by Monica L. Garrett

Created on: July 14, 2009

Most animals have a sense of humor. Take for instance my cat. He wandered up in our front yard at about 3 months old and waited by the front door as my father approached with the key. My father unlocked the door and as soon as it opened, this cat, which we had never seen before, ran into the house and jumped up on the sofa.

My father, thinking my step-mother had previously had the cat inside, blamed her for the cat acting as if he owned the house. She swore that she had never seen the cat. The cat stared at us as if he were waiting for us to figure out that he had chosen us as his family.

Twelve years later and the cat still walks around like he owns the place. He is the most sarcastic cat I've ever met. We have several other cats but only this cat is arrogant, sarcastic and humorous.

When I threw the cat out for spraying the wall, he was furious. He bit me and that got him thrown out even faster. When he came back inside, he immediately went to my chair and sprayed it. He then looked at me, as if to say, take that! He then jumped down and walked away. I was far enough away that he knew he had time before I got to him.

My step-mother dislikes this cat. He irritates her on purpose. Therefore, when she told him that it was a good thing my father and I liked him or he would be homeless, he sprayed her purse. He does this very intentionally when he is mad.

Cats are not the only animals with a sense of humor.

Our pet raccoon had a great sense of humor. He thought it was hilarious to play tricks on my father. The raccoon was very intelligent and crafty. He would hide and attack. He would play with you with one "hand" and then grab what he wanted with the other and take off running.

Dogs are prone to a sense of humor as well. Missy was a very sweet Boston Terrier. That is, until you made her mad. She would take the top of her head and punch my father and I in the face for harassing her. She would then run to her mommy (my step-mom) and look at us with a gleam in her eye that said "Ha ha" just as clearly as if she'd spoken English.

I believe that most animals do have a sense of humor. Animals have personalities. They are unique, just as people are individuals. People get to know their pets and learn their personality. Some have more personality than others, just as people do. Animals are perfectly capable of having a sense of humor.

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