OK, I don’t like to make fun of Skip, but sometimes he is too funny!
I learned something about Skip back when he was young: he is scared of things that normally a cat likes to play with like spiders.
When Skip sees a spider, he runs away. Once he is at a safe distance, he will sit and stare at the spider. What’s really funny to watch is if the spider will start walking Skip’s way. His tail fluffs and he runs away again. Such a brave boy!! LOL
So, unlike most cat owners, if I come into the room and see him staring at the floor or wall, I know that this is not the normal cat behavior, but that he sees a spider. Mommy is the one who has to kill it.
When Mason (another kitty that used to be mine…a complete story on it’s own) moved in with Mom and Dad, I thought that maybe Skip needed something to entertain himself with, so I bought some mice.
I put them up on a shelf and thought from Skip’s perch that he could watch them. Well, that didn’t work out. Skip was afraid of them. He wouldn’t lay on his perch any more because it was too close to the mice. If I cleaned the mouse cage, he would leave the entire downstairs area.
Well, that didn’t work out and now I was taking care of mice. It wasn’t a big deal as I like mice, it was just more work. So, I found a new home for the mice.
Skip still seemed to be bored throughout the day. I determined this because he was craving attention when I got home. So, I thought Skip likes watching birds outside, I’ll go get some for the inside.
I got some tiny little birds that flew around all the time. They were up on a shelf that Skip couldn’t get on (he’s a klutz…another story). I thought he could lay on the couch and watch them during the day while I was at work.
Well, like the mice incident, Skip avoided the birds. He made a huge arc around the bird cage. Staying as far away from them as possible. I tried showing him the birds, but they scared him too much.
<sigh> So, I found another home for the birds as I can’t have the big chicken being scared in his own home. BTW, in both cases I had each for at least 6 months, so it’s not like I only spent a couple of days trying to make it work. I really tried to get Skip comfortable. Oh, he still loves to watch the birds outside as long as there is a window separating the two.
So, this morning I got up and went downstairs and of course Skip was right there with me. I swear he acts more like a dog than a cat. Anyway I turned on the light in the kitchen and in we went. I immediately saw the black spider on the white wall.
I started to get some paper towels to kill it (don’t tell me about how bad it is to kill a spider…I personally don’t care) and saw that Skip was approaching it. I stopped and watched because this was a first.
Well, Skip’s vision must be deteriorating. He went over and looked it. Then he put his paw up to knock it down (I guess he thought it was a fly). Now the fun begins. Skip realized it was a spider as soon as it started moving.
Next thing I knew he was backing up, really fast with tail fully extended. He had a scared look on his face and then he jumped up on the counter to get to a position where he thought the spider couldn’t get to him, but he could see it.
The spider is scrambling for cover and I’m laughing at Skip. Skip looks over at me with a look that said, “OMG Mom!! It was a spider!”
That’s my big, tough boy!
It just goes to show that just because something (a cat) is large and shouldn’t be afraid of things (spiders) that they have irrational fears and feelings just like the rest of us.
