Loving your Cat

What’s the most important reason that your cat loves you. I don’t care what people tell you or what you read in books and on the internet. The reason your cat loves you is that you love your cat.

There are many other reasons but this has to be the main one. When I got Tigger, I brought him home from the cat sanctuary for my wife after choosing him from the litter that Scruff had had. He was officially known as Scruff’ kitten and he was the runt of a litter of 9 kittens. He was the smallest kitten but he was also the cutest and the one which was acting the funniest. There was an old mattress in the room and Scruff’s kitten #9 was climbing to the top of it as it was leant against the wall, then sliding down it. I took him home in the car in the bottom of a large leather bag I had with me. He never liked cars after that but when I got him home me and my wife were overjoyed with him. We fed him, played with him and loved him but when it came to bedtime, I was adamant that he get used to sleeping in the kitchen in a bed I had made him from a box as cats like to hide. It had a hole cut in the side and his blanket. We shut him in the kitchen and went to bed. It was awful, the most upsetting sound I have ever heard. Here he was, 5 weeks old, always had his mother, his brothers and sisters and he was alone, totally alone, for the first time ever

He howled, he cried, he mewed and he just sounded really pathetic. I couldn’t stand it and neither could my wife. I went and brought him into the bedroom where he threw himself at the duvet and clawed his way up onto the bed. He slept between us with his chin resting on my shoulder. That was it. I had got Tigger for my wife as a surrogate baby as I didn’t want kids but from that point on he was mine, my baby. It was always me he came to first, me he wanted to sit on and me he wanted to feed him, well that’s not really true, anyone could feed him but it was me he came to when he had finished. There was also another thing that happened that night, the bed became his. He slept on it when he wanted. If I wanted to move him as I wanted to get into bed he became stubborn and aggressive. Like I said, it was his bed.

There are other reasons why you cat loves you and I’ll list a few here, but remember the most important reason is that you love your cat.

Another main reason is that you feed your cat and you tend to feed your cat what it likes. Your cat will let you know what it doesn’t like and being the sucker like you are, you’ll avoid buying your cat what it doesn’t like and only buy it the best of what it does like. Go one, admit it, we all do that and why, because we all love our cats, and because of this they love us.

You are also a very comfy bed. Have you noticed that whenever you are relaxed and stretched out, your cat wants to do the same, relax and stretch out on you. You can tell they’re happy as they purr. Makes you feel good as well doesn’t it. You’re also a great playmate for your cat, especially when they're a kitten. A piece of string becomes something which has to be caught and beaten and I always find a table tennis ball is great fun as even the smallest kitten can knock it across the floor and it isn’t something they can swallow so it is safe to play with.

You also talk to your cat. I don’t know any cat owner who doesn’t talk to their friend, and we all tend to do it in the same way, either by meowing back or talking in a baby talk. Still however you talk to your cat it understands you. Learn to recognize their behaviour and you will understand them a lot more.

I developed this special voice for talking to Tigger when I wanted to play, a sort of deep growing and gruff voice. Whenever he heard it he would arch his back, sort of stand on tiptoe and prance sideways like those Spanish horses that are sometimes on the TV. Then, he’d pounce. I always knew I shouldn't use that voice and if I did, I should run away, but even though he attacked me he did it gently and in fun. Well I always assume it is in fun for him as it usually hurt me, well not really as he is only playing. He usually draws blood but not much and that’s when I tell him he has won and pack in playing. He’s happy as he knows he has won and that you have surrendered.

He then comes for a cuddle and it never fails to amaze me that I always seen to scratch or stroke him in the right place. It may be on his belly, behind his ears or where Tigger likes best, under his chin. Its another reason he loves me, I make him feel content.

I also make him  feel safe in two ways, I provide shelter with the house and his territory which his his, (not mine - remember), and I provide backup when he is in trouble.

The house is his, not just when we are out either. Its his all the time and he graciously lets me and my wife live in it with him, just to feed him and play with him when he wants to play. He has the run of the house and sleeps where he wants. He is always fed in the same place and many cats will have their own bathroom, (well litter tray), and we keep it clean for them and change it on a regular basis. Tigger doesn’t have a litter tray as he has our backyard and our neighbors place is the largest garden in the neighborhood. He is always in there and doesn’t mind the 2 dogs my neighbor has as they are always too slow to catch him. Mind you they’re so dumb they always bark loudly when my neighbor lets them out and alert everyone to their presence.

The other reason why your cat loves you so much is the protection you offer. Apart from the shelter your provide you also offer protection against larger animals. I once went out into my yard to see what the noise was and there were several other cats clustered round my truck being aggressive to something underneath it. Thinking it could be a rabbit I got down to help and there was Tigger, trembling, afraid and petrified. Remember, he was the runt of the litter, had always been small and was timid with other animals. He was shaking. I got him out and picked him up in my arms. The transformation was immediate. He was no longer timid, he was strong and aggressive, his back arched, his fur stood up, his claws came out and he spit at the other cats. Why, well he had me as his bodyguard and he wasn’t having any other cats coming on to his patch and messing with him. They ran off in the end and I had never heard him so aggressive. I was his backup and he felt safe, another reason why he loved me and me him.

Love your cat and your cat will love you.