Feline affection

Four kitties share my home with me, and each one shows me affection in a special and individual way.  Of course I love every minute of their attention-getting behaviours.  So I thought it would be fun to share them with some readers of cat-friendly websites.  My hope? That some who read this will think "yes!! My cat does that too!"  My kitties can't be that unique.

First up and in order of arrival to my home is Giuseppe.  He is a rescue, but I did have to spend some money for him because he is, after all a Ragdoll Cat with "papers", beautiful blue eyes and a bad habit that made him pretty much unadoptable never mind selling him.  He is a very vocal cat, kind of whining rather than meowing.  He sleeps on my bed and at times has to lean against me and request petting by chirping at me.  When I stop he nudges my hand and chirps again.  For a creature that sleeps a lot, he has little appreciation of my need for sleep.  And of course I accommodate him.

Seamus my ginger tabby is next.  He only seems to demand attention when I'm involved with electronic devices -- mainly my laptop computer and my cell phone and sometimes the TV (mostly when I'm sitting down to use them).  He's a very quiet kitty no meows, no chirping, no whining.  Instead he stands on his hind legs and grabs at my computer scaring me that he will pierce the screen with his claws even though they are trimmed.  Of course I get excited and tell him "no, no, no" which has only a temporary effect. With the cell phone he simply sits up, puts his extended claws on my knees and pricks the skin through my jeans etc.  It hurts enough to make me stop, yell, and sometimes stand up and walk around a bit.  If I yell out in pain he gives me the "what???" look , stops briefly and then starts again if I don't heed his warning (or maybe his demand).  Lucky for him I'm not inclined toward harsh discipline.  I do remind myself that he is, after all a cat.  For the most part though he is a gentle and loving lap cat who thinks the computer or the cell phone is in his spot. 

Next is the newest member of the pride - also a backyard rescue.  He's a beautiful long hair tuxedo cat, and smaller than any of the other cats.  He's now about 2 years old and I've had him about a year or so.  My neighbourfed him all last year. This year for some reason he turned up in my back yard - late summer and began terrorizing my backyard birds, chipmunks and squirrels.  Because I worried about all of them and the cold New England winter ahead for this little kitty - eventually named Merlin - I brought him inside.  I started slowly from 30 minutes increasing to an overnight stay.  I guess I forgot to introduce him to the litter boxes so we had a middle of the night cleanup, but he was a quick learner and hasn't had any problems since or rather I haven't had any problems with him. I did get him to the vet right away for shots, neutering and blood tests for contagious diseases.  He was good on all counts.  Oddly enough my other cats just stared at him curiously sometimes but there were no disagreements.  He did need flea treatments and we treated my other cats as well.

He is now a very affectionate kitty.  He likes my lap, the top of my chair (so he can play with my hair), sleeps with me at night and has to lean against me.  (Yes the bed is getting crowded).  His favorite sleeping spot is sleeping on my pillow so he can wrap himself around my head and knead my hair.  He pricks my scalp sometimes so I don't let him do it for very long, but he needs his fix.  He also likes to push his little head in my neck or face (whatever he can reach) and purr very loudly.  He follows me around the house, down to the basement while I do laundry and upstairs again.  His only problem behaviour is trying to get outside when the door is opened and sometimes he howls at night because he wants to go out (but I'm not letting him - way too cold and scary out there).  He's frisky and loves to play and chase toys and rub into me.  He also purrs very loudly and watches out the windows trying to slap at the wildlife that he sees.  I'm glad I have him, but I hope I don't find anymore strays.

And then there is Chloe, a white kitty with a calico face and tail.  She is a rescue from my sister's house. My sister already had about 7 cats - all ginger or orange tabby boys and just one girl. For whatever reason her cats were bullying little Chloe (though not the female, Daisy) who had already survived a year living outside and losing her mother kitty and subsequent litters to the road and dogs.  Gail brought her home when she met her, but her boys didn't approve.  The one female she had didn't seem to mind her.  Poor Chloe was terrified and hid all day and night and had a few litter box accidents (can you blame her?).  

When I was visiting my sister a few weeks after she brought Chloe home she told me her sad story and I was hooked.   I brought her home and my crew welcomed her and sort of ignored her too (which might have been just what she needed).

Today she remains a bit aloof with the cats, but does allow them to sleep on the same chair or bed at times.  Giuseppe is her best buddy and she will allow him to cuddle a little, and Seamus to wash her head a little.  She spent her first few months at my house sleeping on my stomach, but after the first 2 weeks we had a hurricane that cut our electricity for 6 days (others went 2 weeks so I guess I can't complain).  But through that I learned that she was a bit afraid of the dark - really dark, no moon.  She howled at night like a banshee, absolutely terrified to move. She slept in the crook of my arm and I couldn't move all night.  The next night I burned some oil lamps, candles and flashlights.  Problem solved.  She continues to be a somewhat anxious, but gentle kitty who demonstrates her affection for me by lying on my feet when I'm sitting and snuggling at night.  She sometimes follows me and also gives me those famous kitty head butts.  If my legs are crossed she will sit near me and wait for me to uncross them.  At times she does allow me to pet her, but she makes the rules.  I've never been sorry I brought her home, and I think she's happy to be here.

Linda Gavitt

Linda has written many other stories about her cats which you’ll find in this section (Cat Chat) of the website. Enjoy them because they’re very good!

• < Prev
• Next >