Pets
My Cat Is Letting Me Stay
He keeps trying to get me to leave
“In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”- Terry Pratchett
My cat, Dark, has been confused lately. I’m home all the time. He wants to know what in the world I am doing here all day, every day.
Unexpected Pleasure
Dark was not supposed to come to my household. I fell in love with a tall-legged Munchkin kitten I saw on-line. My spouse thought since we both worked, it would be better if we brought two kittens. We inquired if there was another kitten we could purchase. Dark was the playmate recommendation. Sable kittens are special ragdolls bred from two other specially breed Ragdolls. The kittens are reserved before the parents are bred.
The Sable kittens are born white then turn darker as they age. Dark was born dark and stayed the same. Dark was a reject. No one wanted him. When we got this beautiful cat, he was not stunning. The kitten was seven months old, and the breeder still had him. No breeder wanted him. He was the color of diluted brown mud.
While his fur was soft, it was not as expected. He had soulful, sad sapphire eyes that stood out against the black coat. The cat was an enormous disappointment. He was supposed to sell for five to eight thousand dollars. We got him for five hundred. When we got home, he ran straight under our bed. We let him stay there.
We suspected that his status as a disappointment had lingered at the cattery. Dark would allow the smaller, younger kitten to take his food. He hid under the bed most of the time. When Dark came out, he would jump into the bathtub when upset. Dark came out late at night to poop, eat and drink. We left dry food out 24/7.
“When my cats aren’t happy, I’m not happy. Not because I care about their mood but because I know they’re just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.” Percy Bysshe Shelley
Most interestingly, once the kitten lived at our home for a few weeks, he lightened up. He eventually developed his medium brown sable coat. The cat has lightened up so much that he has spots of white mixed with brown on his chest and his belly.
Small Steps
I caught him in the cat litter box in the bathroom late at night. He looked so sad. He would stealthily creep out from under the bed and make his way to his box.
I started sitting on the floor to read. I read two to four books a month. I would sit on the floor near the bed to read my books. After a while, the woeful cat came to the edge of the bed to stare at me while I read. I would sometimes stare back at Dark, closing my eyes slowly to give him a cat blinky kiss. We had a breakthrough when one day, he crept over to me to lie beside me, pushing his head into my hands.
On certain days (I never figured out his safe trigger), he would follow me into the bathroom. There he would jump into the tub and stare at me as I did my business.
After a few months of sitting in the bathtub, Dark would climb up to allow me to pet his head while I sat on the toilet. His purr was soft and deep.
I continued to lie on the floor, talk to him, and feed him cat treats. I did this out of self-preservation…the black kitten I researched preferred my husband.
Bigger Steps
Dark began to sleep under my side of the bed pressed against the wall. One night, I woke to find the cat in the same position as under the bed but on top of the bed near my head. That became his spot. He would creep out from under the bed and lay by my head once he believed I was asleep, placing his paws on my hair.
Now, Dark follows me around; he is my supervisor inspecting everything that I do with his critical cat eyes. He is unhappy with whatever I do. I guess that I should not be home all of the time. I told him about the pandemic, but he doesn’t care.
We left freshwater and dry cat food out all of the time, but there was only one ½ can of wet food per day per cat. If they did not come out to eat within fifteen minutes, we picked up the wet food.
We would call “let’s eat” right before we opened the can in the kitchen. I would wave the food around, allowing the delicious aroma to waft throughout the house. Both cats ran to the kitchen to get a bit of wet food. Dark became more comfortable being out and about.
My Cat
Now, Dark follows me around; he is my supervisor inspecting everything that I do with his critical cat eyes. He is unhappy with whatever I do. I guess that I should not be home all of the time. I told him about the pandemic, but he doesn’t care.
This cat has never been cuddly, he prefers to lie with his entire body stretched against you. These days the lap-sitting occurs whenever I am having a particularly horrifying day watching the coronavirus devastating our country. As I sit with my mouth open, feeling sad and crazy, the cat will climb into my lap, meowing with a questioning meow. He will knead my lap, turn around a few times then settle down. This cuddliness is a new behavior. I appreciate Dark feeling my pain and working to soothe it with his warm cat presence.
The cat still follows me into the bathroom; however, he is unhappy with the length of my grooming activities. One of his favorite pastimes was to sit on the sink while I was getting ready to go out. He would walk in as I was getting into the shower and stayed until I finished my make-up and was ready to step out of the door. My routine has shrunk considerably, down from fifty minutes to a short fifteen. My hair routine is to let it all go. I’m not leaving the house.
I don’t care if my hair looks fuzzy or wild or has extra-tight curls. Only my spouse and cats will see it. I no longer put on mascara or gloss. I still put on my moisturizer, face, and eye cream. This takes much less time. The cat has noted my shortening of his bathroom time. He is not happy.
Yesterday, instead of leading me to the kitchen where I feed my two animal boys, Dark led me to the front door. Wait. What! Leading me to the front door is my husband’s cat job.
Why Are You Still Here?
Dark stood there, waiting for me to leave. I had to tell him that this was my house, not his. I pay the mortgage and if I don’t want to go, I don’t have to. My husband’s cat already has tried to force me out the door twice. I’m confident that the two cats are now cooperating to make me leave my house.
Dark sat throughout my rant, walked to the door, touched it, and looked at me. I am not getting out, I thought, you get out. To see what would happen, I opened the door; Dark did not walk out of the door. Instead, he gave me a blinky kiss as if to say “goodbye, see you later” and a grave meow. I could only laugh at his cattiness.
Dark can act like a dog. He will run to the front door and growl at whoever is at the door. He retrieves his cat toys and lays them at your feet. He wants you to throw his ball after you rub it with catnip. If you don’t put the catnip on the ball, he will only get it once or twice, but a cat-nipped ball will be retrieved until you tire of throwing.
My Crazy Cat
When I used to go out, this cat was happy to see me when I came home. He showed his genuine feelings before he settled into his “I don’t care about you” routine. Even though Dark is obviously unhappy with the amount of time I am spending at home, there is no other animal I would rather be quarantined with. Even with his outlandish cat habits, Dark is MINE.
I won him over.
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