It's A Cat's Life

     My cat is living the life.  He has his own personal doormen, a personal waiter, and someone who will groom him when he allows.  
     He has been so elusive the first eight years of his life that we indulge him now.  
     Cal was hand fed his fifth and sixth week of life as he was given to my daughter on the street and of course I didn't know who to return him to.  He was weaned way too early and he refused a bottle.  I fed him by dipping my finger in formula and letting him lick it off.  This led to a lot of hand biting later on.  It took me a while to connect it to his early feeding.  I thought because of this feeding method that we had to use, that he and I would bond and he'd be my shadow but it didn't turn out that way.  
     He would NEVER let me hold him for more than a minute or two when he was younger.  He wasn't feral, he just didn't want to be touched.  Looking back now we think it could have been allergies.  His skin seemed to bother him a lot.  We've switched cat food now and he's much better.
     Because we had another cat with us before he came in to the picture, he took back seat to her.  She was the queen and she let him know it.  She ruled the bedroom and she was exclusively mine and I was hers.  I tried to get them to get along but it wasn't meant to be.  
     Almost immediately after she died he started getting on the bed with us.  At night he generally cuddles with my boyfriend, but after I fall asleep he lays down on my pillow by my head.  The changes that he has gone through in the last year have been amazing and I've been putting two and two together and I think that we have finally truly bonded.  I think my cat really does love me.  I know I love him, even though he can be a real jerk sometimes.
     It was amazing tonight, after he came in the house, that he let me grab him, flip him over and hold him like a baby.  This lasted about ten minutes and I'm sure to him seemed like an hour.  He's so much more patient with me know and I am so happy to see his character and sweetness instead of feeling attacked and disliked by him.  I miss my other cat terribly, but I'm also grateful for this time with Cal.  His life is a mystery still unfolding before my eyes.

Cal, more relaxed than I have ever seen him!