sophie, will curl up on my lap anytime I am sitting down. That is in any weather situation, anytime, with or without invitation. But I’m the only one whose lap she’ll use.
Max, our formerly feral pretty boy, sits on my lap in the living room only when it is very cold (and when Sophie isn’t already there). But he cuddles with me every single morning in my office while I am trying to start my work day. Again, I’m the only one who has the honor of supporting his 16 pounds on my lap.
I used to have a cat who never ever sat on my lap, but she loved to sit next to me—close—with one paw on my leg. She was always touching me. The calico in the photo this morning, as you can see, was a lap sitter. She didn’t care whose lap it was or even if it was a warm lap. Neither did she care who else was in the lap. When she wanted lap time, she would just scooch right in and join whatever cat was already there. This is a photo of Dinah enjoying the lap of a dummy we made for a local production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
What are your cats’ lap habits? Are they starting to stretch out on the cool floor in front of a fan, on these warmer days, or do they still hunt down laps?
Speaking of fans, our Himalayan, Katy, loved them. She’s the only cat I’ve ever known who liked to go face-to-face with a fan. Her favorite place on a hot day was in the windowsill in front of the swamp cooler. It was hilarious to watch her sit there as contented as could be with her long fur blowing ferociously in the strong wind of the cooler. Sure wish I’d taken a picture of that.
Send me your comments about your lap-sitting or fan-loving cat.
And be sure to order your copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.
