That is so funny (I know - not to you guys!). One of our three cats is very interested when the TV is on - she does not cry, but sits in my lap staring at it, and if there are animals or birds in it, sometimes she walks around the back of the TV to see if she can get to where they are (especially birds). Unfortunately, I agree that they do not understand consequences when they have been naughty, even though I carefully explain what they did wrong, and why they should not do that (my DH thinks that I am funny!).

Jackie

Melissa, as you may know, I'm a songwriter/musician. Of all the many cats I've had in my life, only two have been "appreciative" of my playing or singing. My current kitty will abide my singing...in the garden, although she thinks it's an invitation to plop at my feet for *pets*. If I sing in the house, she acts concerned and worried (do I sound like I'm in pain? lol). If I play the piano, she will sit on the deck outside the music room and beg to be let in so she can circle around and around my feet. Her one absolute red line is that I am NOT allowed to talk on the telephone in her presence. For some reason (I'm ignoring her while obviously giving some other less-deserving being my attention?) it maddens her to the degree that she'll bite my ankles, lol.

I think many cats are not fond of any music other than singing, possible because their range of hearing is so much greater than a human's. Not only is their frequency range larger, their hearing is about 12x more sensitive than ours. They just hear sooooo much that we can't perceive. And music may seem chaotic to them, as well. In the case of your kitty, it may be something akin to the jealousy mine shows when I speak on the phone. You're giving your undivided attention to something, while totally ignoring the kitty.

Oh, and by the way, the only other cat I've had that "liked" music would only listen to certain singers. His favorite was Nat King Cole's Christmas album....but he HATED almost all female singers except for Anne Murray, lol. He could take or leave most any instrumental music, from jazz to classical. It was only human voices he had an opinion of!

John

John, I didn't know that you're a songwriter and musician: thanks for the information! All the happiest people sing and dance. Val is the only cat we have who has opinions about music. I don't know whether it might be because it's live; he's undisturbed by the sometimes extremely loud recorded music DD plays.

Frances and Jackie, thanks for more cat tales. These animals' reactions to recorded sounds and images is interesting. I've seen one of our cats watching a video on the computer, but he doesn't recognize DD's face and voice when she talks with us on Skype. I've also seen reactions to pictures of cats.

Your stories are so funny! I don't have cats - but my 3-year old son is a bit cat like sometimes... He will look at a flower, then look at me and then step on the flower to see my reaction! And talk for days after about how sad he was because I was sad. Kids (and cats) are funny...

There are points of resemblance. I've seen both one of my cats and a small child play 'Monster': hide behind a door, then squeak and run away in fright when someone opens it.

Also, while cats may not understand consequences, I've observed a quite sophisticated understanding of house rules on the part of our old cats and dog (all since passed away, I'm sorry to say).

P.S. Three years old is a great age! But then they all are.