Bra Klepto Cat!

by Amy Shojai | May 22, 2014 | Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care | 13 comments

Karma has a new toy. I’ve already told you about his shoe fetish. But now he’s discovered my bras and become a bra thief. Is there such a thing as an underwear fetish in cats?

He waits until I’m in the shower, having set out clean clothes, and then performs a grab-and-dash, carrying the prize away with high held head. I should be glad, I suppose, that he’s not stashed it under the bed out of reach. Yet. And also that he only targets brassieres that aren’t being worn. Ahem. Tiny tooth punctures in the delicate fabric, and tug-games with elastic bits, seem to be the allure.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Magic targets my husband’s socks and carries them around like a child with a blanket. Lots of dogs target undies. And Seren loves to lounge in fresh-from-the-dryer laundry and will un-fold clothes given half the chance to sneak into the wardrobe.

Karma has just taken it to the next level. I hate to think what’s next. It can’t be on the same level as my friend Jenny Hansen’s Undie Chronicles (for some insanely funny reading you should check that out!).

Do your pets target your unmentionables? Do tell!

WEEKLY UPDATES

Thanks again to all my Sweet Peeps and Sweet Tweets for the support and encouragement to take some “Amy Time” away from blogging. This the first of what I plan to make a weekly update/post and from time to time will include what I used to call “Monday Mentions” roundup.

PUPPY-LICIOUS! The About.com group of 800+ sites will soon launch an update to the design. So for the past month I’ve spent lots of time updating my puppies.about.com articles (about 400 or so) with the new requirements which include SQUEEE! even bigger, more scrumptious cute puppy pictures. Oh, there’s lots of other “hidden” updates on the back end that have to do with SEO schtuff, too. One ongoing project is an alpha-list of puppy breeds-at-a-glance! I’ve finished the “A” puppy breeds and the “B” puppy breeds and have begun the “C” list. Let me know if you have a darling doggy pix you’d like included of your fav breed!

SHAKESPEARE IN THE GROVE I’m having a ball rehearsing (pix here!) for the first annual Shakespeare In The Grove production in Sherman, Texas. This first show is a favorite for adults and kids alike–A Midsummer’s Night Dream. And get this…my character, as an Amazon Queen, Hippolyta, I get to wear BLING! Hope to see y’all there, we open next Friday and it’s FREE FREE FREE to the public!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!

13 Comments

Patricia on May 27, 2014 at 12:53 am

Thanks for letting me know about the article you wrote on Flehman’s Response. That definitely explained it. I must admit it is cute when they do it!
Reply
- Amy Shojai on May 27, 2014 at 8:45 am
  
  LOL! It does look sort of silly.
  Reply
Patricia on May 24, 2014 at 9:27 pm

Termite loves to get in the dryer full of clean clothes. He also has a fetish for bags or purses. I had guests on 2 different days last week and they left their bags open and he pulled sunglasses out of one and cell phone out of the other with his teeth. He wants to take his treasures off. Now Macy sometimes will smell of the dirty clothes in the floor before I put them in the washer and she will start turning all sorts of ways and cheek rubbing them. It’s like it’s got catnip on it or something. Why do cats sometimes smell something and they leave their mouth open?
Reply
- Amy Shojai on May 25, 2014 at 9:46 am
  
  Ha! Seems there are lots of “klepto cats” out there! The first time Karma showed interested in the dryer, I banged on the top so he’d leave. Too many cats get injured or killed when accidentally shut inside.
  
  The open mouth thing is called Flehmen Response, and it’s the way cats process pheromones. Here’s an article I wrote about the “kitty sneer.”
  http://cats.about.com/od/amyshojai/a/Flehmen-Aka-Flehmen-Response.htm
  Reply
Karyl on May 22, 2014 at 6:19 pm

The closest thing we ever had to deal with to bra-thieving involved dirty laundry. Simba used to roll in my undies every chance she got.
Reply
- Karyl on May 22, 2014 at 6:20 pm
  
  aaaand again I forget to check the little box. sheeeesh. I need to be able to tell wordpress just to leave it checked somehow.
  Reply
  - Amy Shojai on May 22, 2014 at 11:23 pm
    
    Ha! rolling in the laundry–Seren does that but it’s the clean laundry that’s still warm from the dryer. The dirties stay behind a closed door. 🙂
    Reply
Patricia Sands on May 22, 2014 at 3:08 pm

Amy, could you have asked for a cat with more personality to fall into your life as Karma did?
Reply
- Amy Shojai on May 22, 2014 at 3:51 pm
  
  *s* Patricia, he constantly surprises me and keeps me laughing!
  Reply
Sue Bacon on May 22, 2014 at 2:58 pm

Our half Siamese Shadow would get into our daughter Sandy’s room and pluck her undies up from the floor and strew them all down the hall and living room. I warned her that she might want to put said unmentionables in the dirty laundry hamper but I guess she didn’t believe me. But we had guests over one Saturday and Shadow comes trotting proudly out with a pair of panties and when Sandy tried to take them from him he played keep away. We and our guests thought it was hilarious, Sandy’s has yet to see the humor in it.
Reply
- Amy Shojai on May 22, 2014 at 3:51 pm
  
  Ha! Magic loves to play keep away with socks. Never new a cat to do that. But Karma does like to carry things–he has the girth to do it. 🙂
  Reply
Sweet Purrfections on May 22, 2014 at 12:09 pm

My little Persian, Brulee, likes to grab my panties out of the dirty clothes pile and carry them around the house.
Reply
- Amy Shojai on May 22, 2014 at 3:50 pm
  
  Not sure which I’d prefer–the panties or the bra. Really…neither!
  Reply

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