BS: why does a cat love a paper sack

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 04 Jul 17 - 07:50 AM

Oh Raggytash, I'm so sorry about your 'Lulu'. How sad, but I'm sure you did the best for her, and she had a very happy life. Big hug to you both.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Raggytash
Date: 04 Jul 17 - 07:38 AM

We now have just 2 cats, the male is a BIG cat, almost a stone in weight (no fat) 3 years old and neutered and is afraid of his own shadow. He wails and cries for no apparent reason especially in the early hours of the morning after his nocturnal hunt.

However I suggested we leave a light on in the kitchen, the little bugger doesn't wail half as much with the light on.

I think he's afraid of the dark!!

(Lulu our 17 year old long haired grey and white bundle of love
........ and malice had to be put to sleep last week)

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Jul 17 - 11:54 AM

Our cats have always slept together in a huge but cosy cat bed on the counter top in the kitchen, away from draughts. When we had five of the little blighters, they'd curl around each other in a complicated knot, grey tails, brown tails and various coloured legs (all Siamese, but some seal point, chocolate point or blue point) I always put a smaller bed at the side for any dissenters, but no, they were more than happy to pile in together.
They be only too ecstatic to sneak in with us under our duvet, but they'd be a blooming nuisance. One or two would be thrilled to sit on our heads on the pillow and lovingly lick our noses with their sandpapery tongues.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Jul 17 - 11:13 AM

A cat with her own box (for sleeping) is a happy cat. Sweet.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: leeneia
Date: 02 Jul 17 - 11:03 PM

My husband (who had no pets till age 40) refused to allow our cat in the bedroom. She was confined by doors to the kitchen and the basement at night.

In time we realized how miserable she was, so we made her a little house from a cardboard box with door cut in it. An old towel made the floor comfy. In the winter, a heating pad designed for a D-O-G made it toasty warm. She probably would have preferred curling up next to me in bed, but she certainly liked her little den.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Jul 17 - 04:10 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Jun 17 - 03:19 PM

Ahem. To get back on topic.

Oh indeed yes.
Paper boxes/cartons delight cats in much the same way as paper bags.
And it really is delight, the boxes fascinate the cats.

I can absolutely believe the Mylo incident related by Anne Lister.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jun 17 - 01:28 PM

I was reminded of this song years ago when I worked for an extremely wealthy lady i(in Kensington and Chelsea who had two rther pathetic Pekinese, somewhat spoiled and somewhat potentially yappy only their owner had had their vocal cords removed because the constant barking got on her nerves

S6 NATION OF ANIMAL LOVERS
(1968)

Ewan wrote this after seeing a little Pekinese transferred tenderly from the back seat of an enormous Mercedes Benz onto a velvet cushion and carried by a uniformed chauffeur into a London veterinary surgery. Its mistress followed, weeping. Are we really a nation of animal lovers? Britain's wildlife is under continuous threat. Badger-baiting, cock-fighting and dog-fighting take place regularly in Britain. Most of us encourage our children to stamp indiscriminately on spiders, snails, worms and anything small that crawls or flies. True, we are a nation that loves domestic and service animals but even then, not always ... ask the R.S.P.C.A. or any veterinary practice.



alternative title: 'We're a Nation of Animal Lovers'
words and music: Ewan MacColl
© 1968 Ewan MacColl, Ltd.
disc 5, 49



We don't pretend we're perfect but we have endearing features,
We're honest and we're always kind to God's four-footed creatures;
Dogs and horses, hamsters, rabbits, little furry things -
Lousy Europeans can't appreciate the pleasure that a little kindness brings.
We're a nation of animal lovers.

When Greeks were being tortured then we always held our peace,
We used to like to spend our summer holidays in Greece;
Cats and ponies, budgies, moths and hairy caterpillars -
Lousy Europeans can't appreciate the pleasure that these little creatures give us,
We're a nation of animal lovers.

When there's hangings in South Africa we just avert our gaze,
But we're tender-hearted to a fault with alley cats and strays;
Remember how the nation nearly had a nervous spasm,
Breathlessly anticipating giant panda's pleasure in a cuddly orgasm,
We're a nation of animal lovers.

When there's rioting in Brixton we're impressively impassive,
But be cruel to a horse and our reaction then is massive;
Guinea pigs and painted terrapin, tropical fishes -
¤ Lesser races cannot understand the simple fact that it would meet with all our wishes
If there were no human beings.

Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jun 17 - 01:23 PM

We won't get to see it for a few weeks but the documentary on Turkish "tame" feral cats, 'Kedi' seems worth looking out for
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 29 Jun 17 - 03:59 PM

How sweet Anne to see Mylo's head popping up like that!

