Ivy is not the type of cat who gets in bed and snuggles up against me. I wish she would on cold nights because Charlie won’t sleep against me either. He prefers to sleep at the end of the bed.
And she also isn’t a lap cat.
The other day Ivy hopped into my lap and proceeded to sharpen her claws on my stomach. Ouch! But I let her because I was so surprised she was even in my lap. And I’m easy, so I would have let her do it anyway as we all know.
After she sharpened her claws, she sat down in my lap. Ivy is a big cat, so she completely covered my lap and hung over a bit. Charlie was in his usual spot on the left side of me in this recliner.
Of course what she wanted was for me to pet her. Right now as I write this Ivy is laying on the table beside me, all sprawled out wanting me to pet her. Which I reach over and do occasionally as I write this.
She hasn’t gotten into my lap since. So maybe it was just an anomaly of sorts. I hope she decides to get in my lap again.
Cats are the type of creatures that might as well say: “Hey, didn’t you know? It’s all about me and what I want.”
They are somewhat self-centered and independent and want what they want, regardless of anything or anyone else.
Whereas dogs are friendlier and depend more on you, cats are selective about things and need you to pet them, feed them, and clean their litter box.
If you put down a towel or blanket or even a dish towel, a cat will typically plop down on it, like a hen over a nest. If you throw down a box, they’re in it and claim it to be theirs.
Every cat has a distinctive personality. Ivy is very affectionate as long as you’re petting her and giving her all the attention she wants.
When she’s tired of the attention, she will either grab my hands with her claws or gently bite me. Sometimes not all that gently!
Okay, my oldest daughter is here to work on the backsplash. After that the kitchen should be finished and I will show it to you. Hopefully tomorrow.
I love to hear cat stories. So feel free to tell me about your cat in the comments.
I’m glad your daughter will be able to help you finish your backsplash. Your cat Ivy looks to be large and quite the character! I hope you are feeling better and can work at managing your back pain.
As for the owner of your property; I would be cautious about investing too much of your own money on improvements for awhile.
So many funny cat tales. We once had a part Siamese, part tortoise shell cat called Nutmeg who was very agile and would jump up onto things and balance there when you would swear there wasn’t enough space for her to hang onto. Like the top of a wooden door in the old house we lived in. She also would jump onto my then-husband’s shoulders if he was drinking a glass of milk and stick her paw in it then lap the milk from her paw. Yuk, right? The other thing she did was when he rode his bike she would again jump onto his shoulders and ride there. I don’t think she clawed to hang on. At least I don’t remember him ever saying she did. She just balanced. I guess she was just a “well-balanced” cat! (Groan.)
So happy your backsplash is going to get done without you hurting yourself any more. Hopefully, you aren’t is as much pain as yesterday. I’m glad your daughter is willing to help you with this task. Looking forward to seeing the finished kitchen.
I used to have five cats. Over the years they aged and one by one passed. My cats always loved kneading my lap or shoulders. I think it is the same thing they do while nursing. It’s a very trusting living thing they share with us. Cats are so mysterious and wonderful.
I now have my third rescue dog, Max, a rescue. I like dogs now. It’s been a privilege to have these rescue doggies one by one. Max goes with me in the car. At sixty pounds he’s a beautiful and friendly shiny black springer spaniel mix but big enough to have a mighty bark. I like his company at night too. He hears everything.
All my pets have been rescued. Max is and the others, Bu and then senior Toby, were blessings.
Frances in MD
My Maine Coon Cat Kramer will get on my chest about twice a day and will get as close to my face as he can ,I usually give him kisses on his cheeks ,he purrs for awhile and then he is gone .He is not a lap cat so this is strange behavior.He likes me better than my husband .He is a rescue about 5 Years old and 20 lbs. .He is very spoiled !
