Irritating

This is Marley, he's been blipped before. He doesn't look irritating does he? See that one raised eyelid, evil lurks there. He is at once the most endearing and the most irritating cat I have ever owned. Cats are not like dogs, I was never a cat person. My husband was not a dog person. It's only been in the last 4 years of our marriage that he has given in. So, we owned a lot of cats before we got to Myles. Anyway, Marley is a sweet cat. On the one hand very affectionate and loving, still a good mouser and outdoor cat. I don't know if he was taken from his mother before she could teach him manners or if he just is strong willed. He uses his front claws in the most irritating ways, he is a very tactile cat, always reaching out and touching with those claws.

Most of the time I can avoid their sharpness, but at 4 a.m. I am less alert. He has taken to waking me between 4 and 5 a.m. with the touch of his soft paw and if that doesn't do the trick, the hook of his sharp claw. If I still don't get up to feed him, which I never do, he pounces on the bed and walks over me and then goes back to the soft touches, etc. Most irritating at this hour. We can't confine him to a room or a kennel because he is also a very vocal cat. We do put him out when the weather is warm but most of the time after September he avoids the outdoors at all costs. So, for now I am living with this irritating cat who can be very endearing.

DDW October 13