7 Gushy Reasons I Love My Cat, Avery, to Bits; What Are Some of Yours?

I feel relationships with pets are similar to relationships with humans in a lot of ways. Some days, tired, anxious, upset, you come home, a family member does something annoying and you feel worse than when you walked in. Other days, you come home after a rough day and your family’s presence immediately cheers you up, helping you hit a “reset” button on your mood, and leading you to feel everything’s going to be okay. Relationships with pets, I think, are much the same.

Enough bad days in a row, and you may begin to feel you hate your pet – enough good, and you’ll be over the moon with gratitude for having your pet in your life. There’s nothing wrong with this – pets are family, and we all know how strained life with family can be, and yet how rewarding and amazing our lives can be made by their presence.

Picture from post How to Take a Half-Decent Selfie Photo with Your Cat

Lately, I’ve been having a seriously long string of happy days with my cat, Avery. Like with any relationship, we’ve had ups, we’ve had downs, but like any good relationship – the good by far outweighs any bad.

Difficult times with Avery usually result from a very common problem in human relationships: a gap in communication. It’s not often easy for humans to explain what they want and need to another person – is it any wonder it’s an even bigger challenge with pets who can’t speak? Even if you know your cat is trying to tell you something, by whining, begging, crying for instance – figuring out what your poor pet is trying to say is still a struggle. It’s even worse when cats feel off and act out rather than crying, as often humans don’t register poor behaviour as a sign of a cat’s discomfort, and many pet parents mistakenly end up believing their cats hate them. They don’t – poor behaviour is more like plea for help, a sign that something’s wrong.

I think most cats and their owners eventually get into a sort of rhythm. You eventually figure out your particular cat’s quirks, what they typically need in terms of attention and affection (which is different for every cat, by the way!). Ideally, you also figure out how best to fulfill your particular cat’s needs in ways you and your cat are both happy with. Like offering a rug as a replacement for your sofa being scratched up, a chair to help your cat jump on top of a bookshelf, so he or she has a high vantage point besides the counters to jump up on, an automatic feeder for night time feeding as a replacement for your cat waking you up at night or early morning because he or she wants a refill of kibble. Obviously, it takes a hot minute to iron out all the kinks – as learning to live with any human also does. But once you get most issues sorted, and find resolutions everyone’s happy with, boy is it clear skies for your relationship with your pet.

Picture from post This One

It’s hard to see all the things you love about a person when you’re mad at them, and the same is true of a pet. But when you finally get to that good patch, that string of one amazing day after the next, all you see are the positives. Those moments where you finally feel you get each other, where there’s synergy, where everybody’s needs are being met, it’s impossible to resist feeling a sense of pride and happiness in your relationship. In these moments, I really do often find myself thinking: “Damn, my cat is the best cat in the world.”

Obviously, I love all cats. I’m obsessed with every single one I lay eyes on. If you offered to pay me $10,000 to refrain from petting any cat besides my own, then showed me a new kitty every day for a year, I don’t think I’d last a week.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I still love my cat so stinkin’ much – and yes, I do love him more than other cats.

Mothers think their kids are the greatest, and in a similar way, I think my cat’s the best cat in the world, too. I feel like it’s a privilege to know my cat, and every human would be so #blessed to meet him, too. If you found your way here from a gushy title like the one I wrote, my guess is you’re currently feelin’ that kinda love for your stellar kitty.

So let’s get to the gushing. Here are a few of the things I absolutely adore about my cuddle little bug, Avery. I fully expect you to leave a post gushing over your feline in the comments down below.

7 of the Many Reasons I Love My Cat, Avery, So Stinkin’ Much

1. I love how Avery often sits in what I feel is the most regal position I’ve ever laid eyes on. My grandmother, who typically hates cats herself, and never understood their appeal albeit my grandfather’s great affection for them, fell in love with the regal way Avery sits as well. She often used to tell me, “He sits like a king!” While she would never stroke or pet Avery, and used to think it was weird I kissed him, I used to catch her smiling fondly at how classy he looked and admiring his “royal” sort of air. Definitely a huge compliment coming from her.
2. My grandmother isn’t the only person not fond of cats that Avery has at least partially won over, and it’s hard for me not to admire his overwhelming charm. During the 2013 power outage in Toronto, we had no electricity in sub-zero weather for 4-5 days. One particularly chilly afternoon, Thomas and I took Avery in a carrier over to our friendly neighbours’ garage for some time by their fire. Our neighbours were dog people who never understood Thomas’s obsessive showcasing of picture after picture of Avery sitting in cute positions. For the hour or two we spent in their garage with Avery, however, they actually did warm up to him (pun intended), due to the fact that he acts like an absolute gentleman, ever so well behaved, calm, cool, and collected.
3. If Avery doesn’t get a concentrated number of hours sitting in my lap each day, he reminds me that he’s missing out on cuddle time by kicking up a fuss in the evening until I’ve made room for him to cuddle to make up for the lack of attention during the day. I have to say, I love that he does this, as it reminds me I need my cuddle time with him, too. 😉
4. If I’m sitting cross-legged, on the floor or on the bed, Avery does this thing where he’ll often knead into a nearby fur or blanket, stare at me to see if my lap is vacant, then really daintily and slowly walk over, have an inconspicuous “look around” for a place to sit. If I then move my arms to make room for him (I’m usually typing on my laptop), he immediately gets excited and waltzes right onto it, then settles down and nestles in for a nice little cat nap. I love this routine so much it makes me melt whenever it happens. To top off this cuteness, if I pet him while he’s sitting in my lap, he’ll nestle in further, laying his head on my arm if it’s placed next to his head, then try to fall asleep in his new, even-more-comfy position.
5. When I place my fist (with a slightly protruding folded pointer finger) next to Avery’s face, he nearly always gives me a little gum-rub, my idea of a toothy, “Hello!” Not sure how many cats do this, but if Avery passes away and I never end up with a cat who does this again, I will forever feel I miss this crazy cute behaviour. He’ll also give me a gummy face rub on my glasses to say hello if he’s close enough to my face to do so. Sometimes when I’ve not put on my glasses for the day yet, he’ll go to do so and frustrated, not really know where to head butt, though sometimes he’ll do so on my nose or another part of my face, which is too, too cute. I was actually able to teach him to headbutt my face on “command” – using the words “kiss kiss” and a little point to my cheek. I die every time he does it successfully – it will never get old.
6. I love how when Thomas and I come inside after being out for even an hour, Avery will almost certainly meow consistently for a little while to say, “Hello!” I love how if I’m out for considerably longer, he will not stop meowing until I’ve picked him up and held him over my shoulder, petting him for a solid 5-10 minutes. I mean I know dogs are traditionally known for welcoming their pet owners home, but that kind of a warm welcome I feel is completely matched by my cat. Oh – and if I happen to come home and he doesn’t come to the door to greet me, I know it’s because he’s fast asleep in another room and couldn’t be arsed to leave his snug position. 😉
7. When I speak to Avery, he’ll often slow blink at me as if he’s a wise old owl who truly understands every word I’ve spoken. It’s the sweetest thing and I know slow blinking is absolutely something all cats do, but still I melt when he gives me that face of a wise old man coupled with this stereotypical cat behaviour.

Picture from post 01/09/16

A Few Reasons You Love Your Cat?

Now it’s your turn to share your gushy anecdotes about things your particular cat does, did, or even is doing as we speak! What are some things you really love your cat for?

Have you got a special bond with multiple cats – what are some quirks each of them has that make you really fall in love with them?

I really can’t wait to read what you guys have to say in the comments! 🙂