Cats Love Noogies
Posted: Monday, April 06, 2009
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
It's true, cats love noogies. Every cat we have ever had and every cat we have ever met has loved noogies. So what's a noogie, you ask. The online Miriam-Webster dictionary defines it this way: The act of rubbing one's knuckles on a person's head so as to produce a mildly painful sensation. People do not so much love noogies and might even hate them. Submitting to a noogie from someone when I was younger was tantamount to rolling belly up in front of a wolf. It said that the noogiee was subordinate to the noogier.
So anyway, back to my point maybe. Cats like all sorts of things that people don't. Winnie does, however, share my love of fresh spinach. She complains if I am having some and she is not. But you will most likely never find me doing some of the things she seems to find to be so much fun. Like smelling the seat cushions of the sofa for many minutes on end after our company has left. Shoot, there's no way you could get me to smell the seat of my recliner and I'm the only one who ever sits in it.
Cats clean their well, you know with their tongues. Oh my God! They seem to have no qualms at all about it. When Winnie's brother, Bear, was still alive, he would sometimes clean hers for her. He would also clean her face, which usually devolved into biting her somewhere and then there would be growling and play-fighting. They really did love each other; he just couldn't help himself sometimes. I suspect it was just way too much fun. She's laying there all calm, relaxed and happy and wham! He bites her. It's probably like pinching your husband's butt when he is not expecting it. Not that he is ever expecting it. ;)
When Winnie uses her litter box, she turns around and inspects what she has just done before burying it. She gives it a good sniff. Why? I flush the toilet just as soon as I can manage it. No way you'll ever catch me giving my ahem a good sniff.
Cats think that chasing down, catching and eating live (well, formerly living, they are usually dead by the time they are eaten) lizards, birds, mice, and insects is just the greatest, most wonderful thing ever. I will say that I do like sushi, but you will never find me eating whole raw fish; bones, scales, head, fins, tails, oh my! Bernd likes sardines and so does Winnie. They can have them. (Just the meat, Ma'am, just the meat.) And then there is that whole drinking water out of the toilet thing. I mean, really!
So what does all this have to do with anything? When my mother-in-law reads this one (if she does), she'll probably have a thing or two to say about it. Come to think of it, I wonder what she will make of last week's submission to my column. I seem to be in a very earthy frame of mind lately. Maybe it's because it's spring and well, there's really no excuse for it.
Where was I? Oh yes. Despite our differences, and they are vast, we manage to live together, sometimes quite intimately (no! not that kind; such thoughts!) very well. Winnie and Bernd and I share the same 1,600 square feet without fighting. She sleeps with us and sits on my lap. She still doesn't entirely trust Bernd even though we've had her for almost nine years now and he has never done anything really bad to her does holding her down while I'm trying to wash her behind after she has had diarrhea count? He can't let her see him with a wash cloth in his hands even though it was me with the wash cloth. She runs and hides under the bed. She plays with us and comes to us for comforting. She is part of our family. Sometimes I look at her and am surprised to see a cat standing before me.
We are different, but we are the same. People and cats want all the same things: good food to eat, a comfy, warm spot to sleep, companionship and a modicum of security (yes, I know, security is an illusion). Bernd recently found a video of a Saint Bernard dog and a raccoon who are great buddies. I knew someone who had a parakeet and a cat that would play together on the floor. Cats and dogs regularly get along well. So if two different species can get along so well, shouldn't we somehow manage to get along with all of our own species? I mean, we have so much more in common, don't we?
Okay, I know that lots of people have said this very same thing in various ways. So why am I belaboring the point? Answer: Because it's obvious that it hasn't been said enough. If cats can love noogies, then surely we can at least like one another.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Loved the article have a cat of our own "Sir Winston" notice name .Point to ponder "We do not own cats they own us, beleive me on that one! We do not need clocks when time to eat how shall I put this ? Well lets just say you have a second sock on one foot! until you feed him.He sleeps were ever he likes!!!Hi Frank.Cats do indeed own us. There's an old saying, "Dogs drool, cats rule" and it is so true. If I sit down to lunch without giving Winnie hers, she comes and reminds me with a tired little sigh, as if to say, "You forgot me again?"I'm glad I could entertain you. Thanks for reading and commenting.My Best,Dianne
"If cats can love noogies, then surely we can at least like one another." I second that, Dianne. Splendid analogies and a great message. I am not fond of cats but I enjoyed this article!Hi Avis.It's been a while. Hope you are doing well.Thanks for taking the time to read my article and to comment. Something I should probably do more of ... commenting, I mean.Hey, why don't you like cats so much?Hugs!DianneHi Dianne,
Yes, it's been awhile. I'm undergoing a transformation (career) and leisure time has been limited. All is well, thank you. I've learned not to complain and to just do it afraid! Does that tell ya something? *laughing*
Cats. Hmmm...I don't like the purring sound they make. I'd rather they just roared like a lion! I think they're too much like (some) humans and are sneaky beyond suspicion. You keep the feline friends. I'll go for a dog any day, even a mutt!
