When Delilah joined our pack and we realized just how much work she needed, I admit I had hopes that some of Sampson’s goodness would wear off on her.
You know, those sweet qualities you cherish in your good dog? Like not climbing on the counters, or dancing under your feet while you try to prepare their meals.
Yeah, those ones.
It seems that Sampson doesn’t have that much influence over Delilah, instead I’m actually thinking some of her naughtier traits are wearing off on him. 😦
And then there’s Bob.
Bob is our youngest daughter’s cat who through a set of circumstances ended up in our care. He has been with us close to a year now and I’ve come to realize that Bob is acting more and more like a …..dog.
Here are the things Bob does that remind me of the dogs:
Greets us at the door.
Runs upstairs, lies on the rug waiting for tummy rubbies.
Sleeps in a crate.
Sleeps on a dog bed.
Hovers around the kitchen.
Waits at the back door (as if I’m going to let him go outside!)
He drinks from the dog’s water bowl…..oh and sometimes he just sits there staring at the water.
So would I call him a dat or a cog? What should I say when people ask me how many pets I have and what kind they are?
I know we are not supposed to humanize our pets (there’s a word for that, right?) But what if our pets are morphing themselves, what do they call that?
Do you have a pet that has picked up a trait or quirk of another species?
Book update: My book has 15,341 words.
jodistone 
Comments on: "What Would You Call Him?" (43)
First off, way to go on crossing 15,000!
For the cat becoming a dog I’d say he is woofandwagomorphizing
And for Sampson taking after Delilah, my guess is that he is nonobaddogomorphizing
Thanks Donna, I love your words!!
It surprises me how quickly the words come out. Now I just hope to God is half way decent!! How is your editing coming along?
Don’t worry (too much) over whether its good or bad at this point, get it all down on paper while you have all that steam, and you can edit it later! One thing I did do though which you might fine very helpful is that each time I finished a chapter, I wrote a small chapter summary which I am keeping in a separate word file to refer back to. It is helping tremendously now as I’m editing, (which is going well – thanks!), for when I want to remember where a character left something, or what time they go to work, or how far their jobs are, or even what time it gets dark at the time of year I’m writing my story….Something to consider anyway to save headaches later on.
When Bob starts begging for bones an coming when you call him, I’d start calling him a dog.
Maybe you should try training Bob and hope he rubs off on Delilah.
Exciting to see your book progress. That’s about 3 chapters worth, right?
Believe it or not I am trying to teach him to come when called. It would be nice if he could help Delilah out. 🙂
Oh no, the book has about 18 chapters right now…:-( Are they too short?
Bob is such a sweet guy, he always comes when you call him! when I do at least. you just gotta know how to do it. Cats like it when you sound really excited like there is something so awesome that they just have to check out (kind of like dogs, but the cats play it cool).
mom – he likes being called BABY KITTYYYYYY
My cat definitely thinks she is superior to the dogs. But we raised some kittens in bottles from the age of 2 weeks once after the mother was killed. Their only role models were humans and dogs and they had a lot of the characteristics of the dog who watched over them.
I guess it’s sort of like the boy raised by wolves? You emulate what you see.
Oh Jodi . . . when you talk about Sampson and Delilah, I SWEAR you are talking about Candy and Ginger. The EXACT same thing happened here . . . instead of Ginger getting Candy’s good traits, the reverse . . . although I must admit, with the puppy here both of them have been much better. Maybe you need a puppy?
As far as cats go. Mindy (my oldest daughter) has a cat and when she got her she was just a few weeks old. Sammy (mini doxi) was still alive and Mindy was caring for him. Bali (kitty) thought Sammy was her Mommy (minus nursing equipment). Bali plays “fetch” like a dog and gives Love Licks like a dog.
Animals are strange and fun. 😀
LOL Laura, you know what they say about kids? If your first one is good watch out for the second one…..same holds true with dogs. 🙂
It’s funny because this past week Sampson has actually licked the cat twice, but that still doesn’t keep him from chasing him. LOL
Ha ha! Yes, George is just like Bob! He does all those things. He also follows me everywhere, lies behind/under my feet while I’m doing the dishes or sitting on the sofa, he greets me at the gate and comes when you call him. Total canine cat!
