You've got to change your evil ways

From Imgur

I’ve wondered why it is some cats are good as gold—they don’t get into the trash, or knock things off shelves or get on the kitchen counter—while others are brazen about their misdeeds. The only conclusion I’ve come to is that much like people, it depends on the cat’s personality and outside influences.

Take Chloe. She's probably 12 years old and she's never been a brazen rule-breaker. Even if I left tasty meat out on the counter, she never jumped up there. She also didn't climb shelves and knock things over. Heck, her poop didn’t even stink. Seriously, I would sometimes forget to scoop for a while and only realize if I happened to look into the box, never by how it smelled.

The boys are different, which I’ve posted about quite frequently on this blog. They climb, they knock things over, counters are their territory despite our best efforts, and their poops are weapons-grade stink bombs.

But our cats have also learned from each other. Here’s an example:

Chloe has a unique way of stretching—she’s the only cat I’ve ever had that stretches quite this way. She’ll lean forward on her front legs so that her back legs are stretched out behind her, almost like she’s in a push-up position. Then she’ll pick up one leg and stretch it out so it’s parallel with the ground, walk forward on her two front legs as she sets the lifted leg down and repeats on the other side. It’s kind of like a dog stretch. And now the boys do it too.

Sadly she’s picked up some of their less desirable habits too, like getting on the kitchen counter, the dining room table, the bathroom counter, things like that.

At least her poop still doesn’t stink.