Flying Furries
The kittens are learning to jump. Oh, they been doing little hops across the floor and little leaps up to the sides of furniture so they can climb on the bed or couch for some time now. But they are now practicing the teaser killing leaps that this breed is known for.
You did know that, right? Norwegian Forest Cats are jumpers. They are specially built to jump well, with those long back legs serving as built in springs and a long tail to add stability. It’s a distinct advantage to be able to jump high up a tree when being pursued through forest.
Over the years we’ve had a few cats who were even more accomplished jumpers, thus earning themselves the title of “amazing flying cat”. Brasen and Dilan (Spaz) have astounded visitors with their flips and leaps and untiring ability to kill teasers in mid air. But almost all of the other cats can surprise people with their jumping ability. Taiba and Basia love to chase the little red fairy and will jump four feet or more up the living room wall in their attempts to catch it. Bria used to hunt bugs by the patio door and one day I saw her jump (from a standing start) straight up to the top of the screen.
I use teasers with every litter, waving them in the air and moving them across the room to encourage the ktitens to practice their inate skills. Some kittens catch on sooner than others. Keona is that kitten in this litter. She loves to jump. She jumps for no reason at all, except that it’s fun. Yesterday morning I was playing with them before I left for work, luring them across the living room floor with a feather teaser. All four kittens were vying for the prize. I moved the teaser to the other side of Isadora and Keona jumped over her and across the floor by about a foot. It was a great leap for a little girl! Last night she was jumping around on our bed, in and out of the dad cave (the blankets, made into a little tent by Ken), over the top of the dad cave, into the fleecy bed on the foot of the bed, back out of the bed to pounce on my feet, back into the dad cave…
Tonight is photo night and I can’t think of anything right now that will distract me from getting pictures taken and added to the website. Then again, there’s always the chance that somebody (should we take bets on who that somebody will be?) won’t be in a cooperative mood. But I will do my best.
One last thing… a couple of years ago when we moved to Helena I wrote an article for the NFCFA Skogkatt newsletter about choosing a veterinarian. I’ll be creating a permanent page for the blog with that article (today, really!) The article is slanted to breeders who are looking for a new vet, but the information applies to pet owners as well.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
That was a wonderful article on finding a veterinarian. I might be moving in the fall so this article helped me. Until I came to this country,I had never heard of the cruel concept of declawing. Now, do all vet practices do these surgeries? Are there vet offices that don’t do such things? I don’t know if I want my cats to be in the care of someone who does offer it as one of their services. Am I being weird?