Cats and Whistles

[dwinterfield]

I'll get the hard part out of the way first.

Ten days ago we lost out 12 yr old cat, Lulu, to a coyote in the back yard.

I've been playing the whistle for less than a year. Lulu was the greatest, possibly the only, fan of my whistle playing. Shortly after I received my first inexpensive whistle as a gift, Lulu decided I could only play if the bottom end of the whistle was pressed against her face. This creates special challenges for a beginning player. Wherever she was in the house, if I started playing she'd be there - immediately. She was always affectionate and a little demanding, but the whistle became her obsession. I mostly play at a counter in the kitchen, sitting on a high stool. Over time, Lulu and I came to an understanding. I'd sit on one stool and she'd curl up on the other. Of course every 5 minutes or so she'd forget the rules, climb on the counter, lay across the music book and push the whistle aside with her face. I'd pick her up and remind her the other stool was a better location. She never quit trying to get into the music - literally! I sometimes practiced leaning against a wall just so I could play the difficult parts without a cat interuption. Our dog and our other cat have no interest in the whistle. (My wife is politely supportive.)

So how rare or common is this cat bahavior? I saw a reference in a C&F whistle review that "the cats love the whistle". Others in my whistle class have not encountered it.

For the last several months I've wondered if a good player, or any other player, came to the house, would Lulu behave the same? I'd love to think it was my playing. I suspect, I didn't matter as much as the whistle.

So do other cats or other animals respond to the whistle?

Thanks

[thurlowe]

I'm sorry about your Lulu. My cat, also Lulu, does the same thing yours did. She will climb furniture (chairs, piano, windowsills) to reach the whistle, and if she does, she grabs the end and rubs her face on it. I walk and play as I practice now. She's a black, orange, and white calico. Her sister, Belle, just continues to sleep until it's food time.

Again, I'm sorry about the loss of your sweet whistle-loving cat.

Cara

[JessieK]

Ack! I am so sorry to hear about your loss! I live in the woods and I saw a coyote on our property a week ago, so I am not letting my cats out anymore. They'll just have to deal with it. They were never used to going outside often, but I used to let them out once a week or so. Not any more.

My parents' cat, Mewkiss, does that. I don't think it means she likes it. I think it means just the opposite. She hates the sound of the whistle so much that she tried (when I played in her house) to push it out of my mouth. She purred, but I think that was to calm herself (cats will purr in vets' offices to calm themselves, too). I think mewkiss saw tha whistle as a torture device. My cats don't mind it, as they grew up with it.

[seisflutes]

I'm so sorry for your loss! That's so sad.

We have four cats,and they all do different things when I play whistle:
When I go out in our field to play,our barn cat,Dinah, runs out and wraps herself around my ankles,purring.She is the most enthusiastic about the whistle of all our cats.
When I'm playing in my room,our youngest cat,Noah, comes in and goes to sleep on my bed.
Merlin,the oldest cat (he's not too old,about seven I think),doesn't seem to care one way or the other.
Bella,the space-case, runs away at full tilt.She's a bit strange.

-Kelly

[vomitbunny]

I wound up accidentally conditioning our dogs to want out when I play. I always play as we walk around outside, and now when ever I play, if they havn't been out already, they think it's time for a walk.

[squidgirl]

So sorry about your Lulu! It always tears me up to lose one of my animals.

My cats don't seem to like my whistling much. The well-adjusted one simply uncoils herself and flows smoothy away, but my malajusted doggy-in-a-cat-suit has a typically mixed reaction. At first he trots into the room and settles down, purring loudly (perhaps nervously?), but as soon as I hit the first high G, A, or B, he scuttles out of the room in a huff.

OTOH, my little herd of free-range back yard guinea pigs seem to like my whistles. When I play outside, they pause from their incessant grazing and gaze up at me with round-eyed herbivorous wonder.

