Clumsy Kittens: How Miki Fails at Climbing Trees

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Written by

Dr. Maja Platisa

In-House Veterinarian, DVM MRCVS

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Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and Miki, the kitten who made me a cat person.

So, I’ve never had a cat before Miki, and while being a vet working in the clinic for 9 years, I have managed to gather some opinions and form prejudices about cats. I mean, they can be grumpy, weird, and unpredictable, sometimes even mean to us vets and our nurses while we’re trying to do “unthinkable things” to them, like clipping their claws, and I can’t even count the number of times I have been scratched and bitten. So you can imagine how I thought I knew everything there is to know about cats. The good and the bad. How wrong was I, I am just beginning to grasp.

But, I also pictured in my mind, how agile and graceful cats must be. Climbing trees, jumping over fences, doing twists in mid-air, catching insects and prey, and much more. The amount of times we had an “escapee” inside the clinic and consultation rooms, the acrobatics these cats would do, just to hide in the tiniest of nooks and crannies, to avoid having their blood taken or receiving injections.

Are All Cats Naturally Good Climbers?

Rescuing a little kitten, I expected he was going to be the prime example of a competent and agile little cat, making trees his home, to get away from my curious but friendly dogs. And then reality hit. This little kitten seemed to fail every time he tried to climb a tree. And you know that feeling of embarrassment, when someone does something awkward, and you’ve seen it, and you feel bad for them, and you also feel bad that you’ve witnessed it. Well, that’s how Miki’s attempts at climbing make me feel. I just pretend I didn’t see yet another attempt of him going up the smallest tree, not even 5 feet high, and clumsily holding onto it for dear life. And then even more awkwardly half falling, half scrambling down, as there’s no nicer way to put it.

You’d think he’d get better with time. Well, let’s just say it’s been almost a year since this little fella came into my life, and he’s getting a little bit better, I should really give him some credit. But the confidence and feeling of pride bursting from his tall posture as he gets as high as 10 feet now (yes, we got to 10 feet, whoo hoo) is just priceless. If someone were watching us, they’d say we must be crazy. Well, me in particular. Cheering Miki on as he climbs up, looking so full of himself, and then pretending not to see how clumsily he ends up back down. But at least I didn’t need to call in the Fire and Rescue (yet).

Where is Miki?

So imagine my surprise when I visited some friends in the city for a night. I left Miki home alone, with enough dry food for a week, three full water bowls, a GPS tracker on his collar (set to indoor motion detection), and a pet camera. But don’t think for a minute that I’m an anxious cat owner, no way. I just like to make sure everything is under control. He was locked indoors, as it was overnight, and he usually sleeps indoors anyway, so his routine hasn’t changed much.

Now picture this. I’m out, dining with my friends, a false sense of calmness and joy on the outside, while worrying about him on the inside, and occasionally peeking at the camera. But there is no sign of Miki at all. Not an hour later, or even after a few hours. No motion whatsoever. The worry officially kicks in. But there’s no way out of the house. There’s no meowing. His GPS tracker says he is inside. A mystery.

Now, my house is not yet fully renovated, so I don’t have stairs in between the ground floor and first floor, just a metallic ladder. So I return home, open the door, and hear Miki meowing to greet me. But where is he? The little adventurer somehow managed to climb the ladder and went upstairs. But clearly, as climbing is not his superpower (but he doesn’t know it so let’s not spoil his moment), he didn’t know how to get down. He’s never done this before, and it hadn’t occurred to me he would try it. As it turns out, he is not so bad at climbing, but he really needs to work on coming down.

Anyway, I learned through knowing him, that cats can and will surprise us every day. Their behavior cannot be easily predicted, and that’s what makes it so fun and heartwarming having them around. He’s brought joy to my home, and became a part of the dog pack almost instantly. But he does need to work on his climbing skills. Excited to see what the future holds for us.