The Dreamer

I often wonder if Binx dreams when he sleeps. One day while I was doing my observations I noticed him sleeping and it looked like he was twitching. I got up from the couch to see if he was okay and as soon as I touched him the twitching stopped. I thought that maybe he was having a bad dream and was trying to get away from something just like I do when I have a bad dream I wake up in a panic. That day I didn't think much of it so I just continued to observe him. A few days later he started twitching again and I had walked over to him to pet him and it stopped. It was almost like my presence and me touching him made him feel better, it made him feel safe. After the second time that Binx was twitching it got me thinking a lot and I really wanted to know if cats dream while they sleep.

Binx Sleeping, dreaming but what he is dreaming about remains a mystery. (Photo taken by Devin Gonzalez. 25 Oct. 2014) 

I found out the answer to my question and the answer is yes cats do dream. Scientists monitored the brain activity of rats when they were awake and when they were asleep. They then concluded that all mammals dream. ("Do cats dream?"). In another website it stated that a man watched his cat and noticed that his cat's paws started twitching and his cat's breathing started to increase. Unfortunately it is not clear what cats dream about. ("Do Cats and Dogs Dream?").

After doing some research I continued to watch Binx when he slept. I compared the way he slept to the way I slept and I noticed some similarities. I had a bad dream one night and I could feel myself moving in a frantic way like I was trying to get away from something. I thought that maybe the reason why Binx was twitching was because he was trying to get away from something as well. I wish I could know what exactly Binx was dreaming about.

Works Cited
"Do cats dream?" Purina. 7 Feb. 2014. n.d. 9 Nov. 2014.
"Do Cats and Dogs Dream?" Parade's communityTable.com 10 Mar. 2014. n.d. 9 Nov. 2014.

Curiosity Almost Killed the Cat

With the weather changing and the seasons changing my mom and I love to having a fire going in the living room. So as soon and the weather starts to get colder the first thing we do is go out and get some wood to start a fire. I think I found someone else who likes a fire going just as much and my mom and I do. My lovely cat Binx. 

Before we had even started the fire we were cleaning out the ashes from the past fires. All of a sudden I look in the corner of my eye and I see Binx kind of tip toeing around the fire place. I knew by the way he was walking around it he was curious and wanted to know what was going on. I tried to shoo him away but it didn't work so well. In the matter of ten seconds he had already jumped into the fire place. This cat went from black to grey in an instant. 

Binx's tail right after he jumped in. (Photo taken by Devin Gonzalez. 30 Oct. 2014)

Binx lurking around the fire place. (Photo taken by Devin Gonzalez. 30 Oct. 2014)

After I cleaned Binx and got all the ashes off him we started the fire. The glow and warmth from this fire was inviting everyone to come sit near it. I sat in from of it for a while, my mom did, my grandma did and so did Binx. He started to creep towards fire and he got a little too close, way too close actually. Luckily I had grabbed him before anything serious happened. The last thing I wanted to happen was have this poor cat get a little too close to the fire. 

Just like Binx was curious with the fire, I was curious on why he was curious. What in his brain caused him to want to get so close to that fire? Cats are hunters. In the wild they have to be prepared or they wouldn't be able to survive. They must always be curious about their surroundings ("Why are cats so curious?").  

There's a bit of curiosity in everyone. When it comes to new food I want to know what it taste like. When I hear a noise I want to know where it came from. Or when someone asks, "Hey does this smell funny?" The first thing I do is put my nose to it because I want to know if it really does smell funny. We're all a little curious about something. 

Works cited 

"Why are cats so curious?" ireport.cnn.com. 23 Mar. 2013. n.d. 1 Nov. 2014.