Oh by the way, I will stroke one and even play a bit. It goes back to caring. I care about people and things even if I'm not particularly fond of them.
Be well and hugging you back,
AvisHi Avis.Wow. I like the purring sound. It puts me right to sleep. Sometimes Winnie will lie on me in bed and if I'm having trouble falling asleep, I can concentrate on her purr and that's the last thing I know.But I understand some people just do not like cats. My dad hated them and we didn't have a cat as a family until after he died and my mom met a new man who adored cats. That's when I discovered that I liked them just as much as dogs.For someone like me who loves animals and wants them around her, the cat is perfect because they do such a good job of caring for themselves for the most part. I would love to have a dog, but we don't have a fenced yard and can't afford to fence it and so I would have to walk the dog several times a day and am too stingy with my time to do that. I do feel a dog is in my future, though. And mutts are the best in my book!One of the things that delights me about cats is their very sneakiness. It demonstrates an innate intelligence that is a joy. When Winnie's brother, Bear, was still alive, he would often get up into the bathroom window when it was open to look out on the world. It was one of Winnie's favorites spots, too. So she would run into the bathroom, meow at him, run out and do this over and over again until he just had to jump down to see what was up. Then she would fly onto the window sill. Gotta love it.More hugs,DianneI liked Bear! LOL
Hi Dianne, your articles are so entertaining you know that, you should put them all together and make a book and publish them......I love cats, they are my favorite, I think I love them so much cause they are independent and only want to bother with a person if they feel like it, I guess i am the same in relationships. I never could have a relationship with someone stuck in my face all the time like dogs, mind you I love dogs to as long as I don't have to take care of them.I am a cat person, suppose the kind of animal a person loves tells a bit about what kind of personality we are......I don't have a cat right now but I can hardly wait, I have to wait until Ben gets a little older and realize that cats don't like to be chased, but back to your noogies, i can hardly wait to noogie a pet cat....i love there purrs and how they paw at blankets, pillows....i just love cats....I had a few in the past and I am going to do this for FUN.......To all the kittys in my life NOOGIESIn Memory of :Sandy, Patches, Ricky, Randi, Corky and Sammy....I miss you allHi Kathy,You've had way more cats than me. Bernd and I lived for a long time in an apartment that didn't allow pets and then we had a very small condo where we kept a parakeet named Pip.The first cat we owned together was Weezil and then we got Bear and Winnie. I hope Winnie lives a very very long time.So, anyway, thanks for reading it and GET A CAT for Pete's sake. :)Luv ya'DianneMaybe I will name his PETE.........that would be a good name....
Like cats, hate noogies- go figure...Hi Ken.Personally, I hate noogies too.Thanks for reading and commenting!Dianne
Great article. Well done.I think it is to do with the fur cushioning tem.Hi Connor.What?! You think I don't have any hair on my head! :)It might actually have more to do with the fact that cats have a very high pain threshold. This is why it is so hard to catch a cat in the beginnings of a serious illness or injury and why they are generally far along into the problem and sometimes past treatment when it is finally discovered. That's what happened to us with Winnie's brother, Bear, and his kidney failure.Thanks for taking the time to read it and to comment. I always appreciate it.DianneYes...I was not thinking very well.Hi Connor.Hey, don't worry. The amount of time I spend thinking well is abysmally small. I'm just sensitive to the cat/pain issue.Dianne
hi dianne,this was such a cool article.i can relate with much, having gone through, i mean, having loved, several cats over the years. get this-all the sweet ones are gone to leukemia, a giant turkey vulture carrying one off and dropping it (it survived) etc., and the one cat we have left has been the nastiest cat ever, she is declawed, goes outside, catches mice, chipmunks, moles and birds, and will be 16 in may! i took her to the vet when she was a year old and told him of her biting when she had enough of you petting her, and he told me that's their way of showing amore! i think she made it this long, since the kids were 8, 6, and 3, because she is so independent and feisty!thanks for sharing such great thoughts,my best,sueHi Sue.Sounds like a very interesting cat! And I think it is the feisty and independent ones that survive the best.I'd have to agree with the vet on the biting issue. Winnie loves to give me love nips when I'm giving her a massage or brushing her. And if Bernd is rubbing her belly while I'm noogling her head I am sure to get nipped. She is just so overcome with joy that she has to express it somehow.Having been seriously bitten by a cat on numerous occasions (not just the one mentioned in my story), I can tell the difference between love and true annoyance.It seems like you've had a lot of cats. I'm curious, do you find them or do they find you? And how horrible it must have been to watch one carried off by a turkey vulture!I'm glad you enjoyed my article.Hugs,Dianne
hi di,we have found all our cats. the 16 year old was in a basket at a place called Race's-an outdoor plant market. it's mother had been attacked in the woods, and lost an eye. the other ones we looked for, but i forget how, though.the turkey vulture incident was a trip, and to see it survive, when it had talon holes, and a caved in side. it healed on it's own.we have 2 cats now, and a maltipoo.my daughter had a ferret, but that passed away. very traumatic for her.i put 2 dogs down in the past 2 years.have a nice easter,my best to you,sue
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