Cat circle

On the radio, they described an experiment you could do on your cat. It doesn't harm your cat, and other experiments have shown that cats feel less stressed when they're allowed access to small spaces like boxes. I thought I'd give it a go on my trusty test specimen, Mr Perkins.

I got home at around five thirty. Now, we all know that this is not supper time. All of us except Mr Perkins. He spent half an hour doing his usual palaver, at which point I decided the experiment would begin.

The experiment involves making a circle and putting the cat in it. The circle isn't there to trap the cat, so it must be made from something that he cat can easily get past if it wants to, such as socks.

The expected result is that the cat will consider the circle its territory, and it will stay inside it to protect it. Those of you who are familiar with Mr Perkins and the hours leading up to supper time may be able to predict the actual result.

I picked Mr Perkins up and cuddled him all the way to the bedroom. I put him on the bed. He ran off.

I made a rough circle from a couple of scarves, then told him it wasn't supper time yet.

I bribed him back to the bed with his favourite sweeties. I put one in the middle of the circle. When he'd twigged where it was, he scarfed it down and requested another. I said no. He ran off.

As I told him it still wasn't supper time, I realised the futility of trying to get him to cooperate with anything before seven o'clock. Perhaps I'll try again in the morning.