My favorite thing (she says sarcastically) is when he walks under my feet and I accidently step on him and then he gets indignant with me!
Canine cat? I like.
anthropomorphism..
Now my mom had ONE cat in her entire life… She had NO CLUE… not a one. OK? So, this cat was given a baff Every Sunday Evening. AND he would line up with the short hairs and “Speak”… Sit UP … roll over.. and Shake… just like THEY did. PLUS when she asked who wanted to go bye bye??? HE was the furst TO the door.. First to the Car and first IN. Like I said… she had no clue about how to live with a CAT. BaaaaWaaaah
Thank you for the word!!
I don’t kow many cats that do/did all of what your mom’s did. She had a very special cat.
Oh my gosh Jodi he looks like my K.C. and he stares at the water bowl too 🙂
Way to go on your book!!
Thanks Misty.
I don’t get the water bowl staring, not one bit.
Me either!
I’m just happy that my cats (2) are ALIVE! With me running a canine rescue and bringing strange dogs into the house all the time, they are both frequently targets. Amazingly enough, it doesn’t stop either one from coming into the living area of the house and mingling.
That is amazing that you can bring all those dogs in and still manage to maintain the two cats, if they are at all like Bob when it gets to crowded or crazy he finds a place to hunker down.
Cute pictures. It looks like Bob is just trying to be a part of the family. 🙂
I think he is Mary Ann, I think he is lonely for another cat but I just can’t do it. I’m allergic. 😦
Bob has another “dog” behavior…..if you leave the toilet lid up he likes to drink from the toilet! It’s rare to catch him at it but also hilarious
I haven’t caught him doing that yet!
Love the pics of Bob… he really is trying out all the dog things. Though my guess is that he’s letting the dogs know that this might be a ‘dog bed’, ‘dog crate’, ‘dog bowl’, but what it comes down to is that it’s still the cat’s property 😛
LOL Cat’s are pretty independent. I saw Delilah weighing her couch choice last night seeing Bob was perched above where she would be sleeping.
I agree with Lexy! You and the dogs maybe don’t realize yet, but that is Bob’s house and Bob’s stuff lol!! You are his human and your sole purpose in life is to Serve King Bob. The dogs are subjects under his dominion! Too funny. I love your new appellation – Cog! Congrats on the progress of your book, Jodi!
Cats are like that, I know. 🙂
Thanks Kathy, some parts are sounding pretty good, others….eh.
It’s Kathy in that Anonymous comment above, don’t know why since I logged in as SassyKassy… hmmmm.
I think Bob is just trying to fit in!
Agreed.
Great post and pictures Jodi. I think Bog has morphed into a dog – perhaps he should be called Bog! 🙂
🙂 I meant Bob has morphed into a dog!
Just tell everyone that you have 3 dats.
I love Bob. Whenever you talk about him he sounds exactly like my kind of cat. Maybe that’s because he’s part dog? Have you taught him any tricks yet? 😉
It weirds me out when my cat just stares silently at something, like how Bob is staring at the water. Sometimes he will curl up and stare at the wall. It’s so strange. And creepy.
Bob is too cute… who needs labels? 🙂
LOL we label everything.
Our kitty does a lot of the dog-like things Bob does. Kitty also comes when called. Odd really. 🙂
Isn’t it? Do you notice the dogs doing anything Nestle does? I haven’t yet.
Hahahaha – Bob is just Bob both a cat and a dog. I just want to pick him up and hug him. 🙂
He would love that. I rarely pick him up because of my allergies. Hubby gives him lots of attention but I have had too many of my kids let me fall in love with their cats only to have them taken away again. I am not falling for his charms!
Those pictures of Bob are priceless & adorable! Ollie does a lot of those things too! In fact, I panic if he DOESN’T meet me at the door!
Yes, if I don’t see him running around under my feet, I panic. We’ve lost him before.
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