The Cat-Child

[brightlotusmoon]

Okay, so. Calliope has a daily/nightly habit of coming to me when I'm lying down, snuggling lengthwise against my torso, resting her head in the crook of my arm, and nursing on whatever fabric is available - my shirt or a blanket. Since I've never seen a nursing kitten actually up close, it fascinates and thrills me. I can feel her little tongue

Comments

[brightlotusmoon]

OMG Ritty! I remember being at your 2010 Halloween party and snuggling her. No wonder Calliope looks familiar.

And I completely agree with you. I'm trying to figure out, now, why Calliope isn't cuddly with Adam... Maybe she will be once she settles down.

[brightlotusmoon]

OMG, okay! Emmy, then. Why did I think it was Ritty? I got confused. Oh, well. I thought you said that it was Ritty who resembled Calliope, heh. I think she was the one who snuggled me, yeah. And the was a smaller cat, who must have been Ritty. Little voice?

It's so funny, because we never expected Calliope to bond with me so quickly and early. Then again, I was always the one in the room during her isolation periods. I think that had something to do with that. And the fact that even though I couldn't touch her in the cage, she reached out and touched my hand with her paw and made strong eye contact. It was really a case of "Oh, hello! I've been waiting for you." So I'm thrilled beyond belief that she's chosen me. I'm gonna assume this will be like Ritty and Toby, where eventually Calliope will hang out with Adam more and more. In fact, she's downstairs right now, on the back of the couch, while Adam plays PS3. Good start!

[naamah_darling]

It's a self-soothing behavior that originates in kittenhood, often but not always from premature weaning -- sometimes it just persists, the way some children suck their thumbs. It's a harmless behavior, and adorable, and I see no reason to discourage her out of it since it's, as I said, a self-soothing thing, like a deeper form of purring. She's basically coming to you to "nurse" like she would if you were a mama cat, or possibly she sees you as a HUGE sibling she is lying next to. Either way, you are Family and she is choosing to come to you for relaxation/comfort time. It's a tiny, furry little honor, is what it is.

I've known cats who grew out of it, and cats who did not. My childhood nanny cat nursed on an old bathmat until she was 17+. My parents had a cat that nursed on earlobes well into young adulthood.

My guess is that if she still has that reflex, she probably will be slow to lose it, if she ever does. It's precious. I hope it stays.

[brightlotusmoon]

Aww, I feel honored! I had plenty of self-soothing behaviors as a child so I totally get it. Hell, all my autistic stimming is just that.

A bathmat. Awesome. What was it made of? Because I've got a dolphin pillow pet that Calliope adores and it feels like one of those soft bath mats...

I hope it stays. I love it. I've never had any cat do that with me. I keep remembering watching your kitten videos where, say, Viktor was nursing in his sleep and his tiny tongue was fluttering. That's how I picture Calliope.

Were your fosters just tabbies? I could swear they had Egyptian Mau at the forefront.

[naamah_darling]

They were just tabby cats; particularly beautiful, but ordinary.

The bathmat was one of those carpet-type ones, totally crappy and brand new when she adopted it, but before long she'd worn a hole in the middle!

[brightlotusmoon]

They were incredibly beautiful. Oh how I wished you could have kept Emmy. (Which happens to be the name of Mandi's previous cat, who resembles Calliope - oh, my...).