"Pet Tails": my cats all have their places

I have had my pets, in particular my cats, for several years now. With the cats, I have had 2 since fall '01, 1 since spring '02, 1 since summer '04, and 1 since spring of '05. What I have caught on to from them, slowly by slowly, is that they have all taken up various tasks around the house. Whereever I have lived, from the little 'cabin' in PI, to the current place downtown in the same area, they have interacted with each other to such a point that they have formed their own unique....heirarchy within themselves. They each know what the other cats are like and they base their actions and habits upon that information.

Tabby, for one, is usually ending up being the leader of sorts. At night I can always expect her to be on my pillow at night. If she is elsewhere on the bed, or elsewhere in the apartment, as soon as sh eknows that I am laying down in bed really to go to sleep I can expect her to come onto the bed and take a place right directly on my pillow. That is unless she is not already there, taking the room that should have my head on it....by the time I go to bed.

Porkey is one to always want to be around where I am, though not involved directly. For instance, as I type this blog I am sitting on the couch in my living room. Him? On a cat furniture piece just behind the couch. Enough so that he's high up enough to be able to see around the apartment, but also to keep tabs on what I am doing. If I were to go into the bedroom, for example, I am sure he'd follow. If I went into the bathroom to use the facility, I am sure he's be quick to follow. When I go to bed at night, just like Tabby, he will come say goodnight. Except his idea of such is to lay right down next to me which ever way I am facing. Lay right in line with my neck....relax down...stare intently at me....and reach out his paws and try to lightly tap me. Unfortunte part of that is that he'll stick out his claws and it ends up hurting. So most of the time I am forced to either move away or push him away.

Sylvester, is more one to be seeing what I am doing and get involved. If I am going to cook lunch and need to open a package of sliced meat (like ham), he will know what is going on and will be RIGHT THERE expecting a handout. ... Sad thing is that he knows I will end up giving him a piece of whatever it is.

Whiskers....where do I begin with that guy? He is always following me around all over the place. I go into the living room, he's THERE. I go into the bedroom, he's RIGHT THERE. I go into the bathroom to use the toilet ... he's right there to sit and watch ME. I get into the shower to take a shower or a bath....and he's right behind to follow and watch. When I get out of the shower I can most of the time safely bet that he'll still be in the bathroom sitting on the floor or toilet steat. Even if he's asleep in one of the rooms...such as asleep on the couch in the living room...if I go into the bathroom to go pee or something..... wham, bam, there's Whiskers keepign watch beside the toilet. Why does he do this? The only thing I can think of is that he watches me in hopes that he won't loose sight of me. That if he can always know where I am that I won't be leaving him. That's beacuse when I first moved to my current residence he was very afriad at first, probably wondering if I was leaving him here and going elsewere. It took several weeks for him to get adjusted there and to know that he's still my cat and he's still living with me. So know he wants to always know what I am doing. Which is cute. Just.....I dont really need an audience if I am sitting on the toilet, ya know.

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Athena is obviously the fifth of my five cats. However, she usually just kinda of spur of the moment decides where she is going to be. She's the more independent of the cats, and thus is more often off to herself. Most of the day she may be laying up on top of the bed by my pillows or even under the bed trying to hide. When I go to bed at night she'll almost always jump up and snuggle up somewhere closer to my head on the pillows. Othertimes when I am in the living room sitting on the couch she will get up and lay down with me. Right now she's up in the 'cat perch' in the bedroom.