There are some cats who take this already important interest and turn it up to eleven.
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One of the characteristics of the Gamma cat is attention to detail. This is a survival instinct in the wild, when picking up on small clues would let a cat outwit their prey, or another predator. Gammas are meant for such important activities as being easily amused, sweetly affectionate, and highly decorative.
So we have some trait concentration going along for the ride, and this creates cats whose attention to detail can a bit strong for maximum survival in the wild. It can also create cats who are misunderstood by their people.
The detail oriented cat wants their bowl set down in the same place every time. They hate it when we come home late. When their pillow is vacuumed, they want the same side facing up. Did we fold a blanket on the bed for them? How nice. Could we possibly get that wrinkle out of it?
We can be baffled that our usually easygoing cat will come up with odd details to get obsessed over. This mental trait shares some characteristics with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in humans, in that it seems to bestow the ability to notice small details.
For both cats and humans, the tripping point is how they interpret these small clues that seem to thrust themselves into their observations. What we can do, as Cat Appreciators, is help our detail oriented cat understand what these details mean.
To us, it’s nothing. To our cat, their brain is urging them to notice these small details, because it is tripping their survival instincts. In the wild, a dislodged pebble or broken leaf can mean life or death, for someone.
Our detail oriented cat is at the mercy of this instinct in two ways:
The best thing we can do for such cats is notice (or pretend to notice) it ourselves, and then reassure them that this doesn’t mean anything bad.
Wrinkle in their bed or blanket? These small things are not small to our cat. Because of the way they see, cats can interpret a shadow as fundamentally changing an object’s shape or dimensions in a way a human cannot.
If our cat is avoiding their usual spots or objects, crying about something, or trying to draw our attention to something, the cure can be as simple as fussing with whatever it is, and then acting happy. Our leadership on this important matter might be all our cat needs.
Was it moved to a new spot? If we need to redecorate or rearrange our living quarters, such terraforming offers a challenge to any cat. For our detail oriented cat, we might as well have ripped out the entire room. All the little cues that told them they were home have vanished.
If we can, we should preserve the essence of their terrain by putting back the same blankets or beds, and creating similar spots. Give the cat reassurance by using scent cues before and after. Use fresh catnip or pungent treats to mark their stuff before, and after, the change. Scent marking will connect directly to the emotional centers in their brain, and provide them the cues they need.
Is it (the horror!) a replacement item? While our detail oriented cat is a pushover when it comes to new toys, new beds or food dishes create the opposite reaction. That’s because the tiny changes which fascinate in a new crackly or sparkly toy send off not-the-same signals when they are connected to food or safety.
If possible, juxtapose the new item with the old so some of the qualities can rub off on each other. If that’s not possible, as in the case of a broken food dish, see if we can involve our cat with the process. Sharp shards and food on the floor will trigger our own need to get it cleaned up as soon as possible, and the crash probably sent our cat scrambling out of the room.
But if we can at least show our cat the aftermath, or the clean up process, our cat will grasp that the broken dish won’t be showing up again. The new dish should be presented with especially tasty food and/or some fuss and fanfare.
Validation will communicate both that we understand it has changed, and that the change is okay.
These are the concepts our detail oriented cat struggles with, agonizes over, and needs help interpreting. These are concepts any cat has in some degree. These are concepts that many people find annoying because they don’t realize what prompts them, and, even more importantly, how they can deal with this anxiety, and shut it off.
Once we grasp the procedure, we have another fun way to communicate, and play, with our cat.
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That’s my Killsy! She won’t eat from her dry food bowl if she can see the bottom. There can be 50 mouthfuls of food, but she will just whine and eat nothing until I add more food–or until I just shake the bowl so she can’t see the bottom.
She likes surprises, as long as they are predictable surprises. She sleeps in a beer box from my job, and every 2 months I bring her a new one, explaining that it’s her new box. I move her older box to the side of the new one, but she always ignores the old for the new.
A plus: She makes an awesome Watch Cat! If any other cat is doing something dangerous, or she hears people where she shouldn’t, she runs to me, says nothing but gives me a Significant Look, very agitated. Not that it had anything to do with our household, but she once frantically warned me that the cops were outside!
The vet actually said that she was “a bit OCD,” when I asked her why Killsy had licked her belly down to peach fuzz. Once DJ joined the family, she started licking there normally, and most of her tummy hair is at normal length. I’m unsure what changed there….
Perhaps Killsy feels she can share the responsibilities with DJ? And it was all on her slender shoulders because Byron does not have that potential?
Mr. Bond did not really “take his retirement” until the last few months, when Olwyn became a year old and showed promise of being a Supervisor Extraordinaire, like himself. RJ is a bit too goofy to take on such duties, and Puffy, of course, was hopeless.
Byron, raised as a foundling until 7 weeks, never really got a grasp on the whole “grooming other cats” thing. DJ, on the other hand, grooms me around 6AM every morning. He and Killsy have long grooming sessions, so I think that may be the answer.
That’s adorable they do that for each other. Whatever works!
I have a cat like this, and we will be moving to a new town soon, and I am afraid of his reaction to packing, moving and the new place. How can I make his move less traumatizing to him?
Create a “station” out of his bed, toy box, and plates and dishes; talk to him about it, and touch it often. Then, at the new place, make a big production about placing his old stuff in its new place. For more, see my tips on lowering a cat’s stress from moving and helping cats cope with redecorating.