Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

We adopted a year old cat from the local animal shelter. He's a beautiful animal. He's white with pink ears and paws. He's still got a little kitten in him so he's frisky at times and likes to bat and play, but in general he has a polite and sedate disposition.

At the shelter they told us that he was deaf. We called him Mingus. We didn't care if he was deaf, it was probably just as well considering all the bad music that gets played around here.

But as Mingus has settled into our family and I have had time to observe him, I have discovered that he is by no means deaf. My diagnosis is that he was just severely institutionalized. In his short life he had been adopted twice and returned to the shelter because he didn't get along with other cats in the households.

At first I was prepared to accept the word from the folks at the shelter that Mingus was deaf. Then I began observing that while he didn't respond to our voices, he did react to sounds like running water and squirrels in our walls.

That's when I knew it was just a game. He wasn't deaf, he just chose to ignore the complaints of mere humans. I call this the Mexican Bus Boy Syndrome. Young children often display it. It's selective deafness. When you try to get a clean glass from the Mexican bus boy in a restaurant he looks at you with that 'no savvy english' look, but when you put a five dollar tip on the table he speaks the language perfectly.

I have seen this selective deafness also displayed in people who were severely institutionalized. They can retreat to their own private worlds.

But Mingus is coming around. He is starting to respond to our voices. I guess it's just a process of de-institutionalization.

obviously, you cured his deafness by naming him mingus. i bet he dances to your grooves, too, right?

i think we all have a touch of selective hearing. i know my grandfather did. i know quite a few people who have that, even if they use it just to make people repeat themselves. it's a pretty good trick. having people repeat themselves sometimes makes them think over what they said. it's a good way of weeding out the muck.

as cats are the sneakiest of all animals, i'll bet mingus even learned that trick from another cat at the shelter. they plan this shit.

what a trip!
Mingus was workin the crowd

Now he's at home, he admits to sensory prowess.

Wonder what's next on his list...perhaps coding a webpage here and there, arranging the kitchen drawers, picking up strays...

Yay Mingus!


Another feline soul saved and emancipated from human captivity into a human home and love.

May he live long and prosper . . .

--Mr. Spock

jack, backatcha

firsty, as long as we can keep the cats away from the monkeys, I think we'll be alright.

judih, yes I'm training the animal to take over my full duties so that I can retire to the leisure of my music.

Mingus was named by playing "Name That Cat." We had approx 25 names entered into the contest and voted and narrowed the choices down until Mingus looked over at me and nodded as if to say, "That's ME. I'm Mingus." And so we all agreed. I won the contest as it was one of the names I submitted. I didn't realize at the time, that the winner of the contest got the grand prize. He now owns me and I am the designated kitty litter box cleaner upper.

Here's that cool cat! I call him Chahlie (of course) when he's enjoying his own music. Dis cat's got da jive, brotha and sista! He ain't deaf! He's a jazzman! Handsome fella, huh?

I have two orange, male kittens. They are absolutely fucking insane.
When they're not wrestling and chasing each other around the apartment, they are shitting and eating. I love them, but I can't wait till the childhood phase is over. They claw at everything, knock everything over, and attack me while I'm sleeping. I discovered a sweet little trick to tire them out before I go to sleep.........I bought one of those laser pointers. They chase that little bead up the frigan walls, man. They get so tired they're tongues hang out of thier mouths as they pant and pant. I named them Castor and Pollox.

Congrats on your new addition. Whenever I listen to Mingus, I say I have been Mingusized..............

Cats love those laser pointers. Mine did the same thing when she was little. She even recognized the sound of me picking the pointer up off the table, could distinguish between that and the sound of a pen or pencil.

Mingus is so white, he could get into the Aryan Brotherhood (ba da boom)

Yeahyeahyeah!

LISTEN to Yabyum and shamatha and RUN, do not walk, to the nearest pet store and get a laser toy for your cat(s). Mine go BONKERS over the laser toy, which reminds me that I haven't let them play that game for quite a while! Wonder why? Just try to IMAGINE what it's like at my house with all those cats trying to catch that little point of red light! I try to single them out one by one for opportunities to chase it, but it's hard. Even Calypso, my little half-blind Siamese, wants to get in on the fun. Those toys are the BOMB!!

Yeah, and listen to Yabyum, TWO kitties are better than ONE! Even though I don't have a true orange, I highly recommend orange tabbies. They are quite naughty and nice. Some say they are more fun than dilute calicos, but I swear by my calicos. My Katy is smarter than I am, and she reminds me of that, daily.

Your new cat is, if possible, better looking in his recent pics, than he was in his pathetic "behind bars" pose in your initial post about him. He's a HANDSOME, gorgeous, dignified gentleman. A real beauty. A FINE cat, indeed, as Samuel Pepys would have said.

He ain't deaf, never was. I stand by my initial analysis of that misdiagnosis ....

BUT --- in answer to your theme, yes. I have noticed that a large portion of the people around my office speak ONLY Spanish, if you are an English-language solicitor. I do not believe they'd be averse to a cheaper price for auto insurance, but I certainly understand their desire to speak to someone who is culturally and linguistically in tune with them. Culturally-affected selective deafness.

Damn, I've GOT to learn Spanish.

My cats usually hear me. When I say "NO," they hear and obey, if not the first time, then usually the second time or at worst, the third. I've mastered the unpleasant tone of voice necessary to make cats desist from unpleasant activities. And I use it sparingly.

However, they won't come when called, all the time. Some do, and some don't, and of those that do, it's not 100%, ever.

"No"! is "no" in Spanish, Kat.

But try laying a little "Gato" on them . . .or for the sweet little ladies:

"Gatita" . . .


-Z
(N)

Oh ... Look at You, you sweet thing!

What a blessing you are to your new humans! (and they to you)

I hope your female human makes this photo into a banner ... and I'm so glad you have this wonderful new home and family to hang with Mingus JazzCat.

hi Mingus!! you have a beautiful rabbit touch!

aby & zlatko: if you say here to a woman "gato" you are saying to her that she is a whore. I don´t know if this expression is valid in your lands, but do a research first before you try to use it...