It is so interesting to see how they are all different and how behaviors have to be applied in context to situation. She drummed her foot when she first came home and was hearing the dogs bark, but that very quickly stops. Her “single thump” does seem to happen during times of excitement or high energy; so it may just be a hard jump, or it could just be showing her excitement – I liken it to how some people like to slap a desk or high five when they are excited. Hahah, I also thought it may have been brainfreeze!!!!

I had discussed over in another post how Hazel seemed possessive of her litterbox when I swapped them out in the morning – she was grunting and sometimes lunging a bit. (I have two litterboxes and rotate them for cleanliness; also, it’s much easier in the morning and saves me time before work if I can just drop a fresh litterbox in and pull the old one out). Anyhow, I noticed this behavior was only happening in the morning and last night I thought to myself, “perhaps her grunting and lunging isn’t so much possessive, but defensive. Perhaps YOU are rushing in the morning and it spooks her and gives her a defensive feeling when you fling that box in there and slam the top down and race out the door.” So last night, I took my time and spoke softly and gave her a little rub when I switched the boxes and hand fed a little banana. This morning, I did the same exact thing: took my time, had a soft word and a pat, and VIOLA! No grunting, no lunging.

This story is a little off topic here, but it just seemed like a great example of how their actions can be misinterpreted by us and how important it is to take behaviors in context (and also to think about what WE do that might force them to act a certain way… I am always having to examine my own behaviors in relation to my little furry friends).