There were many things I didn’t know about cats before owning one. As someone who grew up with dogs, I felt very strongly that they were the better pet. I was slightly influenced by my mom, who is not a cat person at all, and also the media, which always tended to portray them as villains in movies or shows. My dad apparently grew up with a cat but I didn’t learn this fact until a few years ago.
It was only after moving away from Saskatoon to go to university, that I was introduced to the wonderful world of cats.
Today marks what would have been our first kitty’s 20th birthday. It has been four hundred forty three days since she we said goodbye to her. But who’s counting?
We named her Suki (originally Panda, I guess because she sort of looked like one), which means “beloved” and she truly was my beloved. My first baby, really, since she was the first little one I was responsible for looking after, only three months old when I brought her home. She was my muse for almost two decades and has enriched my life ever since becoming part of it.
In honour of our Suki, I’ve put together this list of things I have learned over the years of being a cat owner. If you have ever considered becoming one yourself, here are some things that may interest you to know about their behaviour. Don’t let any of these deter you from adopting one though! Cats can only ADD to your life!
Eight Things You May Want to Know Before Becoming a Cat Owner
1. They may like to floss with/chew your hair, whether it’s on or off your head. If you have long hair, you may one day wake up to a kitty gnawing on your precious locks. Didn’t realize that you scheduled a middle of the night hair appointment? No worries. Your kitty will assure you that she is available in the midnight hours and will gladly cut your hair for free. Or if you are perpetual shedder, just pick up one of your strands of hair off the floor and floss your cat’s teeth with it. The trick is to hold it nice and taut and get your fingers out of the way so they don’t become a snack.
I woke up on more than one occasion to Suki chewing on my hair. Very strange, but I did discover that there was at least one other cat in the world who did this. And our other cat, Dex, also likes to bite strands of stretched out hair.
2. Beware! They like to jump onto or lie on almost anything, especially freshly laundered and folded clothes. Suki would climb into laundry baskets in her senior years when she was experiencing bladder issues and needed a soft surface to soothe her pain. She would also lie on heating vents like they were nothing when they were blazing hot to our naked hands. In her younger days, she would lie on top of my old style computer! I guess cats crave heat. She was a sun bather and loved lying in patches of sunlight.
Matt recounted a story about when he was living in a studio with friends and they were up into the wee hours, waiting for a pizza to arrive. They were all starving and there wasn’t really anything else in the place to eat. Well, once the pizza was delivered, they set it down on a surface and as soon as the box was opened his friend’s cat jumped directly onto the pizza! I can’t remember if he said if they ended up eating it (the pizza, not the cat) or not.
3. How loyal they can be – greeting you in the morning, without fail, because well, let’s face it, you’re their source of food and water. And becoming attached to you or your lap at night because they want that source of warmth. Dex sleeps beside me every night – save for a few weeks when he was very sick this past winter – and has been doing that since we said goodbye to Suki.
4. Some will play fetch. Dex, our boy cat, behaves almost like a dog sometimes. When he was younger, I learned that he would go and fetch little felt balls, bringing them back in his mouth and dropping them for me to throw again. It was SO cute!
5. They are night owls. Or more accurately, crepuscular, meaning they are most active during dawn and dusk. It was certainly good preparation for human babies! And telling them to be quiet when they’re meowing their heads off does not work!
6. Most would prefer human rather than feline companions. After almost a year with Suki, I, thinking that she might be lonely, brought home Dex and was not prepared for their reaction to one another. I guess you could compare it to being set up on a blind date, with the one who’s been set up not at all pleased by the fake out. Suki probably would have preferred to remain single and the number one kitty in the household – she was spayed already so there was no intention of them having kitties of their own – but eventually they grew familiar with each other… and Suki tolerated Dex. He could be loud at times and overstep his boundaries (ie. wrestling or pouncing on her). Then, Suki would put him in his place, either with a swat or hisses. Or scratches.
It probably would have been much different if I had gotten them at the same time, or if they grew up together. Suki was born at the animal shelter; Dex came from a not so great household environment, I was told.
7. Slow blinking and head butts = I love you and I trust you. If you’ve ever wondered whether your cat loves you, try slow blinking at them and see if they do it back. It’s a sign that they trust you and are comfortable with you… so you could equate that with “I love you”.
Head butting is another gesture of trust, almost claiming you as their own. They want to rub their scent on you and would only do this if they felt safe with you. Comfort=home=love!
8. You should brush their teeth! Start when they are a kitten and do it at least three times a week. This seems like common sense and our vets must have mentioned this to me but I don’t think I ever did. Suki’s teeth seemed pretty good for an eighteen year old cat and up until this past December, seventeen year old Dex’s seemed fine too. But since I wasn’t looking in their mouths everyday, I learned the hard way that my cat parenting was not up to par.
What I thought was just a little cold, was in fact a tooth abscess that caused Dex’s eye to swell. Our vet told me that left untreated, his prognosis was not great. He already had stage 2 kidney disease and arthritis. She also diagnosed him with hypertension. Well, long story short, we treated him with antibiotics, then had his rotten tooth surgically removed. During the surgery, they discovered that all his teeth would probably eventually be resorbed but because they also found that he had a heart arrhythmia that they wouldn’t be able to remove them all. Nor would I want to leave him toothless.
Well, it has been almost three months since Dex’s dental surgery and he is still with us. With the warmer weather he loves to go outside, though we only allow him to be in our yard. We preferred that our cats be kept indoors but in their senior years, we started letting them venture outside. They both loved our Toronto backyard. We all wished Suki could have made it to Saskatoon too.
But she will always live in our hearts… we have so many fond memories of her. Happy Birthday in kitty heaven, Suki!
Dearest kitties! They are the best. I still love and miss my kitty Sashie who is gone about seven or eight years. Suki and Dex, you are lucky little kitties to have been cared for with so much love.
Aw, Sashie! I remember her. Cats ARE the best!