King Cuddles

Welcome to a bimonthly update on how our new, 13-year-old adoptee is settling in with us.

It’s becoming a routine. Cuddles senses that my eyes have briefly opened in the middle of the night and he launches into play time. Or, ‘what part of Mom can I sleep on’ time. I have no photographic evidence of these adventures as it’s my goal to get back to sleep. But as Derek is fond of saying:

“Just look at that little face!”

That’s the kind of face that could get away with murder. He’s murdering my sleep!

We are three months into his life with us and despite feeling like a zombie, or the parent of a baby/toddler, it’s pure joy. He is living up to his name. In addition to going subterranean under the covers and snoozing against me, he has slept on my hair, my feet, my side (quite a balancing act!), and across my stomach like a WWE belt. If he settles, I’m able to fall back to sleep. If he fusses, I’m done for, in the cutest way possible.

He’s gives delightful forehead butts and spends most of the day at my feet in my recording booth. He used to flee if I raised my voice for a character project, but now he sleeps right through it. He also understands the word “no”. Sometimes he paces around the table at dinnertime. I suspect his previous human fed him off her plate. But a firm ‘No’ convinces him to give up.

Table Dancing

One day, I was reading at the table. He kept stretching and putting his front paws on my leg as if he wanted to climb up. I patted my lap to tell him it was okay to jump. In a flash, this happened!

I love him but there’s no way he’ll be allowed to walk on our dining table. I quickly picked him up and put him back on the floor. That was the first time I’d tried to lift him and he was docile and willing. Quite a departure from his first nail clipping when he was deeply unhappy and hid for a long while afterwards.

Cuddles is a fussy eater. The same food he previously chowed down will go untouched on another day. When we think we have him figured out he throws us a curveball. We know he doesn’t like fish-flavoured food, but we’re not certain about anything else. Except his special high-fiber kibble. Fortunately, he loves that, because he will be eating it for life due to intestinal surgery when he was young.

If you can help with the food fussiness can you also help me convince him to use the “big” bathroom downstairs instead of only the powder room upstairs? We added a second litter box on the upper floor and he has stopped using the original one. I have brought some of his special scent down to the bigger box in hopes of luring him back. No dice. I’m thinking of adding Cat Box Cleaner to my CV on Linked In.

A Bed of His Own

Derek is our cat whisperer so when he found a TV room bed for Cuddles, I didn’t question it. However, Cuddles did. The photos below were taken over a few weeks’ time. On my brother’s advice, I smooshed down the railing-facing part of it so he could still watch over the front door. I think it helped. Eventually.

I’m delighted to report that he belongs to both of us. He’s just as happy to nap with Derek as with me. And he wants to be with us, wherever we go.

His nicknames include: house panther, the best boy, handsome, good lad, weirdo, and pigeon. He makes cooing sounds when he’s looking for attention. He loves to poke his nose at a window screen and read “the news”. First-time visitors probably won’t see him but he’ll show himself slowly and cautiously on repeat visits.

Thanks again, forever and always, to Animal Aide of St. Thomas, for all you do.