Cats are funny

A few years ago, my son was visiting my mom over the summer. There were several kittens at her house, all of which were adorable. When my son was packing to come home, he found one of the kittens curled up in his suitcase. Needless to say, a couple of months later, that kitten came to live with us. We named him Angus (after Angus Young of AC/DC, of course), but as all of our pets end up with nicknames, Angus became 'Ang-goose', 'Ang-goose' became 'Goosey' - and that's pretty much all he is called these days.

He's quite a handsome cat. We suspect his father was a Maine Coon; his mother was a gorgeous black domestic long-hair, with bright green eyes.

Goosey loves to play with little furry toy mice. He bats them all over the place & then carries them around in his mouth like it's real prey. He also likes to play fetch. Yes, I said he likes to play fetch. You throw the mouse and he will race after it, carry it back to you, then drop it so you can throw it again. It's hilarious! He's also fascinated with water - if you run a thin stream of water from the faucet, he'll get in the sink and bat at the water. He also, for whatever reason, likes the dog. Personally, I think he just likes to torment Riley. He will walk up and rub all over the Riley - while Riley holds perfectly still with a horrified look on his face. As you can see in the picture above, he always has one paw at the 'ready'. I like to call it his 'thwacking paw'. It's kinda like a pimp hand. If he doesn't like something you do, he won't hesitate to thwack you with the paw. Sometimes, it's even accompanied by a growl. He thinks he's a ferocious tiger. And like most cats, aloofness is an art that he has perfected.

As anyone who knows cats is aware - you don't pick your cat, your cat picks you. Goosey likes all of us, but I think I'm his favorite human. I'm the person he brings the mouse to when he wants to play fetch. I'm the person he comes to when it's time to be fed. When my husband was out of town recently, Goosey decided that he was the man of the house and that it was his responsibility to sleep in my room. He doesn't usally sleep in there, and if he does, it's only for 5-6 hours. But for these nights, he stayed in there for a good 8-10 hours. One night when I was up later than usual, he felt it was his responsibility to tell me that it was bedtime. He chirped, meowed, and was generally very vocal about letting me know he wanted me to go to bed. Bossy cat.

Today, I was sitting in my desk chair - there was a pillow behind me, and my Snuggie was scrunched up in the chair, too. Here came Goosey, purring like a freight train - kneading the pillow & getting all comfy. When I moved, he was quite disgruntled - which explains the look on his face:

 

Then when I started taking pictures, he perked up a little. Notice the thwacking paw is at the ready, as usual.

 

I went out to run some errands, and when I returned, I put my coat on the table since I had to leave again soon. After a few minutes, I walked back into the kitchen, and this is what I found:

 

I went back to the desk to check my email, and after a few minutes, here came Goosey. He got back on the pillow behind me - purring like a freight train. I reached back to pet him and he started licking my hand - which is quite a compliment, because he rarely lowers himself to groom a human. I was feeling quite fond of him and shared the day's events with my son when I picked him up from work.

When we got home, Goosey was all lovey still. Of course, it was time for his dinner - and he knows who opens the cans of food. Regardless, I was feeling quite honored by all of his attention. Then my son came upstairs and said, "I know why Goosey was so lovey today" - and proceeded to tell me that there was kitty barf on the carpet in the basement. Apparently, he just wanted me in a good mood when I found his mess. Damned cat. Sigh. He has me wrapped around his furry little paw. I lurves him.