cat loaf/sprawl

I periodically wonder about certain things that I observe in the world. Too many to list here, but one in particular keeps popping up. Every day, in fact.

I am sitting here, trying to think what to write about, and I glance over at the cat on the couch. I figure most folks have seen a stationary cat at some point in their lives, and I can't possibly be the first to wonder about this. Moving cats have all sorts of settings (jumping, running, pouncing, swatting, slinking, etc.), but why does a stationary cat only seems to have two:

1. sprawled completely out, with no regard whatsoever for appearances, the laziest thing you've ever seen
2. cat loaf

The first one I completely understand. "What in the world is a cat loaf?", you might ask. That's the term I use for when the feline is sitting, well, sort of like a loaf of bread. Head forward, paws tucked under front of body, tail tucked around out of sight, body positioned sort of like a roast chicken. Cat loaf.

Like most things, this may have no bearing on your life, but I still wonder about it. Are they programmed to do that? Is there a cat newsletter or website they check when we're not looking? Don't even get me started on cats surfing the internet. I can't tell you how many times I've come home only to find cat hair and slobber on the keyboard.

I've actually caught 'em in the act once or thrice. Slink over, quiet as can be, one paw onto the keyboard (preferably right on the power button), look around to make sure nobody's watching, and curl up on the nice warm laptop.

And you thought Microsoft was responsible for your computer crashing.