My wife brought home another rescued kittycat about a month ago, and he has settled in wonderfully. (We specialize in rescue animals, for various reasons, and it’s not because they are free. There is no such thing as a free cat. Or dog. Or hamster. Or… well, you get the idea.)
Anyhow, because he has extra toes on his front paws, and they are pretty large, she named him Bigfoot. She got to name this kitty; I got to name the last one before Bigfoot. Her name is Brillo.
And his extra front paw toes look very much like he is wearing mittens, and the thumb part looks to be opposable, so we may find him operating the TV the can opener or something similar.
He is also very friendly. This is the main part of the story. He is very cuddly, very affectionate, very tolerant of our five-year-old granddaughter, who was delighted with him because she could actually carry him around. Her mother owns two cats, but Peanut is very skittish and Piglet is a Maine Coon who weighed more than Alexa until about 6 months ago, and he doesn’t like being picked up at all. When I’m writing, he wants to be taught how. When I’m reading, same thing. When we’re watching TV he wants to watch too. When we go to bed if we aren’t careful he will sneak in and nap in a pile of quilts until the wee small hours of the morning, and then he decides to visit which usually involves crawling down under the covers until he feels suffocated, and then he crawls back up about halfway and carries on a conversation in Braille, which is invigorating because he hasn’t been declawed.
All of this and more, and what I want to know is how many of you also have a cat who could be described as relentlessly friendly??? Or implacably friendly?
BTW: if your cat asks to be taught how to read and write, tell him or her that in most states she/he needs a note from the vet…
Also, I really love Bigfoot. He is the most cuddly kittycat I’ve ever lived with.
Bigfoot sounds like a fantastic cat. Pictures please!
Our cat Elbie appears to have two personalities. Sometimes, he will run away for the flimsiest of reasons, or for no reason at all. He could be happily curled up on something soft, but if someone crinkles a plastic bag, or moves too quickly near him, or moves a large item (box, walking stick, jacket), he will bolt. He could be practically asleep (he sleeps with his eyes open most of the time) one second and halfway across the room the next.
At other times, though, he is a complete cuddlebug. He will march up to you, size up your lap or a likely spot on the bed/sofa, jump into it and immediately throw himself down with an audible thump, ending up with his paws in the air, his head upside down, and rumbling with purrs. He likes rubs anywhere and in any direction, and as his fur is very soft this is a pleasure for both parties.
In a way he was sort of a rescue cat. He was adopted from a shelter over two years ago by some people who used to live on the next road over, but he didn’t like living there and they didn’t seem keen on having him around. He eventually started living in our road instead, then moved into our house (the neighbours knew he had visited us because we told them in 2007, but then didn’t seem interested in his whereabouts at all when he spent the next two years at our house 95% of the time!) and when the neighbours moved away in July they gave us ownership of him. He’s about eight years old according to shelter records.
We have three cats, with the demise of Cookie.
Ratty is the mother. She is completely black, apart from a little grey grizzling if you look closely. She pretends to be feral, but doesn’t fool anybody. If a can of tuna is being opened, she will be there with the others.
Rascal is black with a white neckerchief. She can’t stand anyone being in the kitchen when she eats. However, she likes to sit on my wife when SHE eats. If my wife isn’t there, she’ll sit on me. She does the kneading business, claws out, and I have the scars on the tops of my legs to prove it.
Splodge is completely white. When she was a kitten, she had a black splodge on her head. It has disappeared now she has grown up, and the name mystifies many people. She has a slight eating disorder. She likes people to be in the kitchen when SHE eats. Guess which cat gets to eat more?
We have pictures of Splodge being carried relentlessly about by my daughter when my daughter was three years old. Splodge is broken to the lash. She is a very good-natured cat, and found it difficult to understand when my son began to suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She would scratch at his door, waking him up early, and effectively knocking him out for days. Splodge is an old softie. Sounds like you have one like Splodge.
We’ve just gotten a new rescue as well. He was my daughters cat and was hit by a car in the middle of the night. After two plates and eleven pins, and daughter and cat being evicted, Loki arrived to stay with us. He’s incredibly affectionate and talkative. His favorite way to wake us (usually about fifteen minutes before my alarm goes off) is to attempt to insert his entire head into one of our mouths. If our mouths are closed, nostrils or ears are the next best spots. . . in that order. He also seems to enjoy being worn like a fox stole around my wife’s neck when she’s working on her dissertation. Except for the waking me up thing, I’m quite glad he’s joined us. Here he is in mid-yawn.
Or implacably friendly?