[greenspiderweb]

Hi All,
Sorry to hear about Lulu. We have two cats, Chessie(8lbs. and Monster 16lbs-two cats in one!). At first, they were very cuious about the whistle. Like, what the heck is that? I started with an A. Then they lost interest, and I've been playing mostly low D's.
Monster likes to be near most of the time(in case I ask if he's HUNGRY!), but he reacts to music in a good fashion. He likes to be near when I play guitar, and tonight, while I was noodleing on my high D's(something new for me) he was laying by me and the computer, and while I was playing, he was curling on his back, like he does when we talk kitty talk to him, and he's sleeping.
Now, when I pick up the fiddle, Chessie loves it! She comes over and sings in a high pitch! Not sure if that means; are you in pain Daddy? Or something more romantic!

[Caru]

I'm so sorry about your cat. She sounds really sweet.

Each of my cats reacts differently to the whistle. ShiKahr leaves the room immediately when I take it out of its case, even before it makes a sound. Ibra ignores it. Komarr watches intently for a minute or two, then meows a few times while circling the room. She does this for a few minutes, then settles down a while, then repeats. She doesn't leave, though.
I lost two cats this last year. Sneaky varied between running out of the room and sitting on the music. Rigel, who of all the cats I've ever had, was the closest to me, acted very much as you say Lulu did. She would climb up on my lap and purr, butting her head against the whistle, or else she would hop to the top of my chair and slowly ease her way down (I think she thought I wouldn't notice she was there when she did this -- like I'd not be aware of fifteen pounds settling onto my shoulder!).

[Crevan]

I have a Bearded Dragon. She jumps off her basking area and pays close attention to me when I play. I haven't decided whether she hates it or likes it but she's intrigued either way.

[dwinterfield]

Many thanks to everyone for their kind words.

Lulu was a fine cat and a fine friend. And while opinion seems divided, I'm sure she was a whistle lover. (High whistles only, I'd just started working with low whistles and she had no interest.) Sometimes when she was outside and it was getting dark, and I wanted her in, I'd sit outside and practice. She always came to the whistle, even when she could have gotten away from it.

A note to Jessie, who's seen a coyote on her land. I think dawn and dusk are the most dangerous times. We live on a salt marsh on the coast 35 miles south of Boston. Coyotes have become a constant presence. Oddly wildlife has become much more visible in the past few years. I've taken pictures in our yard of a coyote, up to 10 deer at a time and wild turkeys. We also see foxes all the time. Ten years ago any of these would have been startling events. Now they're common.

And here's Lulu sitting on top of the grill. The grey cat is Pete. He is competely uninterested in whistle music. And lately he seems content to look out the window and not go outside. He always been a fraidy cat.

In any event, thanks to everyone.

Mark

[anniemcu]

OTOH, my little herd of free-range back yard guinea pigs seem to like my whistles. When I play outside, they pause from their incessant grazing and gaze up at me with round-eyed herbivorous wonder.

Hey, they don't call 'em "whistle pigs" fer nuthin'...

[anniemcu]

I'll get the hard part out of the way first.

Ten days ago we lost out 12 yr old cat, Lulu, to a coyote in the back yard.

...

I am so sorry for your loss... it is hard to loose a friend... *especially* one who at the very least pretended to like your whistling....

I am amazed to see in the photo of your Lulu, and Cara's description of her Lulu, both match my Lulu (actually Talulah, aka Lulubelle)... she's a character, way out of the ordinary even for a cat... She doesn't care what you are doing as long as you will pay attention to her while you do it.

My little shoulder cat, Dolly, will sit on my desk if I am playing the whistle here, but otherwise doesn't seem to to seek it out... however, one thing that I've noticed about just about every cat I've ever known is that they *know* where your focus of attention is and they will do whatever necessary, including draw blood, to get there. If I'm outside playing, the whole herd comes to hang around... some at greater distance, but all near enough to be counted.

I wish your heart a speedy recovery... bless her kitty soul.