Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sleeping with the house panther


After the events of the past week, being bitten by Elsa and feeling the need to keep my guard up with her every time I go in the room, I must say the events of this weekend make me more aware of the miracle that is the house panther.

Each and every cat had at one point the option to be feral.  It takes nothing for a cat to be leary of humans and it takes a supreme act of trust for them to come forward and accept the love and safety offered.  Granted in a kitten the 'leap of faith' if you will is shorter, with those short legs and all... but seriously...

Look at your house panther.  Those jaws can bite you to the bone.  Those claws can do serious damage.  They choose to live peacefully with you, to offer you their love and their trust.  That is no small thing.

Two wonderful things happened to me this weekend that brought this home to me.  First I took a nap on Saturday.  I wasn't planning on it, I was watching TV and it just sort of snuck up on me.  I woke up when  I reached out and felt Jack's fuzzy belly.  When I was fully conscious I realized I had all seven of my cats on the bed.
Recycled photo
All seven cats on the bed is pretty rare.  Apparently the max comfortable capacity is five cats on the bed.  Occasionally we get six..   I felt very blessed.

Then.. miracle of miracles happened.
Eli sat on my lap and asked for attention.  Eli started his life out as a foster kitten who was ill.  He got better, but then he got sick again.  He got so stressed out at Thanksgiving that he ended up so ill that he spent the weekend at the vet with a very high fever.  As a result his tear duct blocked.  We got him health again, but he got stressed out again and his other tear duct blocked.    He spent the first six months of his life getting medicated, then the next few years running from me afraid he was going to get medicated or his face or ears cleaned (he had long since forgot why he was running, he just did no matter what)  Thanks to some Rescue Remedy and his love of static (he is the only cat I know who LOVES winter static) he no longer runs when we walk in the room - but he still does if we walk straight at him.  He voluntarily walked over me a few months before, pausing so I grasped on it as he was sitting on me.  He has sinced sat on my husband a couple of times, and then he sat on me.  He sat there for quite some time before it registered what was going on, and I got to take a picture and bask in his attention.

actually, as I was typing this he sat next to me and wanted to be kissed, it was really sweet.

I adore that I can take their trust for granted.  That I can do pretty much anything I want to them and they will voluntarily choose not to hurt me for doing it... be it I'm pilling them, brushing their teeth clipping their claws, or nuzzling my very vulnerable face in their big fluffy (or not so fluffy for some) bellies..

9 comments:

  1. What can you say--those moments are precious. Awesome.

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  2. awwww - I woke up from a nap in the chair this afternoon: Tim and Bourbon on my lap, Ivy on one arm of the chair, Mo on the other. :) It is amazing to think that these predator/prey animals ever decided that people are ok.

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  3. That's wonderful! I live in hope that my Scouty will one day trust me to touch him.

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  4. So great! What a great fuzzy pile to be part of.

    Our Baggy reminds us every day he could kill us if he wanted to, but decides to allow us to love him.

    Happy Sunday, Hailey and Zaphod

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  5. The trust of a cat? Priceless.

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  6. It's a great feeling to have the approval of a cat :)

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  7. Sweet, priceless moments :-)
    Purrs

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  8. A kitty bed knap priceless!

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  9. we agree completely. Faraday came to us as a kitten who spooked very easily. Not sure if it's just his personality or if he was treated too roughly before he came into our home (not consciously abused, but there you have it).

    So I try to always make him aware I plan to pet or touch him before I do so he won't flinch.

    When he chooses to curl up in my lap it's a real honor.

    Oddly, he has no issues sleeping with me (he's a dheet-burrower and ends up each night curled behind my knees).

    Having the trust of a cat is no small thing, we agree!

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