An Introduction: Arlo (long post, with several pictures)
OK, you've all seen pictures of Gord, my Big Furry Infant, and you probably know that I lost him to feline hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) a few months ago. He owned me, and we both knew it. Here I am on the phone with my mother, while Gord acts as a neckwarmer and King of My Universe.
What you might not know is that I also have Arlo, who is a cuddly, stubborn, weird little horse of a cat. Arlo is very pretty, and he knows it. He also has an imperious air about him which vanishes as soon as you make a loud noise.
Arlo... well, he's a bit special. He runs from the open door of the microwave. We have no idea why. You have to understand, this cat has been in my life since he was five weeks old, and has never had a reason to be afraid of anything.
We met when I was shuffling his litter and a couple of others out of a one-bedroom apartment being used as a cat shelter, into an empty apartment nearby, in an effort to fool the SPCA inspectors who were coming to evaluate conditions.
Arlo was one of four, all with similar markings. He was the one that simply would not shut up. He had his mother and his siblings, but he wouldn't stop screaming. I crawled into the pen with them and checked him over. He didn't seem injured. He wasn't hungry, because he'd just been feeding off his mother. I was reasonably certain he wasn't in need of the litter box. So I laid on my stomach, rested my head on my crossed arms, and let him snuggle in under my chin.
He stopped crying and went to sleep. I got up half an hour later, and he started screaming again. I spent the rest of the day carrying him around against my throat, so he'd stay calm and not make noise.
The Mum was in the hospital at the time, and we already had Gord, but Gord was definitely MINE, even though he'd snuggle up with The Mum as readily as with me. So when she got out about a week later, and she mentioned wanting a cat of her very own, I thought of Needy Kitten and his equally pretty littermates, and we went up the the cat shelter to see them.
Needy Kitten noticed me again and started screaming. He was mobile enough by then to crawl up the side of the couch to get to me himself, and The Mum thought he was adorable, so she plucked him off my leg and cuddled him. He shut up and went to sleep.
Two weeks later, Arlo moved in with us.
I can't find any of my pictures of Arlo trying to nurse from Gord, but rest assured, it was hilarious. My poor man-cat would mrowr at me in the most piteous way, all while Arlo, convinced there had to be milk in there somewhere, would limpet himself to the poor guy's stomach and work those vestigial nipples. The hair around two of Gord's nipples never really came all the way back, but I think he eventually forgave Arlo.
Sadly, Faux Nursing gave way to obsessive cleaning of Gord's butt. If Gord wasn't sitting on it, Arlo was licking it. This led to some impressive episodes of I AM NOT IMPRESSED YOU LITTLE FREAK GET OFF ME, and much giggling from the humans, and whenever we caught Arlo having a go, we'd make him stop, and then laugh ourselves sick at Gord's obvious relief. We called it Kitty Rimming, because we're bad people.
Also, Arlo didn't get a lot of face-kisses during this period. It lasted probably a year, but he eventually stopped, and Gord quit looking nervous and sitting with his back to the wall all the time.
Eventually, they became solid buddies.
Now it's just Arlo, and he's actually thriving on being an Only Cat. Gord was definitely dominant and possessive and DID NOT SHARE HIS TOYS PERSON very well, and Arlo got pushed aside because Gord was an utter spotlight/love/existence hog.
Arlo spends a lot of time talking to and snuggling his humans, and being a doofus, and trying to instigate all-out war with Ivy from upstairs through the windows.
*scramblescramblscramble* ... *ding!*
What you might not know is that I also have Arlo, who is a cuddly, stubborn, weird little horse of a cat. Arlo is very pretty, and he knows it. He also has an imperious air about him which vanishes as soon as you make a loud noise.
Arlo... well, he's a bit special. He runs from the open door of the microwave. We have no idea why. You have to understand, this cat has been in my life since he was five weeks old, and has never had a reason to be afraid of anything.
We met when I was shuffling his litter and a couple of others out of a one-bedroom apartment being used as a cat shelter, into an empty apartment nearby, in an effort to fool the SPCA inspectors who were coming to evaluate conditions.
Arlo was one of four, all with similar markings. He was the one that simply would not shut up. He had his mother and his siblings, but he wouldn't stop screaming. I crawled into the pen with them and checked him over. He didn't seem injured. He wasn't hungry, because he'd just been feeding off his mother. I was reasonably certain he wasn't in need of the litter box. So I laid on my stomach, rested my head on my crossed arms, and let him snuggle in under my chin.
He stopped crying and went to sleep. I got up half an hour later, and he started screaming again. I spent the rest of the day carrying him around against my throat, so he'd stay calm and not make noise.
The Mum was in the hospital at the time, and we already had Gord, but Gord was definitely MINE, even though he'd snuggle up with The Mum as readily as with me. So when she got out about a week later, and she mentioned wanting a cat of her very own, I thought of Needy Kitten and his equally pretty littermates, and we went up the the cat shelter to see them.
Needy Kitten noticed me again and started screaming. He was mobile enough by then to crawl up the side of the couch to get to me himself, and The Mum thought he was adorable, so she plucked him off my leg and cuddled him. He shut up and went to sleep.
Two weeks later, Arlo moved in with us.
I can't find any of my pictures of Arlo trying to nurse from Gord, but rest assured, it was hilarious. My poor man-cat would mrowr at me in the most piteous way, all while Arlo, convinced there had to be milk in there somewhere, would limpet himself to the poor guy's stomach and work those vestigial nipples. The hair around two of Gord's nipples never really came all the way back, but I think he eventually forgave Arlo.
Sadly, Faux Nursing gave way to obsessive cleaning of Gord's butt. If Gord wasn't sitting on it, Arlo was licking it. This led to some impressive episodes of I AM NOT IMPRESSED YOU LITTLE FREAK GET OFF ME, and much giggling from the humans, and whenever we caught Arlo having a go, we'd make him stop, and then laugh ourselves sick at Gord's obvious relief. We called it Kitty Rimming, because we're bad people.
Also, Arlo didn't get a lot of face-kisses during this period. It lasted probably a year, but he eventually stopped, and Gord quit looking nervous and sitting with his back to the wall all the time.
Eventually, they became solid buddies.
Now it's just Arlo, and he's actually thriving on being an Only Cat. Gord was definitely dominant and possessive and DID NOT SHARE HIS TOYS PERSON very well, and Arlo got pushed aside because Gord was an utter spotlight/love/existence hog.
Arlo spends a lot of time talking to and snuggling his humans, and being a doofus, and trying to instigate all-out war with Ivy from upstairs through the windows.
*scramblescramblscramble* ... *ding!*