My goodness, if we'd let our Siamese cats loose among the boxes when we moved to this house, they'd have surely weed up every single one! It's their favourite hobby, having a quick wee on anything standing there. Very disgusting.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: leeneia
Date: 29 Jun 17 - 03:53 PM

That's a charming story, Anne.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Anne Lister
Date: 28 Jun 17 - 06:15 PM

Our cats like bags, but best of all they love boxes. To chew on, to scratch the corners of - we think this is Deconstructive Art as far as they're concerned. They've been in heaven since we moved at the end of February as it's been a house full of boxes. We're now down to our last 28 (yes, we've counted them). Over the weekend we welcomed some American friends and showed them around the house. We were looking into what will be the music room (where most of the unpacked boxes are currently sitting) and heard a rustle, and then Mylo's ears and then his head popped up from the top box (of four). He's perfected the art of opening the parcel tape and getting inside an apparently unpacked box .. words can't do justice to the scene.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 28 Jun 17 - 12:36 PM

We have four plastic crates in the boot of our car (left over from my teaching days) and often we don't even bother with the hessian bags, just put the stuff straight back into the trolley at the checkout. In the car park, we unload the things into the crates. My husband is incredibly strong, and on arrival at our house, he carries each heavy crate balanced on his head into the kitchen!

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 28 Jun 17 - 12:23 PM

When we moved to Ireland I brought our two cats over in advance in my van
Arriving at an empty house I opened the front door and shooed them both in - by the time I'd unloaded my luggage and walked inside there was no sign of either of them
Frantic, I searched the house - still no sign - eventually I gave up, convinced they would turn up
I sat on a box in the totally empty room and after a while, heard a scrabbling from the fireplace - both were squatting on a ledge just out of sight up the chimney
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Mr Red
Date: 28 Jun 17 - 04:59 AM

a biodegradable bag that won't last forever in a landfill

They had those here, unfortunately they degraded in UV, and the residue was micro particles that end up in the food chain if washed into the ocean. They were banned here.

I usually have a rucksack or in Sainsbury's they put their cardboard boxes in an area and I use them. Particularly the substantial trays - very useful for storage at home.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: gillymor
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 09:19 PM

It's good, Senoufou, that you charge for plastic over there but it seems like with a little R&D we should be able to come up with a biodegradable bag that won't last forever in a landfill. Over here supermarkets have recycle bins dedicated to plastic bags but I'll bet only a fraction of them wind up there.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: frogprince
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 08:27 PM

Then again, I know some humans who aren't happy unless they are at least "half in the bag".

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 02:29 PM

That's interesting gillymor. Here in UK of course, one has to pay a tiny amount (5p!) for a plastic carrier bag, to discourage folk from using them. But we have lots of nice hessian ones that last for years and don't pollute the planet. Our cats used to like getting inside those too, but they're a bit old now for fun and games.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: gillymor
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 02:19 PM

In the many parts of the U.S. I've been in plastic sacks are the default grocery carriers provided and to get paper you have to ask for it in just about every supermarket except for high-end ones like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. We bring our own reusable cloth or nylon sacks.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 01:47 PM

I've noticed on films etc that in USA they don't seem to have plastic bags at the supermarket, just large paper ones. Very green of them, but how does one carry a bag like that? Clutched to one's chest?

When kittens, our cats loved the huge bookshelves I had around the house. Smokey liked the dictionary shelf at the bottom, Minty the non-fiction paperback novels and Murphy preferred to be on the top shelf with the recipe books. They always looked like rather lifelike china book ends
My sister told me today that Maxi, her daughter's cat, absolutely hates it when she plays her piano. She sits on the top of it scowling, and whacks her face with a well-aimed paw until she stops.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Mr Red
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 12:58 PM

tomcat Bill, who fit neatly into the banjo case - Oh! A music lover then?

And cats don't like sacks ever since the old pig sellers trick of conning buyers of piglets with a "Pig in a Poke"

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 12:31 PM

Yes! It almost doesn't matter what kind of instrument case. I have many lovely photos of our wicked old tomcat Bill, who fit neatly into the banjo case in a full doughnut curl, spread himself out to fill three-quarters of the guitar case with his chin propped on the pick box, and overflowed the mandolin case with an expression of indignation. "It fit yesterday; what the hell happened?"

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 11:11 AM

A cat does not love a paper sack. A cat merely makes do with a paper sack when nobody has left a guitar case open.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 07:18 AM

I always bought two kittens at a time (usually brothers) and they used to love playing with a large paper bag. One would hide inside while the other pounced. Then they'd swap roles. Hours of fun.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: JHW
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 06:31 AM

My mother's cat didn't creep in; it charged in full tilt and crashed into the closed end so that cat in bag slid along the floor. With bag suitably dealt with it would come straight back out.

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Jun 17 - 11:27 PM

hmmm:

so instead of "This is the forest primeval,"

we have:

"This is the cave primordial..."

Subject: RE: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 17 - 11:17 PM

It isn't the sack, it is the primordial cave that they crave.

Subject: BS: why does a cat love a paper sack
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Jun 17 - 08:26 PM

Not just any paper sack, mind you. I have in mind:
the big boxy paper sack from the grocery store,
with a rectangular bottom, that folds just so.
An empty, unfolded paper sack, placed open on the floor
with the boxy opening pointing horizontally toward the cat,
as if to say:
"why don't you creep inside and make yourself comfortable?"

When I was a child, and watched the pet cat
creep out of sight into the depths of the paper bag,
I foolishly felt deserted -- why won't the cat come back out and play?


Is it the privacy of a space just large enough for a one-cat den?
Is it a territorial thing: this space is MINE now, says the cat.

Why are pet cats fascinated with a paper sack?