I guess I just have to chalk it up to adjusting to his new surroundings, but Grady is bizarre. Proof:
One. That bed pictured above that he once so clearly loved? He hasn't touched it since that picture was taken. The old scrap of carpeting in the basement that we saved from our renovation? He LOVES it and we always know he'll be sitting on his carpet throne whenever we're looking for him. Is this the equivalent of a kid playing with the box that the toy came in? I call it weird. Did you see that bed? It's FLEECE for crying out loud. C'mon.
Two. He purrs SO loudly when I pet him, so I pet and pet and he purrs and purrs. He's such a happy kitty until SNAP! He turns and scratches me for NO APPARENT REASON. I don't move into the No Man's Land of his belly or anything, I just continue to pet the same area when he suddenly decides he does not want. After multiple wounds on both Brian and myself, we took him back to the vet to get his incredibly long and sharp claws clipped by hardened professionals.
Three. He does not play. Oh he sees that bunch of feathers attached to that stick that you're holding. He just does not care. It is a bunch of feathers. He seems semi-interested in the laser pointer, but it's too much effort to stay focused on it. Yet, when I thought it was okay to knit with Grady next to me on the couch... you know, since he's not interested in playing? He suddenly reverted back to his kitten youth and pounced on the yarn in my lap.
Four. We've been giving Grady full reign of the basement while we're away during the day mainly because we have motion detectors that we'd like to keep armed, but also to limit the possible havoc he could wreak in the rest of the house. In the evenings, he's more than happy to come upstairs, eat his dinner and then hang out on the couch with us. But on Sunday? When Brian and I were both hungover watching football all day in our pj's and looking to cuddle with a furry cat? He wanted NOTHING to do with us. Even after giving him TREATS on the COUCH.
Despite his weirdness, Grady is an awesome cat. Brian is in South Carolina for the week visiting his parents for Thanksgiving and last night, Grady kept me company in the living room. Not exactly the same caliber of companionship, but I'll take it until Brian returns.
4 comments:
Aw. Grady sounds just like Gizmo on all four counts, which is to say that the normal nature of cats is to be bizarre and unpredictable. Glad Grady is keeping you entertained and in good company. (Also, great LOLcat.)
Glad to see Grady is the quintessential "grumpy old man". All in all, he sounds pretty normal! Our cats have several fleece beds, but they only use the one that wasn't intended for them... It has to be their idea to sleep in it, not yours. So tell him it's not his bed, it's actually for your shoes, and then maybe he'll take to it. Or try putting it on the carpet in the basement and see if he sleeps in it then. And yes, boxes are usually much more fun... ours are coveting a Crate & Barrel box at the moment.
The petting vs. scratching thing... he's getting over stimulated. Pretty common for a cat that lived mostly on his own... he lets you know when he's done, but you want to try and figure it out before he turns to attack you. Careful!
Now that you know he's an older cat, maybe you should adopt a pair of kittens to go with him? ;-) Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for the LOLcat compliment, Danielle. I've been wanting to make more, but since Grady is so boring they would all turn out like the one above.
Summer - Ha! Kittens! Not quite ready for their cuteness yet.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Regarding TWO, it very well may be petting aggression. Elliott used to turn around and snap at me when I was petting him. I was extremely intolerant of it, and started pushing him off of my lap immediately when he did it. Needless to say, he finally stopped. Another possibility could be social status aggression. I know less about this one, but it might be a challenge for Grady since he's used to being "his own master." He needs to understand that you control important things like food, treats, etc. in his life and that only his good behavior is rewarded.
Read up on them - maybe they'll help. :)
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