Wednesday, 28 June 2017

The Plot Thickens: In Which The Inevitable Turns Out Differently From Expected

As a dogsitter, it was inevitable that someone was going to ask me to watch their cat.

Last week, a friend got in touch. She would be away for a few days, she said, and could I do a couple of house visits for Oliver, the 5 year old ragdoll?

But... he's a cat, I protested.

Oliver the cat stands in the doorway. He has a grey face and ears, white fur and piercing blue eyes.
Hello human.

(Don't get me wrong, I like cats. They're pretty and they're clean. But do they want to go walkies? Do they need me to throw the ball endlessly? No? Then what do they need me for?)

Oliver's human assured me that cats are low-maintenance and that I would be up to the task.
I agreed, and listened to instructions about how to feed the cat and clean the litter box.

As it turned out, Oliver did have other uses for me.

Isn't he a total ham?

When I arrived he would come right up to me and rub against me, headbutt me and jump up practically into my lap when I sat on the couch.

He actually wanted to cuddle!

I was touched that this animal trusted me so implicitly -- it reminded me of Avapup. I guess animals are kind of amazing like that, whether canine, feline or otherwise.

Now -- a question for my readers who are cat people. Is sweet Oliver unusually friendly for a cat, or is the 'aloof' thing just a stereotype? Is your cat this physically affectionate?

And what is the universe trying to tell me by giving me a cat... that acts like a dog?