Pet Entertainment

Our tortoiseshell cat Kramer came into full alert when she heard water flowing in the bathroom. She would rush to the tub, hop in and flick her paw at the drain swirl. We expected her attendance at any Draining of the Tub or Running of the Shower. We all did except my then college aged son. He came home for a school break carrying his laundry and ready for a shower. Evidently he did not shut the door securely because Kramer heard the shower and came running. Sonny came out dripping and a bit freaked, “it is weird having that cat poke its head behind the curtain and watch me when I am taking a shower.” She wasn’t looking at you, Dude. She was looking at the water coming out of the shower. I guess he got used to it. That or he learned to lock the bathroom door against our feline voyeur. I guess that explains why the news story about videos for cats caught my attention when I saw it this week. Cats like to follow motion. With that knowledge and this nation’s obsession with finding ways to entertain their critters, pet owners can access videos for their cats or dogs, according to the New York Times. One Times reporter recently wrote that of all the videos made for cats, their cat’s favorite is an hour-long film of a string being pulled across the screen. Pet videos run from a few minutes to several hours. The author said that when they turn on the TV, the cat comes running to watch their shows with them.I checked on YouTube and found cat videos galore. One appears to be an artificial intelligence (AI) movie about mice scurrying in and out of holes. Others resemble a fish tank, a bird feeder with avian visitors that the cat cannot reach and one with flies buzzing on and off the screen. A cat video game has a toy tied to a string on a stick that appears, bounces around and disappears. If you cannot be there during the day to entertain the cat, turn on the TV and let your cat stare at it. I wonder if cats move in close and swat the TV when they try to catch the movie objects?That is exactly how one large dog responded to a YouTube video called “Squeaky Toy.” The dog wanted that squeaky sound. It walked over to the flat screen TV perched on a low shelf and jumped up to the screen to get that squeaky and pushed the TV over. In the background I could hear the owner shouting, “No! No!” just as the TV tips backwards. I bet that dog owner switched to “calming music for dogs” after that. And yes, there is music to soothe dogs while they sleep. One sleepy dog video lasts eight hours and the entire time shows only the picture of a golden retriever pup sleeping with its teddy bear.Videos for dogs also can provide entertainment while their owners go off to work. Most involve some place outside the house where birds, ducks and little furry animals roam. Apparently there is also DogTV. which advertises itself as “scientifically designed with sounds and visuals that dogs love.” Colors, sounds and visuals keep the dogs happy, relaxed and entertained. DogTV says it is TV with a purpose. Ahhh, such are the modern times with TV shows and gentle music just for pets. Too bad they can’t just go outside to play until they are tired or watch the tub drain as they did in the good ole days..