Monday, March 16, 2020

As Close as Fuzz on a Peach

Raleigh is an odd cat. While he will react to other felines, almost always in a friendly fashion, he doesn’t seem to think that he himself will elicit any response from others. He has no sense of another cat’s personal space.

I woke up in the night during the weekend to violent growls and hisses from Cammie. Turning on the light, I saw that she had climbed to the top of one of the bedroom cat-trees; the air outside was warmer than usual that evening, and the window was open. This had attracted my blind princess, and she had ascended to sniff the fragrances of the outside. It had also lured Raleigh. The Peach was calmly crouched beside Cammie, a bewildered expression on his face, his innocent mind unable to grasp that she was enraged at his proximity. Because of Cammie’s sightlessness, I had to urge Raleigh down, so that Cammie could make her retreat.

Raleigh has attempted friendship with Renn and with Neville, but neither of those fellows seem to find the idea appealing. This does not affect Raleigh’s position or passage next to them, or next to any other of the beasts. He will squat beside anyone, trot by, and in one or two cases, over, others, without regard for their presence. If, as sometimes happens, Tucker will whap at Raleigh, the latter will move away; the next time, he will walk just as close, oblivious to the previous whapping.

Peachy carries this characteristic to interaction with me, as well. Once he trusted me enough to approach (and I still need to be slow in my physical contact with him), he had no problem with putting his face as close as possible to mine, a level of comfort not always seen in cats.

The cats of the Cosy Apartment have generally been very conscious of each other and, unfortunately, rather stand-offish. If they lie next to each other, it is accidental, and one or another is probably too lazy to move after getting comfortable. They will sniff each other now and then (especially Renn, with that big nose of his), but being in the same location at the same time is not something any of them relish. Yet to Raleigh, it matters not.

How did he decide on this? Was he raised in great closeness with other cats? Did this behaviour develop after he had been lost or abandoned? His is a very gentle nature; he wants no trouble from anyone and wants to give it to none. I’ve seen him whap - and that in self-defence - only once (when Renn’s sniffing grew too invasive). Otherwise, he has been more of a pacifist than Josie. It’s a character I wouldn’t mind seeing my other beasts adopt. But I would still like to know how it came to be.

16 comments:

  1. I think some cats, like some people, are less sensitive to "social cues" than others.

    My Ernie is a lot like Raleigh in that respect. Wants to be every cat's friend, but tends to be a little *too* friendly. And he, too, seems oblivious that sometimes his close proximity is not completely welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My old cat Oliver is like that. He has never picked up on the social cues from the other cats. He came to my house as an ear tipped stray back in 2006. I took in another ear tipped stray (Clementine) in the fall of 2018. They are my only two inside cats now (I feed 2 ferals outside). Oliver would love nothing better than to snuggle with Clementine but Clem growls and hisses, whaps and then runs away each and every time Oliver comes near. Very frustrating when I’m in bed and Clem is peacefully sleeping next to me. Oliver will jump up and try to slowly ease himself down next to her. Hissing and growling starts with Oliver always looking like “what’s going on? What did I do?” Each and every time...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Poor Oliver. I'm glad he keeps trying. Maybe one day...

      Delete
  3. Our Dolly is like that, she constantly wants to be close to the others whether they want it or not.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I guess cats are like people in that some are more social than others. Another thing to consider is that Raleigh may have been separated from his litter mates too soon before he had a chance to learn the social graces of being a cat.

    ReplyDelete
  5. He is a sweet boy. I feel sorry for him that he is so desperate to be friends with the others, but they don't want to know.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah! All those questions about pussy~cat
    behaviour..we shall be asking for years
    to come..even, so called experts have their
    theories..but will we ever understand them
    fully..l believe that's one of many things
    that makes them endearing and special..! :).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Raleigh, the peace lover. Even if the other cats don't
    appreciate it! Too bad for Raleigh, it looks like he may have had
    cat friends or family in the past and would like to again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I rather like that Raleigh is so "innocent" and sweet-natured, ever-hopeful for a kitty friend. Though, I too, suspect that Roberta may have the reason for it.

    Well, give him a kiss and scritch from me, tell him he's a love. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  9. Da Boyz were just like Raleigh with Angel. She would hiss and squirm, but they just wanted to be near her!

    ReplyDelete
  10. mackerull tries this best; his very best, to be friends with tuna; tuna wants none of it. while I can stake my salary on it that mackerull NEVER trusted people, and it's highly likely he ever will, I always wonder if mackerull did, or didn't, seek companionship from others in the surrounding feral colony. he was only 7 weeks when he was trapped; perhaps it stems from the need of a "protector" and he still tries to get "protection" from tuna ???

    ReplyDelete
  11. I,too, feel bad for Raleigh. Hope he doesn't take it to personally!

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's so hard to know what goes through their minds. I suspect their early circumstances dictate much of their reactions to other animals and people too. For reasons that I won't go into, Saku was abused as a kitten - it only happened once but he is very sensitive to having his tail touched. My son or I can do so, but no one else.

    I like to think of Raleigh as not giving up on the others. Maybe one day one of the other cats will welcome his friendship.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We hope his easy going behavior rubs off but that rarely happens with our felines. Our Buddy Budd was the great pacifier of the home. Being so big no one dared whap him but his was a gentle presence that gave some glue to our clowder. His passing has left a void and started some friction. It may be that Raleigh is having an impact that is there but difficult to see unless you are a cat. Good tidings to all

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buddy Budd really was your 'elder statescat', and irreplaceable...

      Delete