Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The Floof King Expands His World


Kola has grown in confidence since he has come to stay with me. He trusts more. One sign of this is his behaviour toward me while being petted. It used to be that after a few minutes, he would signify that he’d had enough by making as though to nip me. He never made contact, but it was his way of demonstrating that he was done. Now, he doesn’t seem to reach that point. He knows that I won’t hurt him. He will learn that very readily with prospective adopters, too.

Another feature of his trust is his peregrinations about the house. Upstairs, downstairs, in the human’s chamber, literally, is how he wanders. As a consequence, he has found certain spots that he enjoys inhabiting more than others. Some are established, such as his box. All cats seem to love boxes and enclosed spaces, to varying degrees, but the Floof King loves them more than any other animal in my household.

The box currently in the parlour is a sturdy container used originally for transporting soft and fragile raspberries. It can stand pressure, which is good, because Kola is bigger than the box and would have burst or squashed a lesser container.


But he has found new places, as well, which speaks to his confidence in exploring and risking admonition, either from me or from the other beasts. Here he is relaxing on the dining table. Or he may have fallen from a great height and is dying. I can’t tell which. But in either case, he looks comfortable on that hard surface. I call this photograph 'The Motion has been Tabled'. Sorry. And yes, I do clean it off afterward. I clean my table before meals, anyway; one never knows which feline extremity was being cleaned there in my absence.


And then there are the cat-beds. Kola had discovered one of the sitting room beds some time ago. It is a popular one, which he shares with Cammie and Josie in turn. But its twin is usually the warm home to Tungsten, the household top-cat. Kola, I think, understands this but his realization that this bed, too, is heated, and just the right size for his voluminous fur to overflow, leads him to fill it when Tungsten is otherwise occupied. This does not sit well with the orange one when the bed’s unavailability is revealed.


Even so, Kola is usually good-natured about abandoning the bed to her leader. After all, he has a hard, sharp-cornered box in which to recline.

So Kola’s explorations continue to expand both his knowledge and his self-esteem. An indoor cat’s world is, by its nature, restricted, so I dislike seeing that that world itself may include forbidden zones. The more a cat journeys into unknown parts, the more he adds to his little universe, and the more enjoyment he brings to his life.

Though I really don’t see the fun in lying in a box...

11 comments:

  1. How wonderful to see Kola grow in comfort and show more of his personality.

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  2. 'The Motion has been Tabled'.

    Ha! That was good; thanks for the laugh.

    I don't see the appeal of lying in a hard box, either, but I'm sure cats don't see the appeal in a lot of things humans do.

    Now, the cosy heated cat bed is another matter. Points to Kola for giving it up. :-)

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  3. The expression on Tungsten's face is the funniest thing I've seen today.

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  4. I love the photo with Tungsten looking on! And Kola all settled in HER bed.

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  5. It's good to see Kola is so comfortable in your home. I love the photo of Tungsten looking on. The fact he will give up the bed to her demonstrates his good nature.

    I don't get the box sitting either...my Silas, who at 22 lbs. was enormous, would squish himself into the smallest box he could find. Perhaps they like the feeling of being cocooned?

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  6. Tungsten does not look amused to see her bed taken. It seems the smaller the box the better they like. Before Flynn lost so much weight he was 16 pounds and liked snug little boxes to sleep in. It was quite funny to watch Eric try and get his 23 pounds in the same box even though he had bigger ones.

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  7. It's amazing that he likes the hard surface and the box - I agree on helping enrich a cat's life - all mine are indoor only - so much wish they would be safe going outside.

    Thanks for your very thoughtful comment!

    Debby in AZ
    homelesscatcare.blogspot.com

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  8. you have added some great stuff into that place, nice content, and well arranged Lost and found

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  9. Kola, those boxes are lots of fun to nap in. We love our boxes. Glad you are getting so comfortable there. Take care.

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  10. "Consider yourself at home.....
    Consider yourself one of the family,,,."
    Consider Yourself/ Oliver!

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  11. Buddy Budd would tire of petting and move to nip in his first years. Now he cant get enough and also charges around owning all of that which he lays his paws on. Makes you feel like your house is a home.

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