This one's for the cat lovers

Tonight we visited Rainer in Brooklyn. He is such a good cat. As usual, he was crafty, heading for the other leg after I unfolded one in a vain attempt to get up. He always gets a little angry when I leave. He had a little more energy tonight than usual.

D picked up a funny gift for a friend, and also bought a card depicting Rainer. Here's a picture of the card:


Isn't he perfect?

The store opened in '99, and I believe he was born that year. So he is probably eight. I want him to live forever, so I went to Wikipedia to learn about the life expectancy of cats (14-20 years). Here are some other interesting tidbits:
  • The Latin name for the species is Felis catus.
  • Some cats sleep 20 hours a day. Rainer may be in this group! The average is 13-14 hours a day.
  • Due to their "crepuscular" nature (whatever that means), cats have oodles of energy in the morning and evening.
  • The male cat has spines on his penis! (Ouch.)
  • The female cats are superfecund, meaning that they may have more than one "gentleman caller" while they are in heat, and the kittens in a particular litter may have different fathers. I wonder if they have DNA tests, and if the male cats storm off in a rage if the babies are not their own ;)

Comments

Caro said…
He is a handsome cat indeed.

I have had a female cat who seemed to have had different fathers for her kittens.

One was striped. One was black. And one looked like a siamese.

She had some fun while she was in heat. Then again spiky penises, ouch!
12:14 AM
Bearette said…
It doesn't sound like fun, does it? I guess it's supposed to make them ovulate. The girls, that is :)
12:17 AM
Lisa said…
What a cutie!

Dogs can have multiple fathers to a litter, as well. Rowen's litter definitely had different dads!
9:50 AM
Iamthebookworm said…
What a nice cat. I have two: Calvin and Bella.
9:34 PM
bdogg_mcgee said…
I wonder if the cats go on Maury to see who the baby daddy is?
10:32 PM
Bearette said…
Bookworm - yay! I assume one of them is your avatar?

Bdogg - heh. I actually saw Judge Hartnett on TV at the gym once and they kept saying, "He's her baby daddy." They were announcing the DNA results at the end of the show, but I missed it :(
10:37 PM
Mz.Elle said…
Aww he's gorgeous!
2:02 PM
This suzy said…
I had read somewhere before that cats always get a little crazy around dusk, and when I read that I thought, "oh yeah! Elmo does that nearly every day!" Cool when you can learn that kind of stuff. :)
10:32 PM
Iamthebookworm said…
Yes...my avatar is actually my cat, Bella.
9:27 PM
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