Television for cats: just one more reason not to have cable

Cat with remote If you have a cat, I’m sure you’ve heard about the world’s first TV program specifically designed for cats. This groundbreaking show premiered — ironically — on the Oxygen Network, which demonstrates what can happen when creative minds are allowed to collaborate freely and openly in a room that is actually being deprived of oxygen. That’s the only explanation I have for some of the things I saw on this show; things like cats doing yoga. Cat haiku. And a cat that eats with chopsticks.

Yes, I said a cat that eats with chopsticks.

As you might’ve guessed, the cat I saw doing this was Siamese, which is a breed known for its intelligence. I watched in amazement as Ying-Yow (which is Cantonese for “always hungry”) demonstrated his supreme cognitive skills by using chopsticks fitted with special “booties” to eat a mixture of dry cat food and squid. As impressive as this was, he still isn’t as smart as our cat, which would have simply run away to find a new family.

But not before breaking his chopsticks in half and shoving them into the nearest “booty.”

This isn’t to say that Meow TV is just a cat variety show. There are also long segments where the screen shows nothing but fish swimming in a bowl. Or sparrows eating in the park. This can last 10 to 15 minutes at a time without explanation or purpose, which is why I found myself checking to make sure I hadn’t accidentally switched to watching an old rerun of Teletubbies.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this show, let me just say it’s been many years since I watched that show with my children, and I still have no idea what was going on. I remember the names of the characters, and that they lived underground in a spaceship somewhere in a magical land. They all had some kind of antenna on top of their heads, each of which appeared to have been damaged.

Probably when they crash-landed on Earth.

This would explain why they spent all of their time making baby sounds and dancing with a vacuum cleaner named “Noo-Noo” instead of accomplishing their supreme objective: To set up a base camp for the alien invasion. I say this because they had a highly advanced communication system complete with viewing screens mounted INSIDE their stomachs, and a giant transmitter disguised as a windmill that picked up images from anywhere on the planet — and all of which they used for surveillance of things like….

Someone folding laundry.

So, what’s the connection between Teletubbies and Meow TV?

First, our cat won’t watch either one.

Second, when I took into account the many hours I spent with my children trying to understand Teletubbies, I felt I owed our cat the same consideration when it came to Meow TV.

I’ll now describe this experience in the form of cat haiku:

We tried cat yoga
Striving to reach inner peace
Before I bled out

That said, I hope those of you with cats have better luck than I did. My suggestion would be to avoid any form of yoga that places you within 20 feet of your cat.

Particularly if it has had to spend any time eating with chopsticks.

______________________________________________________________________________________

image

(Ned Hickson is a syndicated columnist with News Media Corporation and a member of the writing team at Long Awkward Pause. His first book, Humor at the Speed of Life, is available from Port Hole Publications, Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Disclaimer: Even if you choose Ned’s book for summer reading, you should still use sunscreen.)

Published by

Ned's Blog

I was a journalist, humor columnist, writer and editor at Siuslaw News for 23 years. The next chapter in my own writer’s journey is helping other writers prepare their manuscript for the road ahead. I'm married to the perfect woman, have four great kids, and a tenuous grip on my sanity...

32 thoughts on “Television for cats: just one more reason not to have cable”

  4. Oddly enough, I’ve had some cats that totally ignored the TV regardless of what was on – as if there were no images – and others who have been fascinated by certain shows. Counter-intuitively, it seemed the smarter ones noticed the TV. 😀

    Reply

  6. I tried watching something called “Woof TV”, but who wants 24-hour video of someone smiling from the screen repeating “Who’s a good boy? Yes, you are!”

    We briefly subscribed to the “Ferret Network”, but every time we turned our backs, the television kept disappearing under the couch.

    And “Goldfish TV” lasted all of six hours and clogged the toilet.

    Oh, and warning, “Beaver TV” is not what you think…just putting that out there in case there are kids in the room (by which I mean, goats).

    Reply

  11. This is a breakthrough for me, the last time I went to my Mothers house the door was wide open and the TV was on full blast, she was nowhere to be found and loves murder mystery shows.
    Not long after I was there she pulled up in her driveway; I went out to greet her and ask her why she left the door open and the TV blaring when she left. Her response? I leave the TV on for the cat.
    I told her the cat was upstairs, where it ALWAYS is buried under 5 blankets in a chair in the corner of her room, probably to afraid to come down the stairs because it hears someone getting bludgeoned to death…much like I thought when I walked in the door.
    I can’t wait to tell her about Cat cable. For the cat’s sake, her neighbors sake, and mine the next time I go over.

    PS: The cat is, you guessed it, Siamese.

    Reply

Leave a reply to kerbey Cancel reply