Reflections on Needy Orange Cats
Ask anyone about their cat's personality, and they'll list adjectives such as 'independent,' 'indifferent,' 'lofty,' etc., etc. Most cats do not care about human presence or the lack there of, choosing go about their lives as supreme beings disdainfully tolerating their owners. Not my ginger cat.
O.C. (Orange Cat) first endeared herself to me when I met her living under our high school bleachers. As I knealt down and called to her, she ran to me and jumped in my lap. An affectionate person myself, I thought I had found the perfect cat for me. Little did I know what I was in for.
O.C. isn't just affectionate or attention-loving. She is demanding. Commands attention. Insists upon it. Sitting on the couch enjoying a good magazine or TV show catless is not an option in our house anymore. Notebook computer on my lap? Not without an orange cat sprawled across it. Eating dinner? First course is a ginger cat on my plate. Figuring taxes or balancing a checkbook? O.C. likes to help by laying on top of my papers. I've mentioned that I recently had a baby. While I was pregnant, O.C. staked her claim on my shrinking lap. As my belly grew, she made do with less and less legspace. After the baby arrived, she insisted on laying across my knees while the baby lay closer to me. Eight months later, she still fights my daughter for lap space. And I do mean fights. I will knock her off my lap 10 times in a row and she keeps coming back for more.
So I wonder -- are ginger cats generally more affectionate or needy than other varieties?