Passive Aggressivity At Its Best

In the (almost) 18 years that we have had our cat, we've been very lucky.  Some people with animals are constantly trying to stop bad behaviors or make multiple trips to the vet's because of illness.  Our cat has only been sick twice and, for the most part, her behavior is quite acceptable.  Of course, she is the 'typical' feline:  She believes this house is HERS and she allows US to live here.  But, other than that, she has always been more of just a presence in the house than anything.  Cats' independent nature is why I prefer them as pets above other animals.  And our cat has been a pretty perfect example of that.  However, she has learned new tricks as she has gotten older.

When we got our new furniture and I did the pre-Christmas cleaning in December, I moved furniture around in some rooms.  Our upstairs bedroom is where the cat has found sanctuary for many, many years--a place she has preferred to be, as she doesn't really like people.  Because I moved the bed up there, her favorite place to sleep was no longer--she liked to sleep under the bed with her back pressed up to the heat run.  Her NEXT favorite place to sleep was under/behind the couch, with her back pressed up against the heat run.  (I can't understand why she needs to be near direct heat, as half of her 15 pounds is fur.)  I not only moved the couch so I could fit the Christmas tree in the living room, but the new one didn't have enough clearance for her to get under.  Again, she needed to find a new favorite place.  She finally has decided that under our bed is an acceptable sleeping area.  Of course, this isn't her PREFERRED place--if she had her druthers, she would be sleeping ON our bed 24/7.  And this is NOT going to happen.

With the new bed, I need to use a foot stool to climb up into it.  The cat has learned that it is MUCH easier to get into bed by using the stool, too.  She doesn't even try to jump up anymore--frankly, I think she is getting too old to jump that high comfortably.  I have no problem with her coming into bed and sleeping with me, but I will not have her on my bed all day long.  And I always move the foot stool when I get out of bed, so she doesn't have access to it until I go to bed the next time.  And this doesn't make her happy.

I don't store things under my bed like a lot of people do.  There is only ONE thing I keep there and that is the box my winter boots are in.  It just is easier for me to get to the boots the few times I need them during the winter if they are under the bed.  Under the bed has become the favorite place for the cat to sleep when she can't get on top of the bed.  There is plenty of room there for any cat, even one that is big as ours, but she isn't satisfied.  She lets me know, every day, that she would be much happier on top of the bed.  Before settling down for one of her numerous daily naps, the cat pushes the box from under the bed, right into the center of the room, where I will be sure to see it--or trip over it, if I'm not careful.  And she does this more than once a day.  She has learned to take passive aggressive behavior to a completely new level.

My cat, in her favorite position:  Lying down.  :D