Meet Cranberry - My New Room Mate

Whether or not you or I could smell it, the odors lay low to the ground (think of how a bloodhound operates.) Cranberry can smell it.

It really is better for the cat to put that food & water on the uncarpeted floor of your kitchenette sitting on a place mat, if that's easier than finding another place for that bulky litter box. I used to keep my cat's food on top of the washing machine (where it was impossible for odors to lay), until she got too old to comfortably jump up there.

 

Geez....

No one is trying to tell you what to do. Everyone who's giving you input is doing so as prior (and current) cat owners, for the benefit of Cranberry. As Beth said, there are other reasons. Cats are clean critters. Cranberry would really prefer to eat elsewhere. And just 'cause we can't smell it...

Your cat. Your choice.

If you do move it for the benefit of Cranberry, you don't have to tell us.

 

Of course!

And some of these things might be asked of that shelter. They can't tell you everything in one sitting.

Cranberry's lucky to have a forever home with you.

 

I don't know if I would call cats independent as an objective quantification of their character. They like to be near people, they'll sleep with you, they'll sit on your lap. And they'll also go off and do things on their own. I'd say they're pretty well-rounded.

Relative to dogs, cats are independent. But dogs are clingy and needy, so it's hardly a fair comparison. If you get up to go to the bathroom, the dog will get up to see if it needs to follow you, while the cat waits for more data.

 

When I had my cat & dog, I also had aquariums. There were cutouts in the cover for accessories (heater, filter hoses, etc), and I guess the critters in the tank could see those gaps, because every once in a while a fish would end up on the floor of its own volition. I had an aquarium frog in addition to fish.

So I get home from work one day, go over to the tank, and I notice that the frog is missing. I look on the floor and I see dismembered frog parts. Then I look over at my cat, who's sitting very still with this far away look in her eyes and a little foam on her mouth, apparently having a very bad trip.

Don't buy your cat a frog, Lon.

 

For the sake of brevity, I'll restrict my comments (in this post) to a cat's willingness to come when called. My experience has been that when a cat is young, it will willingly come when called, once it's become acquainted with you, in the case of a new cat. Then, at some point, while the cat appears, in all other respects, to still like you well enough, it's as if they become aware of a cat rule that says that they shouldn't do that unless there are rewards, such as treats, food, or going outdoors.

Bubba would happily come whenever I called him for several months after he came to live with us. Clearly, he was pleased to have the attention, and would eagerly come running. Then at some point, beginning a few months ago, it seems that Ella told him that he was embarrassing the whole species by coming when called.

Now, when I call him, he will sometimes come. Most often, however, I can see from his face that he wants to come. Eventually, he will, but seldom directly. Now, he will sit there, wherever he was when I called him as if he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. Then, he will go somewhere else that isn't to me. He will probably make a few more moves that are not in my direction, and finally, come up to me as if he just happened to be walking by anyhow. It's as if he's afraid that his cat card will be revoked if he does what he wants to do, which is to come.

Ella pretends to ignore me, but her tail gives her away. Whenever I say her name, her tail with twitch. She won't look up if she's lying down and may pretend to be sleeping, but her tail will twitch whenever she hears her name. She doesn't do that when I call Bubba's name, so she is well aware of her name. Sometimes she will get up but, instead of coming to me, she will go to where the treats are kept, to suggest that I must have been calling her for a treat because surely I didn't expect her to come to me just because I called her.

Oh, she comes to me often enough, but when it's her idea.

 

@Ken Anderson When my cat was young, she would fetch rolled up socks. I'd throw them down the hall, Snowy would run and get them and bring them back.

She grew out of it.