Both are my cats but this is about the black one, Rowena. She’s 7 years old now and we got her as a rescue at 5. She seemed to settle right in at home but she looked lonely so a couple months later we got him, Colby Jack. He is both named after and literally a cheese, orange cats are truly something else. When we rescued her we were told she had just had kittens so we figured she would be a perfect match for the little guy who lost his mom too soon. He’s about 2.5 months old in that picture.
For about a month Rowena ignored both my partner and I, we existed only to feed or scoop her poop. She would hiss, growl and generally not be nice to him so when after 30 days she finally started to accept him we were pretty relieved. Only lasted until he outgrew her and could bully her back, pay back for a month of terror. We weren’t sure if they would ever get along but after about 2 years they can finally play together and share space. They might not snuggle anymore but we’ll take what we can get.
Today I was walking from the living room to the kitchen and there’s this box filled with toys that we got when we brought Colby Jack home. He likes trash; twist ties, bottle caps and rings really any bits of plastic and paper is his jam so that box of toys has been sitting there unused for a long time. Rowena is just staring deep into it. I’ve caught her looking at it wistfully before but I figured if she wanted anything in there she’d just fish it out.
She has this stare she’ll give you, it pierces your soul. She only does this when she wants something, usually to sit in your lap. She will look you in the eye then at your lap, then meet your gaze and look at your lap again. It’s at this point she expects you to acknowledge her need for pets and warmth which is done by reaching out to pet her.
There’s this fabric toy that looks like a Chinese finger trap with feathers sticking out the ends sitting on top. She notices me noticing her and she gives me the stare, first at me then the box and then again. I don’t speak cat but that seemed like communication to me so I grabbed the toy and handed it her. She immediately snatched and went ham like it was the greatest thing since catnip.
Greater part of two years she’s wanted that toy but it wasn’t until it was given to her that she thought she could have it. Cats are a mystery. I’ve dumped out the box of toys, she could only be happier if she was in a field of sleeping mice.
edit: for non-Americans Colby-Jack Cheese
It’s neat hearing how Rowena communicates with her gaze/stare. I didn’t know cats could do that. It makes me want to experiment with putting cat treats on a shelf in plain sight of a cat and seeing if with a little training they would use gazing to communicate desire for treats. My last cat knew where the door was (to go outside on a leash) and that the cat treats were in the coffee table. They would hang around, paw at, and gaze/meow at me while adjacent to one of those objects to communicate their desire, either to go out or for treats. Whereas it’s obvious that cats have memory for location (e.g., food, litter), communicating with gaze really intrigues me
Rowena is not food motivated at all, until recently we couldn’t get her to accept treats. She will also let you know she’s had enough by walking away, she eats way less treats than you think would be enough to satiate. On the other hand she’s crazy about catnip, she will employ the glare if she doesn’t think you’ve given her enough.
Colby Jack is crazy food motivated. We’ve taught him to spin in place for wet food and are working on doing it by command. He will also lead you to the treats. He likes to plop right in front of you and show belly, then when you reach down to pet him he gets up and walks towards the treat cupboard.
I’m sure you could get cats to do all sorts of things with a little patience and a heckin’ lot of catnip and treats.