Marulympics

And our next competitor in the Successive Box Vaulting event is Maru, representing Japan, who will attempt to break the record of nine boxes set in 1984 by Sven Meowsson of Sweden.




Thanks to Andrew Y. and Nancy K. for coverage of this event.

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17 thoughts on “Marulympics

  1. allein ? February 10, 2018 / 3:30 pm

    I saw this last night (youtube has mysteriously started recommending Maru videos…I can’t for the life of me figure out why… 😉 ). I’m always torn between sending them in or just waiting to see how long before they show up here. 😛

    I was expecting him to try 10-box from the arm of the couch (that’s how Stripes usually gets on top of the TV cabinet, though he can do it from the floor).

    Love the X-treme closeup at the end.

  2. Andrew February 10, 2018 / 4:03 pm

    The ending <3
    Maru will always be a 10/10 no matter what anyway <3

  3. dubravkamcvmd February 10, 2018 / 5:20 pm

    I was getting a little choked up watching Maru circling the tower of boxes , looking for the right angle, and finally being defeated by the sheer height. A valiant competitor! A hero!

    • Murray C February 11, 2018 / 10:58 pm

      What an athlete! He carefully sized up the situation and knew when things got difficult! And the purring at the end got to me – Sweet!

  4. Gigi The cat lady February 10, 2018 / 5:31 pm

    Is the spot on his nose getting bigger? Maybe it’s just that I’ve never seen it this close-up before. Anyway, nobody can say that Maru is not in shape!!

    • Alice Shortcake February 10, 2018 / 5:38 pm

      He’s amazingly agile for a gentleman of husky build and mature years.

      • Murray C February 11, 2018 / 11:00 pm

        We’ve seen him wet in the past and he’s not as husky as one might suppose.

  5. Ilonka February 10, 2018 / 5:36 pm

    I could FEEL his purr power through the interwebs!! Instantly feel better 🙂

  6. Dana February 10, 2018 / 7:36 pm

    This has GOT to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. For all of Maru’s silly (and wonderful) antics, he’s clearly very intelligent, surveying the heights from all possible angles and smartly realizing his limits. His defeated meowing at the end though was a little sad. But, his adorable up-close-purring made it all better. ?

  7. Kar February 10, 2018 / 8:18 pm

    Can I just say that as a commentator, that cow sucks?

    • dubravkamcvmd February 10, 2018 / 8:38 pm

      Definitely not ready for prime time

      • Alice Shortcake February 11, 2018 / 4:34 am

        Or even prime beef.

  8. Michael February 11, 2018 / 5:14 am

    Cats — even fat cats — are amazing animals. Nine is a lot of boxes.

    I kept expecting Maru to look over at her like “What are you DOING?” but I guess he’s used to these “enrichment activities” by now. (To be clear, I don’t disapprove; she never forces him to do anything, only provides opportunities. But HE might disapprove of being presented with something that frustrates him.)

    Do we know why the bottom box had the flaps sticking out? At first I thought she might think it would give him a boost, something to jump off of, but in fact they were a hindrance; toward the end he was jumping from the corners between flaps. Which he figured out quite smartly.

  9. diane in Los Angeles February 11, 2018 / 11:39 am

    I give him a 10.0

  10. debg February 11, 2018 / 4:06 pm

    When your box-addicted cat needs exercise, this is what you do.

    I loved Maru’s complaint-meows–“Mom, why you gotta make it so hard?”

  11. 6rabbits February 11, 2018 / 8:00 pm

    He looked especially contented at box 5!

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