My Theory--Cats hate Literacy

[Zuni]

Have you ever attempted to read when a cat is about? They will try nto headbutt the book closed, lie on the book it you put it to the side, climb on your chest, in short they will do anything to keep you from reading---they hate literacy more than a FReeper hates Gun Control.
And do not get me started on the computer. They hate communication and the Information Superhighway!

[TrogL]

1. Do it in the bathtub

At worst, they'll sit on the edge of the tub and eat soap bubbles or swat at the pages then fall in.

[7th_Sephiroth]

12. nah its just an

exercise of thier powers to do something that would NORMALLY piss you off, but look so cute you cant do a thing

[JHB]

2. It's not about literacy...

...they just have better things for their pet human to do than stare at paper or some screen. There's ears to be scratched and fur to be petted, dammit!

[SOteric]

3. Theory disproved!

My cats prefer it when I read. They like to pig-pile in my lap and fold themselves into loaf shapes. Neither tries to headbutt the book away or insinuate themself between the book and me.

[Bertha Venation]

6. pig-pile?

??

[Zuni]

10. Really?

I have had several cats in my life and not one of them could tolerate a good book. They all seem to jump on you as soon as you get settled in, but when you pick the book up, they become active and obsessed.

[Brucey]

4. They are quite well-mannered when I'm reading

Dr. Seuss, for some reason.

[Bertha Venation]

5. Kathy can never read her newspaper uninterrupted.

Richard, Cocoa, or Harry -- and sometimes the others (Petey, Toby, Daddy) -- will climb into her lap just as she's good and settled into the Metro section. It never fails.

You haven't lived 'til you've heard a grown woman plead with a cat to allow her to read her newspaper.

[Zuni]

11. I have seen my mother

plead with her cat to get out of her chair.

[BurtWorm]

7. I had a kitten once who was fascinated with books.

Her name was Tallulah. Adorable little marmelade who lived fast and died young, poor thing. But she used to sit on my lap when I was reading and stare intently at illustrations and photos. Once I was looking through a film encyclopedia and came upon a big still from Citizen Kane demonstrating Greg Tolland's dept of focus and the then-revolutionary inclusion of the ceiling in an interior shot. Tallulah got up and hesitantly put her paw on the table, testing a little bit (I believe) to see how deep she could dip her paw into the picture.

I thought that was a sign of some kind of intelligence, though of course dog lovers would probably say, "She thought she could go into a picture in a book!? What a moron!"

[Zuni]

9. sounds very interesting

That is a good story. cats, I think, are more intelligent than we realize.

[Divernan]

15. Freepers would say "What a maroon."

nt

[BurtWorm]

16. If freepers could comprehend such a story

they would probably say what a MORAN!

[leanings]

8. lol

I laughed my ass off when I saw this thread. Mine are the worst with the newspaper. They'll jump up underneath the paper when I'm sitting in my chair and force their way on top, crumple it all up into a nice little nest and then sit there and look at me, eyes all half closed and purring. A paper rarely goes into the recycle bin without kitty drool spots all over it.

That having been said, I'm a Democrat who loves my cats and I still hate gun control! :)

[Zuni]

14. Tissue paper or wrapping paper is worse

At christmas, I save the ribbons and wrapping paper for my cat, who hoards it in a corner and then sits on it.

[slinkerwink]

13. my dog does the exactly same thing...

He hates it when I read a book, so he comes over and sits right on top of the open book in my lap. It's a very clear message he sends which is "PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO ME NOW!" Hahahaha....

[thom1102]

17. They hate us for our freedoms!

Stupid unamerican cats! I am going to call and report them to Asscrack!

[blueraven95]

18. My cats always get in the way whenever I

sit down to sew...My mother's cats do to. Is this a common occurance?

[ex_jew]

19. Best cat/reading story ever !

I was once lying on the floor reading to my son from Scientific American. They had a pair of essays on animal research - one pro and one anti. First I read the anti, with no problem, but the moment I started to read the pro-research viewpoint, my cat came over and sat on top of the magazine, making it impossible to read.

I should mention that this is the same cat who, when asked "where is Andrew ?" (my son) turned her head immediately in his direction.

[BurtWorm]

20. There ought to be a way to test if she's really anti-research...

;)