Georgie Porgie Puddin’ an’ Pie

*This post is part of a series profiling the animals in our lives. Please click the tag at the bottom to view other profiles.

 

Oh, my sweet fluffy boy George.  He’s such a darling, wonderful cat, and I feel so lucky to have him in my life.

George was born to Nala, her first-born of her only (unintentional!) litter.  He was the largest of her kittens, and her drowsiest.  When we gave the kittens temporary names to differentiate them from each other, he was the one we called Sleepy.  (The others were Noisy – who was never ever quiet, Tiny – the last and smallest, and Simba – who thought he was a brave lion from birth and gave his kitty mama heart attacks by constantly escaping the kitten box and running off on his own).

George was a people cat from the very start.  He figured out how to climb the dust ruffle and mattress to get into bed with us before his eyes were even open.  When we woke up with this little scrap of a kitten between us, we were horrified – what if we had rolled over in the night and squished him?  He persisted though, every night, and every night we all made it through unscathed.

I tell people that George is “Violently Lovey.”  He is super affectionate, particularly with the head butts (he will also head bump a fist bump in return!) but doesn’t know his own strength.  He’s a bit of a big bruiser boy, meant to be a fighter tomcat I guess, as our vet says even though he weighs more than twice the average, he’s all muscle on a big frame.  He isn’t a fighter, though.  He’s all lover and throws his whole body into it.  Which can be tricky when he wants to throw himself into rubbing on your legs when you’re walking, let me tell you…

We sometimes wonder if George isn’t part dog.  Of course, he was partially raised by one; I mentioned in Ivy’s profile the way that she adopts all the littler animals as “her babies” in our house!

There’s his affectionate nature, the way he will run to greet us at the door (visitors, too!), the fact that he can play fetch for hours, and that you can teach him tricks.  There’s not just the headbutt thing, he’ll stand pretty and speak for treats, too.

Of course, I also wonder if he’s part human sometimes.  He’s a bit of a baby, and loves to be held like one.  Richard laughs because he’ll get in my lap, then throw himself over backwards, trusting that I’ll catch him and cradle him into my arms. (And yes, I always do catch him!)

He’s tall enough to turn doorknobs with his paws (beware to visitors – if he wants to join you in the bathroom – he will!!!).  He’s also a bit of a pervert who likes to sit between the curtain and the liner to watch people in the shower!  He used to shower with me as a kitten, and still has little to no fear of water, though he only joins me in the shower once every few months now.  He likes to play in water as well; the sink, the water bowl… we have a giant water bowl now because it’s the only kind heavy enough for him not to spill everywhere when he’s playing!

His genuine, loving nature has been tested though.  When our boys moved in, he was the only one of our pets to trust them and shower them with affection and attention.  They were both fairly abusive to him at the start, and while it got better with our older, it only got worse and worse with our younger.  George kept trying, though, until it got so bad that he would run frantically from them, or freeze in place and pee.  He was so traumatized that we had to put him on tranquilizers.  We did our best to stop the abuse and keep an eye out for it, it isn’t like we threw our poor boy cat to the wolves, but our younger would seek out any opportunity we weren’t watching to try to harm our animals, and George’s friendly nature made him a constant target.  I’m happy to say that now, though, George is off medication and back to his old self again, though it took him a while!

George may be getting a little up in years now – this summer he turns 8 – but he is still playful as a kitten.  In fact, he’s grateful… or maybe it’s Nala that’s grateful, because he doesn’t harass her as much… for young Onyx joining the family last year, as he now has someone to play chase and wrestle with again.  Bring out a feather on a stick or the laser pointer and he’s all in!

George still sleeps in our bed every night, but no longer between us, usually he snuggles himself around my feet (he has a little bit of a foot fetish), though sometimes he comes up to the top of the bed and indicates that he wants under the covers.  I lift them up and he crawls in, wanting to be the little spoon in a snuggle session, his head on my pillow with mine.