They call it puppy love

posted Sun, 15 May 2005

We had a major breakthrough last night. My cat, Abelard/Petrarch/Romeo, decided that he is in lo-o-ove with me.

Yep. He jumped on the bed while I was reading, pushed his head under my hand, and demanded to be petted. When I did, he collapsed in ecstasy. When I brushed him, he was in absolute bliss. Oh, the purring. Oh, the rolling and the stretching and the positioning of the body to make sure the belly and the back and the behind the ears and every part was touched!

I think it was because he finally made the connection between me and his food supply. He had seen me clean the litter box, but hadn’t seen me put food in his bowl before. Last night, he saw me refilling his food and water bowls. Quelle dilemma! He was hungry, but I was still next to the bowl and I wasn’t budging. I was taking a stand. If he wanted to eat, he could risk getting close to me, dammit.

I could see him evaluating the danger in his mind. She’s been cleaning my litter box, but she’s also been giving me food. She’s the one who got me out of the cage at Mewtopia. Has this all been an elaborate plot? Can I trust her? Did those toys appear by magic or is she the source of the purple sparkly balls and the catnip mice? She’s thrown them for me. What to do? What to do?

He made a decision. Keeping low to the ground, ears back and eyes on me, he crept forward toward the bowl. When nothing bad happened, he relaxed slightly and ate.

That must have been the turning point. I’m not sure if this was good or bad. Once he got a taste of loving, he didn’t want to stop, even though I wanted to sleep. He got right next to my face and meowed plaintively. When that didn’t work, he lay next to my hand and nudged it. When I got up to use the bathroom, he followed me into the bathroom, meowing piteously.

I finally put in earplugs so I could get some sleep. It’s hard to find balance in new relationships sometimes.