My first cat as an adult was Ben. He was 20 years and 3mos. From age 23 to 43 is quite a change in a man’s life and he was with me through it all. He was spectacular.Delighted to see all these pictures of pipe smokers with their owners. Mine passed away a few years ago. It was a 21-year old Persian. I still miss him. RIP, Tigger.
We've experienced all of this with our two cats, both have very unique personalities. Our cat Aki is playful and a goofball, but will get jealous when a lot of attention is paid to the other. Piper is very shy and leery of meeting new people, hides from thunder, but once you gain her trust she is the sweetest most cuddly thing is this world. And she's mouthy, emphatically tries to tell what she wants, which is mostly to open the window so she can hear and smell whats going on outside.I'm intrigued by cat intelligence. When people compare human and cat intelligence, they entirely use human criteria, so of course the cats lose by a good bit.
However, the more time you spend around cats and the cats' world, inner and general, you begin to see how complex and intricate they are. Cat damage in human terms isn't damage to the cats at all; they are unaware of it.
Dogs are tribal, hierarchical in deference to the alpha, and often self-sacrificial; I still love and honor the dog of my childhood, an all-black Springer-Cocker Spaniel mix but with uncommon strength for its size. But cats are quite different, in some ways more like the solitary side of people.
I think cats are more like people emotionally, layered, jealous, and full of longing and expectations. They are more territorial than tribal. When you first bring them home, they assess the real estate.
With either dogs or cats, the greatest honor is trust from the animal. They rarely make a mistake. If they trust you, you are trustworthy. If people do well with animals, it reveals their character. If they don't, it does that too.
Beautiful! Those eyes are amazing!
Love Bruce's tiara, kinda jealous.View attachment 246441View attachment 246442View attachment 246443
This is Bruce, our daughter's cat. It's great, everyone had a different Bruce they were thinking of. Lee, Springsteen, Banner, Campbell, Wayne, all correct according to the family (depending on who you ask).