We have been doing cat rescues for many years. We are not a shelter, and usually only have one or two cats at a time that we are trying to find homes for. Currently we have five cats and four dogs. Four of the cats our part of our family, and the 5th one, a rescue is currently up for adoption. I thought that I knew a lot about cat behavior, however I am finding out that each cat is unique, and that no one can fully understand cat behavior. The cat that I am writing about is CJ, (Cracker Jack) ( yeah the shelter named him and microchipped him under that name so we are stuck with it) our two year-old neutered male who is half Apple Head Siamese, and half American Long Hair/ whatever? CJ and his siblings resulted when the children of a Siamese breeder let one of the breed females out of the house while she was in heat. They think that she mated with a longhaired cat that looks very much like a Maine Coon, but is a mixed breed cat. No one knows for sure. Since the kittens were not purebreed, the breeder dumped the litter at an animal shelter. All of the kittens had distinctive appearances. CJ happened to have the coloring of his mother with blue eyes, and a long coat, so he looks like a long haired Blue Point Siamese, or a Himalyan with a Maine Coon face. At seven weeks old the shelter had adopted all of the kittens from CJ's litter, except for CJ, who had suffered an accident while playing with another cat. CJ had jumped off of a crate, however his left rear leg was stuck in the wires of the crate. He broke the tibia and fibula in his left rear leg. The shelter took CJ to the vet and the leg was set and casted, but it would need several surgeries, pins, and weekly recasting to heal properly. The bones had splintered, (called a greenstick fracture) and there were no clear ends to the fractures. The shelter considered amputation, but figured that no one would adopt a three legged kitten, especially when they have over 100 cats at any given time. They had decided to euthanize CJ due to the costs of his medical care, and the scarce funds available to them. I heard about the situation from a major rescuer in our area. At first, I sponsored CJ by paying for his care. The vet performed the surgery, pinned the bones and placed anotther cast, so he was safe for a week. The next week I decided to adopt CJ. Betty, my wife thought I had completely wigged out, and I thought that she was going to divorice me over the decision. I drove the 360 mile round trip to pick up CJ. At 8 weeks, he acted like he had known me all of his life, and we bonded that day before we left the shelter. He cried like a baby when I placed him in back in the crate so I could go to the bathroom before making the return trip. All of the way home he slept in a crate strapped into the middle of the back seat of my car. My vet took over his care, and after several months, many setbacks, and a whole bunch of money he has healed completely. CJ is now two years old and is one beautiful cat. He follows me around to the point of being annoying, and sleeps under the covers with his back against me all day. ( I am a nurse and work nights) From the first day CJ would press his body against my ear, stick the cast straight out, dig in with the other three paws, and ride on my shoulder. He still wants to now, but is way too large. CJ has this habit of petting me with his paws, and if I over sleep he will stroke my head with his paw, as if to say, "Its time to get up." It's OK when I am working, because I get up at 5PM every day. When it is my last night of the week and I would love to sleep an extra hour in the evening, he will not let me sleep an extra five minutes without stroking my hair until I wake up. Sometimes he pats, and sometimes he strokes. I have tried to pull the covers over my head, but he dives under the covers and pets or pats my head anyway. I was wondering if anyone else has seen this behavior from thier cat, or maybe this cat is way overly bonded to me? Betty says that the whole thing between CJ and I makes her sick on her stomach...
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Does anyone's cat pet them?
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Aww, what a wonderful story. I'm so glad you adopted CJ, he sounds like a fantastic kitty. And you have given him a great home. :heart3:
As for waking you up at the same time every day, no matter what... yes. My Boots does that. :nod: If I don't wake up whenever he feels I need to be up, he burrows under my blanket and claws gently at my feet. Or, he'll be up on my night stand, playing with the tassels and pull chain on my lamp. He knows he's not supposed to do that, and the ONLY time he does it is when he wants me to wake up. I can get him to stop for a few minutes if I unceremoniously dump him off the bed, :lol3: but a bit later he's right back up, waking me up.
I'm not sure if it's because of his upbringing... I raised him from a baby when he was somewhat younger than 8 weeks old, and he was also feral so I was his first human bond. I am the only person he will sit and purr on; whenever strangers come over he's under the bed hiding.
I think it is more of a routine thing. Cats LOVE routines; it makes them feel secure in their environment. They like to know when the same thing is going to happen every day... and if it doesn't happen at the right time, they get anxious. This is part of the reason why your cat goes crazy when you are late feeding him! He's not just hungry, he also feels like his world is being turned upside down. So he wakes you up to make the world right again. :lol3:
Anyway, I hope that helps. It sounds like CJ loves you very much.
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My cat is petting me as I'm reading this.lol does it ever night.Then goes to my husband& does the same thing.He also gives kisses
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I will post some pics on my next day off.
Does combing your hair with his claws count? That's something Jamie does every day (in addition to cleaning my ears).
A lot of rescues here in the UK find that three legged cats, or one-eyed ones, go quickly. People seem to feel sorry for them in a way they don't for the ones with legs, eyes and so on.
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Yes, exactly! Three-legged cats need no special care, and you don't need much empathy to want to cuddle a three-legged cat to make up for whatever made the little fuzzball lose a leg. Having three legs is actually a slight advantage, on the order of having an unusual fur color.
My cats don't pet me, but Tiny grooms my hair. I often have a buzz cut to make self-care easier, and Tiny seems to think that that's the perfect length to groom! He must feel so sorry for me, being unable to lick myself clean and having to take those horrible showers every day! Actually, at first Tiny used to linger outside the shower, occasionally mewing in a worried fashion. But he's grown used to my insane willingness to allow myself to get wet!
My cats don't pet me, but Tiny grooms my hair. I often have a buzz cut to make self-care easier, and Tiny seems to think that that's the perfect length to groom! He must feel so sorry for me, being unable to lick myself clean and having to take those horrible showers every day!
Actually, at first Tiny used to linger outside the shower, occasionally mewing in a worried fashion. But he's grown used to my insane willingness to allow myself to get wet!
