Two weeks ago Sunday I was sitting in one of the wing-back chairs reading and I casually remarked to John,
"When Toby becomes old and fat someday, I hope she becomes a lap kitty."
As I said this Toby walked by where I was sitting and stretched--a long lean cat stretch that only this petite little not-even-5-pound kitty can do. She reaches out her front legs and elongates her trunk until you are sure she's going to snap in two because there's only a skinny little ribcage w/about a 3" circumference pulled between front and back paws.
John sort of guffawed, as if to say "Yah, right. Toby'll never trust anyone's lap."
Toby truly lives up to the name "scaredy-cat." The first months of her life are a mystery, but we do know that our neighbors adopted her from the local shelter when she was about 4 months old. But she didn't acclimate well to life with two small children and took to living in our garden instead of with her owners. Toby, smaller than most of the bunnies and rats who live in the garden, held her own against the coyotes and hawks until our friend Karen caught her for us. I had tried to catch her myself, but gave up after having my neck shredded a couple of times.
Karen, cat-handler-extraordinaire, bundled Toby in a sweatshirt and brought her to our house. Toby immediately decided that E was the only human she would even allow to come near her and promptly took up ownership of E's bed.
Since that day 2 years ago Toby has made some strides in becoming more comfortable with our family, but she still rarely tolerates any sort of affection and DOES NOT LIKE BEING HELD. I say this in caps, because if you ever come to our house you'll remember not to reach over and pick up Toby. It's oh-so-tempting because she's barely bigger than a gerbil and has the softest fur ever. But BEWARE THE CUTE KITTY. She's got fangs (I mean, uh, claws) and she knows how to use them.
So...last Sunday you could've knocked me over w/a feather when I was sitting up to the table typing on my laptop and Toby, ever-so-matter-of-factly, stepped off from the table and onto my lap, purring as if she was a teakettle boiling dry, and curling up in a ball. She's done it several times since then, even just now as I am typing on my laptop at the sewing table in my bedroom. I still can't figure out if she thinks my lap is attached to me, or if it's just some type of chair that happens to follow me around everywhere. I can hardly imagine that she's actually trusting her body to come in close contact with a human, much less a human that isn't E.
But what I really hope is that she heard my wish two weeks ago and decided that it was time to show me how much she loves it here, and to say thanks for the cozy bed to sleep in and the magic kibble bowl that's never empty. :)
7 comments:
Very nice story. Heartwarming, really.
I just love our cats, aged almost four and almost 20. The four year old, originally a young feral kitten we adopted, is very friendly and always chooses to be near people, but usually just out of reach, and never on our laps.
We use vinyl claw covers that glue on their front claws to protect our furniture. It's only hard the first few times.
Toby isn't black by any chance is she?
I've noticed that black cats seem to have more jitters than most -- I've had two of them and they both took years to develop enough trust for lap-sitting, and of course it still has to be their idea!
No cats at the moment, sadly. Two got old and passed on to the great scratching-post in the sky, the other ran away when we moved (she was one of the nervous black ones).
Is that racial profiling?
;0)
I'm glad your kitty is becoming more affectionate. My cat often sleeps at the foot of my bed, and some mornings she'll come sleep on my chest for the last hour or so before I get up. I really like it.
Toby's not black--sorry to ruin your theory Rich. :) Oh, and she's a girl depite having a boy name (it's a long story....)
Toby's a tabby--mostly a greyish-brownish color w/a spot of orange on one cheek and an orange garter around her back left leg. We suspect that Toby is part Abyssinian because she has the most striking features--a long, pointed nose with tall, large triangular ears.
Almost every one who comes over is completely charmed by her because she is so petite and graceful. And so many people just instinctively try to love her...of course we warn them...
But depite her skittishness she's become very playful over the last year--her favorite toys are the clear cylindrical lids off of out hairspray bottles and straws. She's also _intensely_ curious--though she's scared of everything she can't abide a closed door and if we have guests over she will sit where she has a good view of them.
Our other cat, Elly, is a warm-hearted ragdoll with a passion for purses and cardboard. She's the one who keeps me warn at night--sleeping between John and I or at my feet. Elly is totally patient--allowing me to shower her with kisses, rub my noe into her belly, or hold her like a baby. But she's not pretty (except to me, perhaps)--her fur is long-ish and she's covered w/lopsided B&W spots. Most folks are not immediately attracted to her because of her rather common appearance.
Our adopted ragdoll Lielu (strikingly beautiful with thick bunny-soft fur) now lives with grandma (she took up all the space in the room, wanting continual attention). Since grandma lives alone, it was a perfect match.
Her favorite toy is a red-laser dot. She'll literally exaust herself to panting chasing it around the house, up and down stairs, etc., and bug you endlessly when you tire of the game, wanting more. I affectionaly called it "red guy", pretending it lived in an electrical outlet (yeah, I'm kinda weird), and anyone mentions "red guy" out loud and she perks right up, looking anxiously around for her little "playmate". She would sit and stare at the electrial outlet for long periods of time waiting for it to emerge... kinda fun.
Rich: We have been looking for a laser toy for our kitties for months now. Where do you get them??? We've tried pet stores and office supply stores w/no luck.
I love the idea of pretending that the light comes out of the socket. If I can find a light I'll have to do something similar.
BTW, I had an acquaintance about 10 years ago who had a dog that became addicted to a laser pointer. The dog actually had emotional problems related to wanting the red dot friend so badly. They had to wean him off of it slowly and then get rid of it because he could 'smell' it wherever they hid it. Crazy.
Jana,
It's just a simple dual-AA cell laser pointer (looks like a penlight with a pocket clip) that I'd have thought you could find just about anywhere (did you try Wal-Mart or Target?). I've seen some keychain mini models for under $10, though I can't say exactly where now (last place I remember was Media Play, but of course they are now out of business). I'm really surprised that Staples or Office Max don't carry them, as everybody that ever does a slide show or uses a digital projector seems to have one. I was given mine by a former employer.
I also have a green laser (bought it online from z-bolt.com), but it's way too bright (5mw) for cat play (I use it for pointing out constellations at "star parties" I do every month up at Sundance Ski Resort).
I can believe that animals get addicted to these things... beware!
:O)
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