He's Such an ANIMAL!

This is Rudy, my rude ruddy Abyssinian.  If Rudy were human he would definitely be on medication.

Until he was two, he seldom slept, always being in non-stop motion, most of that taking place several feet off the ground.  At five, he is much easier to live with, though of all my cats, he doesn't care much...if at all...whether I approve or not of his behavior.  When he is sharpening his claws on the furniture, a shouted "NO!" or a spray of water has not effect whatsoever.  I have even thrown a magazine at him, but unless it's a direct hit, he ignores it. So far, none of the solutions I've tried have worked. He is a very determined cat!

I believe he would have been happier as a shop cat, where he would have had constant social interaction and admiration which he craves.  But, that was not his fate, and mine was not to have pristine furnishings.

I've also learned to accept that there's no way to get him to stop inhaling his food whole and to keep him from vomiting it back in due time. It's part of our routine. I accept. I adjust. I am adaptable. 

And, then there's all the other, more gross stuff.  When he's in the litter box, he make the litter fly out the opening,   So far, no solutions have worked.. Every solution brings a different problem. He would drink only from running water, and since I feared his getting dehydrated, I would let him drink out of the bathroom faucet.  I solved that issue by getting him a fountain.  He no longer tries to drink from the stream of water when I am using it, but can't resist licking the faucet thoroughly after I have turned it off.  No harm done....unless one thinks about all the germs on the tap.  That very same tongue may have licked his butt only a minute ago. 

Rudy has a very wet tongue, drippy wet.  He likes to stand up in back of me when I'm seated and lick my neck. One lick calls for a towel!  Yesterday, I caught him licking my cloth napkin.  I couldn't help but wonder how many times he had done this without my catching him.....At night he nuzzles in my hair, and yes, licks it.  This morning I was awakened by his bathing my arm-pit.

All of it adds up to a dull undertone of annoyance which I ignore, but, of course, I know that these "little" annoyances in life all add up.  It's difficult...no, it feels impossible....to deal with it when the annoyances are so small and when one loves the person causing them, whether he wears fur or not.