This morning I awoke to the sound of loud purring. I opened my eyes to see my husband lying on his side with our ginger cat sitting on his hip, looking at me and purring away. I am the one who gets out of bed first each morning to go feed the two cats while my husband begins his exercises. And just about every morning, the ginger or the tuxedo cat will come in and sit on my husband or push against him while they wait for me to get up. We don’t know why they sit on him instead of me. Maybe they think I will get mad and won’t feed them? We just don’t know. But, I guess the cats have decided that their behavior does indeed result in food in their bowls and that is all that matters to them!
How funny! As you know, a cat is a cat and that is that.
My female, Maddie, we rescued as a kitten about 4-1/2 years ago. She is so much like your Ivy! She’s very standoffish and aloof.. unless she wants some affection. Then she will jump up on the table or by my computer and sit there and purr and want head buts and petting. She’ll bite (not hard) when she’s done with it, or if you try to pick her up! She NEVER was a lap cat, until one night a few months ago when she jumped on my lap and laid down, fully spread out, and went into a sound sleep! I was so shocked! I just sat there for 2 hours, afraid to move, as she had never done that before. It’s as if she could never trust to sit on someone’s lap and go to sleep. So to me, that was a sign that she finally fully trusted me. She had before, jumped up and kind of sat on my chest so she could lick my neck, kind of like nursing I think. She was separated from her mama so early, I’m sure she’s never gotten over that, so still likes to imitate that.. but only for a few minutes, and then she’s down and done! But the laying on my lap, fully asleep, was very unusual, and hasn’t happened since!
We have Norah who is about Ivy’s age. We took her in from my GFs dad who had a heart attack. And we foster failed! He thought she was Six weeks old but she was closer to four. My daughter fed her every two hours. Her feet never hit the ground for several weeks. She is very tiny and cackles instead of meowing. And she sucks her toes, but just one foot only. It’s so cute. Our other cat is Joey who is a three legged tripod. No idea how he lost his back leg. The good news is he can’t jump on counters. The bad news is my sheets are not in such good shape as he sorta claws his way up in the bed. Can’t wait to see the kitchen reveal!!
We inherited a cat one place we lived…he lived outside and in the garage where my husband fixed him up with a nice heat lamp and heated water bowl for winter. He was not your ordinary cat either…he kind of barked. Guess he had lived among dogs so long he kind of thought he was one!
My kitty I affectionately call KitKat always knows when my tummy hurts and will crawl up on it and start kneading away. Not sure if it’s a sweet gesture or if he secretly hates me. I love him and my other moggie to bits.
My cat is a 23 pound rescue with 1 eye. His name is Charlie and is so spoiled. Wait until you wake up with your cat standing on your belly and he has to move before you can get up. Love crazy cats.
Our Dexter is 17 years old now and always jumps on my lap when I sit down to watch TV, she also starts running her paws over my chest, she likes to face me for a while. I think this action is a throw back from when they were very young and did this to get milk from their mother. When she gets tired of me she walks over the coffee table to my husband and settles down on him for a while. At night she either stays on her warming pad or sleeps on my pillow.
Hi Brenda. So glad your daughter is over to finish up the backsplash. I cannot wait to see it. I never had cats because Terry is allergic but I think they are really interesting little creatures. I love reading the stories about Ivy. She has a big personality. Have a great new week.
I wish I could post pic of my Little Bit. She looks almost identical to Ivy except she’s small. She was dropped here from a moving car and for years she was so frightened and didn’t trust. She’s 14 now and still playful. She’s turned into my lap cat and stays by my side most of the time. I cherish every day with her. she is so affectionate. I give her lots of attention and petting, and I get head butts and love nips in return.
Well,I have Bella and Buddy,she’s a tuxie,he’s a mini house panther:)
They’re both spoiled and love attention,with both being a mix of cuddly and standoffish,right now I’m resting on the couch with a new throw over me and she’s busy ” making biscuits”.
Both rescues, loves of my life!
I forgot that’s what it was called! Making biscuits.
My sweetie’s new cat Luna is adorable – she’s so affectionate, and absolutely loves to play! His older cat, Lucy, is stand-offish, she will only let me pet her for less than a minute and then she gets mean.