Cats keep us entertained, and most cat owners are happy to share their homes with miniature, slightly psychotic predators. They’re friendlier and more intelligent than some give them credit for, but their behavior can get them into trouble and lead to rehoming or euthanization.
Aggression and inappropriate elimination are the most common reasons for booting a cat out of the house and sending them to a shelter, and while stalking may not be a justifiable reason, it affects how some people perceive felines.
Feline Stalking
Stalking isn’t an admirable quality in humans, but it’s part of a cat’s DNA and unlikely to be diminished by selective breeding. A sneak attack by a cat hiding in the dark may cause your heart to skip a beat or make you scream, and I’m sure some unethical owners have reacted violently. Unlike most cat parents, I’m proud of my cat when she takes me by surprise and impressed by her stealth.
I get irritated when she forgets to retract her claws before attacking my legs, but most of the time, she only uses her pads after a sneak attack. I’m her favorite target since she can’t go outside and only hunts insects in the summer.
Olga’s Creepy Joy
The family of mockingbirds in my yard raiding my blueberry bushes are lucky Olga has to watch them from a windowsill and cannot engage in predatory stalking. It’s not only instinctual for cats to stalk and attack their owners but also entertaining. Olga is happiest when she jumps in front of me, hunches up her back, and attacks my calves with both paws.
She likes to be chased around the house and waits until my head is turned and I’m walking in the opposite direction to attack. Unlike the felines that surprise people in movies, Olga looks more energized than frightened.
Hollywood’s Feline Stalkers
Frightened cats often leap out and shriek when they scare people in horror films. It usually occurs when a character looks for a killer or creature in a creepy setting, like an abandoned warehouse, and jumps back when they find a cat instead.
In Alien, Jonesy (the cat) surprises Brett when he walks around the creepiest area of the ship and hisses to warn him that he’s about to be devoured by the extraterrestrial behind him. Since she’s not very vocal or protective, Olga would run before warning me of danger and wouldn’t use her stalking skills if frightened.
Young Olga’s Techniques
If she’s scared, she hides under a couch and doesn’t move, but stalking is a game to her. She has to be in a good mood, but when she was a kitten, she was more aggressive and craftier.
She surprised and attacked me when I took a shower, turned off the light to go to bed, and whenever I was half asleep in the recliner. When the recliner was in the upright position, she would claw her way up the back and hit me in the head. Olga’s not as creative with her stalking moves today, but she still attacks me when she’s hiding in the dark.
- Read his previous article: How Movies and Television Portray Cats: Stereotypes & Olga’s Nature