When your bush dweller cat reaches new heights
Last updated on July 10th, 2018 at 11:53 pm
Have you ever felt like you needed to break free from your comfort zone and push yourself to the next level? Do you remember how accomplished you felt when you finally achieved that goal? Comfort zones are hard to break through; after all, that is why they’re called comfort zones. Why explore or push the boundaries when everything around you is ‘just so’?
But today I think Sly Pie had an epiphany which prompted him to break out of his comfort zone. It’s well documented in other posts that he is a bona fide ground or bush dweller. Everything about him says,
“I like to be grounded, I feel safe in my small horizontal world. I don’t need to survey my territory and display my dominance. There’s a myriad of wonderful and exciting creepy crawlies that emerge from the earth’s belly, such as earthworms after a thunderstorm. There is no better place to be than way down here.”
His build is stocky with a short tail, not built for jumping and climbing. He is nimble and quick with his paws and will display his efficient mousing skills by only engaging in ground games with a mouse toy. Forget about the Da Bird. He never explores the bridge, or the high ramps indoors or in the catio. One could say that Sly Pie has his paws firmly on the ground. He was the only cat who knew what to do with a real live mouse when the other cats were flabbergasted in uncertainty.
So can you imagine how surprised we were when we saw him exploring the highways of the catio? I think his message is clear: Don’t assign labels or stereotypes too quickly. Perhaps he’s a bush dweller but has an open mind to explore higher ground. He’s decided he’s not afraid to push the boundaries, only to discover that there is an alternate route to the catnip baskets. There is a little bit of a tree dweller residing in those paws.
Sly Pie’s gallery of haiku ponders upon a new perspective and he gives Ollie a good telling!
Do you prefer your safe comfort zone? Or do you like to push boundaries and discover new sides to yourself that you never knew existed? Are you a closet tree-dweller or a bit of both?
Oh how I loved this post and the photos are DELIGHTFUL!!! Cody is mostly a “tree dweller” but occasionally will venture into “bush” country, Mom (me), used to be sooooooooo resistant to change (in my 20s and 30s), but that ended in my 40s. Now I thrive on change and welcome it!
I thought Cody would be a tree dweller type and I was right 🙂 Yes, this human welcomes change too!
Good for you, Sly Pie! This human needs to learn a lesson from you and open myself up to a little more change 🙂
Hehe heh! Yes, change is good, because now I’ve discovered I like the high places!
Way to go pal, you were sure having a grand time exploring. I like high places but am not allowed outside so we have some high kitty trees for me to enjoy. I don’t mind change and twnd to accept what comes my way!
You sound like quite an easy going chap, Brian, being open to change. Nice that you have your indoor cat trees to explore in safety.
Good for Sly Pie! Woot woot! Maybe he’ll visit the upper tiers of the catio again another day. It is hard to say. Maybe he just wanted to finally check it out to see what all the fuss was about. I like to get up on high places myself & jump in the air at Da Bird. Whoever said Persian cats can’t climb are bonkers, ’cause I love to climb my cat tree & if given the chance would scale an outdoor tree like a lumberjack! I can understand if Sly Pie pefers the ground level, though, as there are a fine many things to investigate on the ground! Hugs & Mews!
Val, I would love to see you in action jumping for Da Bird. May your mom will post something? And now Sly Pie visits the highway quite often but still prefers to lurk between the plants down low.
I definitely stay in my comfort zone.
Heh heh hooray for comfort zones! xx
Way to go on pushing out of your comfort zone, Sly Pie! Enjoy the view from up there and the comfort of being grounded, too!
He likes the best of both worlds 🙂
You go, Sly Pie!! Another round of great haikus, too! Sophie isn’t a great jumper. Sometimes she’ll miss what she’s trying to jump to and fall down. She sees Olive and Dexter jumping so easily, so she assumes she can too. Not the most graceful cat. But that’s goofy Sophie for you! 🙂
There are quite a few clumsy goofs here in this crew too – that would be Scout! High paws to Sophie!