This reminds me of so many first-time parents with their (human) kids. They get concerned if their child doesn't start walking or talking as early as they think they should. Then, once they do, they WISH they would sit still and be quiet!
It was so cute when they were hugging and he came up like “what about me? I want in in this!” My kitty passed away a few months ago and whenever my hubby and I cuddled on the couch she would come right between us and look at me like, “I don’t think so Mom, he is MY Daddy!” Lol I miss my girl so much!
I'm so very sorry for your loss. And I get it, all of my cats were feral rescues that showed up at the house, but, who did most of them go to? Dad, of course. 🥰
I don't know if I commented this before or not, but you need to get one of those bird feeders that hook to your window so you can see inside the feeder when the birds come. That would be like the greatest gift you could give him!
I did teach my cat to chill! With the "ShhShh" noise! Also, he now understands "Two minutes and two seconds," both in the verbal form and the finger sign that Chuck Woolery, that most unctuous and smarmy of TV hosts used to use on one of his revolting game shows.
Oh and get him one of those window ledge hammocks for him, so we can sit on it and watch the birds when they come and not have to jump up to the window. 😊
"... he has never tried hunting, he is just a very gentle cat ..." lol, no, he isn't. If he weren't stuck indoors, he would kill them all. This fellow has a strong prey drive, his body language clearly says he wants some action. He is also very handsome, with his tuxedo and the golden eyes.
Steve goes outside with me on a harness all the time and has zero interest in killing anything. He has also never tried to hurt any animal that has wandered into the house (mice, birds etc) unlike our other cats. He has a strong curiosity and play drive but that’s it.
You've got an awesome little guy there...and you're giving him so much mental stimulation and you've created an Epic environment for him to be in, it takes a good human being to love their animal kids so hard, to go above and beyond just food and scratches. You're making sure he's a genuinely happy baby. You are a legend! Definitely take all the videos and pictures you possibly can, you won't regret it. Cherish them, keep them close and love them hard! Animals are way too good for us humans. Happy to see someone upgrading regular old cat tv, to the satelite, Netflix, etc, versions instead. Actually, it's more like giving him daily unlimited-unrestricted access to screen-within-a-screen-fully interactive+discord+VR games-"weekend warrior" binge style with all his mates! You even supply the snacks and drinks...I know there are many grown men who would be crazy jealous of his lifestyle for certain. Hah!! Well Done mom! Cheers!💗 😁🤙🏽😂
Cats are extremely brilliant. If anything, I hope that advanced A.I. allows humans and cats to TRULY communicate. That could lead on to dialogues with dolphins, horses, dogs, monkeys, etc. But, uhhh... yeah. It'll probably just be used to mass-plagiarize people's artwork. 🙄
We do these things to entertain ourselves, to "research" what other animals can pick up of our ways of communicating. Well, if you pay attention any reasonably intelligent human knows what other animals are communicating whether to us personally or in general. Imagine doing something stupid because there was nothing else to do
What this video left out is that I am an animal behavior scientist and my lab was shut down during COVID. That’s why I thought it would be fun to teach Steve buttons and see how it went. I don’t think it was a stupid exercise but you are free to not replicate it in your own time!
It's OK to let cats outside if you go outside with them and keep an eye on them or have them on a lead. I live in Florida and I used to live in Texas. There are predators for cats everywhere. Every day in my neighborhood people posting about their missing cats. We have coyotes alligators cars driving fast. There might be cat friendly neighborhood but most of us aren't that lucky.
Steve goes outside on his catio and on harnessed walks with me. Cats decimate wild bird populations and in our area are in danger from bobcats, coyotes, fisher cats, bears, hawks etc.
