I've read studies about animals that have a "sixth sense" about their owners approaching home, even when they aren't immediately visible or audible. For instance, if a homeowner has been away for hours a dog or cat may wait impatiently at the window or on their familiar cushion but for no apparent reason, ears perk and this loyal animal will run to the door and expectantly sit with eager anticipation of their loved one making their entrance. I am no stranger to this phenomena as my own three cats often come greet me at the door when I arrive home and since I know how lazy they are, and how distant their beddy-byes and sunspots are, they may have had to amble at least five or ten feet when I opened the door. How is this possible? I know that this can be explained in different ways. Obviously, one may argue there is a habitual response in the behavior of the owner and the animal and the arrival times do not vary much and the pet is merely responding out of a pattern of learned behavior. We could also assume that there is some kind of response from another person within the home that tips the pets off to the approaching owner. Maybe they even have such a strong sense of smell that the owner's arrival is something we underestimate in terms of what we've already studied in the senses of dogs and cats.
Or MAYBE, our animals are extraterrestrials. Haha. I kid. I wanted to make sure you were still reading.
What is most amazing is that one of my cats is holding my slippers, the other brings me a newspaper, and the third one is bringing me a drink. This is outrageous and I think deserves special recognition. Can anyone else brag about THEIR cat doing this?? All my dog-owner friends get barks and jumped on. Occasionally I will go to a friends house and the dog will come and sniff me in such a private and intimate way that I have to step back and say, "Excuse me! Have we MET?!!" Of course we may have, but this seems to have no reflection on the manners of the dog, or the owner, as I am being probed by a wet nose and I slap it away as gently and as politely as possible. (I need to mention, I am being polite in only slapping a dog's face away from my crotch--but some people do get offended if you push the dog's nose away! "Oh, they must smell your pet!" Really? That's not where I keep it...duh) I think I may just need to purchase some armor in the future before I arrive at a dog-lover's home to avoid being violated. Some dogs are much more well-behaved and will only bark at you until you acknowledge them and then they run away and scoff at you in private.
Dogs, I must say, are much more enthusiastic hosts than cats. They are genuinely excited to see you arrive. Most of the time you can tell because of all the noise and body language. If you had to measure a cat's excitement at a guests arrival, I'm not sure you could find a scale that measured that low. I have one or two cats that do greet guests, but it's only to sniff their fingers or pants leg to see if they brought any fresh fish. Most of the time they run away as if they heard the vacuum cleaner.
You know they don't REALLY bring me all these luxury items when I come home (but you didn't buy that for a minute, did you?) What they bring are these dramatic and exaggerated expressions of starvation, a little irritation for being awoken, but for the most part gratitude for my arrival. Because, naturally, even if they were fed a mere hour ago, they think it's chow time again. So there will be some disappointment when they realize I'm unpacking groceries, or making phone calls, or sitting down. But one cat or another will usually forgive me enough to come curl up next to me and shed volumes of fur onto the furniture to reassure me that it's going to be all right and they can endure their hardship just a little longer and sense it's coming sooner rather than later. These are incredibly intuitive creatures, after all.
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