THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon
My cat, Felix, is lying at the foot of the bed. I wiggle my toes. Felix puts his teeth around them and I can feel the little points of his incisors. He lets me know he could bite — but he does not. That’s because both Felix and I have learned a lot.
We have had Felix for almost two years. Before we adopted Felix, he lived for two years on the street — at least that is what the vet said. The vet said teeth do not lie, and Felix’s teeth were two years old. My husband, Peter, is convinced that Felix is much younger because he was so small when we adopted him. And it’s true, he became much bigger and more muscular once he started getting regular nutrition. But Felix knew nothing about living in houses or living with people and, to be honest, we knew nothing about living with Felix.
The first time Felix felt comfortable enough to sleep on the bed, he bit our toes — hard. He bit them as if he planned to bite right through them.
“OWW!” Peter yelled the first time it happened to him. Peter took to wearing very heavy socks to bed. I’m not sure when or how it happened, but eventually Felix learned that those enticing little mice under the blankets were actually body parts that belonged to us.
The biggest problem wasn’t the toes, however. It was that Felix had never used a litter box. He used it right away when we adopted him — but not all the time, and that was a problem. We put down plastic to discourage him from going in the corners. We hid our dirty laundry to prevent him from peeing in that. We took him to the vet. She explained that he had to be stressed. Only stressed-out cats don’t use the litter box. Peter and I were skeptical.
Because Felix seemed entirely relaxed. In fact, when we caught him peeing where he shouldn’t, he seemed totally chill. “What’s the issue?” he seemed to be asking.
And again, I don’t know how he figured it out, but eventually he just stopped peeing anywhere but his litter box. He isn’t any less stressed. He just decided that peeing in one place was less hassle.
I’ve had other cats, but I have never had a cat as athletic as Felix. He quite literally bounces off the walls. He gets up speed in the hallway, then hits the wall at a high rate of speed and ricochets onto another wall before tearing off in the opposite direction. He makes a ferocious sort of growl when he does this. It is very exciting living with Felix.
I don’t know if he will ever be as cuddly as other cats I’ve had, and I don’t really care. Felix likes to be petted but won’t sit on a lap. He sleeps in the bed, but always far enough away so we can’t touch him. He does not like being picked up or carried around, although he now tolerates it for a short while. Maybe living on the streets for a couple of years made him a little more independent. Maybe that’s just how he is made.
But I think, as much as people and cats can understand one another, we’ve come to an understanding with Felix. He is part of our family. He misses us when we are gone. He always wants to know what we are doing. He purrs loudly and often. And he doesn’t bite our toes anymore — at least not very hard.
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