The mystery of cats' furballs

I have two cats - August is a sacred birman, and Lillen (i.e. "Tiny", because he is the biggest I suppose) is a british shorthair. They are of course the most handsome and charming cats in the world! (See their photos, right!) But while I've had them for over a decade now, I will never understand their different approaches to where to place their furballs...

Lillen is a very straight-forward kind of guy: first, he does not "deliver" them too frequently, so I guess they mostly exit the other way in the litter box... But when he does, he just coughs a little and places them neatly on the floor, usually in the livingroom, and usually right where you walk the most. So it is easy to spot and easy to clean up.

August is a totally different matter, however. Due to his long fur, I suppose, his furball-frequency is quite high, and he has to cough quite dramatically before he manages to throw it up. (Whenever my mom is coming to cat-sit, she always asks if August has puked any furballs recently: she hopes he won't do it when she's there, as she's convinced he is about to die because of the long, persistent, dramatic coughing.)

But the mystery is: why does he choose such odd places to throw them up in? It is either well-hidden (hard to reach places like under my bed is a popular spot) OR he aims for a carpet! I must be the world's most frequent carpet-washer! The result is, after all these years, that I tend to live without carpets... Well I have a pretty hardwood floor (light oak) but it is, admittedly, a bit bare without carpets.

August is a charming cat in many ways, but I almost gave him away one weekend, when I rolled out newly washed carpets in the living room as I was expecting dinner-guests the same evening - and after just an hour he placed a huge, gooey fur ball smack in the middle!

I wiped it off as best I could, and the carpet dried out well enough before the guests came so I could flip it over, but August was not a popular member of the household that day.

Well, I do love my cats, and I could not imagine living without one, but if I ever get a new cat, I will try to find out first what their furball-placing habits are...

/Kris C