Sophie the Strange

It’s been nearly two years since Sophie-the-formerly-stray cat entered my life, and twenty months since she entered my home. It’s official–she’s an odd little cat. Before I get to her oddities, here are three photos from today’s shoot. She’s quite a bit more relaxed then she was in the early days.

DSC_0959 DSC_0972 DSC_0988Yes, the scruffy little mutt has turned into quite the beauty. And my oh my has she gotten soft. That’s what nearly two years of tuna and lovin’ will do for you. And she’s getting as much of both as her odd little heart desires.

Moving on to her weirdness.

Sophie likes to lie on top of me and get pets, but only if I’m covered with a blanket or duvet. She will not simply lie on top of a fully-clothed me. Unless I’m covered up, my texture must be not quite right. No matter how many times I tap my tummy or woo her with kissing noises, she simply cannot bring herself to climb up unless I’m properly adorned.

She also has an odd eating ritual, which did not appear until nearly a year after she moved in. One morning, after I’d brought her tuna to her room (she does not eat with her step-sisters, Sadie and Sally, who take their morning tuna in the kitchen), I heard quite the ruckus–clanging and banging and scratching–which went on for several minutes. I went upstairs to investigate, and saw that she’d been digging at the carpet and her corrugated scratching pad, which she’d used to cover the remaining tuna on her saucer. While I found this somewhat amusing, seeing as the carpet is fairly new, I wasn’t entirely delighted. I figured it might be a one-off event, and went on about my day. But little Sophie persisted in this behavior, and so I’ve now provided her a small wash cloth with which to cover her food. Each morning when she’s had her fill of tuna, she drags the cloth over the remains of her breakfast. When I come home at night I remove it for her, and she then partakes of the leftovers.

Odd behavior number three is somewhat new, as she’s only recently taken to sleeping in the bed with me at night. She and Sadie and Sally seem to have entered into a bit of a truce, and they rotate in and out of my bed during the night. At times there is a bit of hissing and chasing during rotation, but things have been settling down nicely. Seeing as they’ve had nearly two years to get over their change in living situations, I’d say it’s about time. So back to oddity numero tres: in the middle of the night, little Sophie jumps up onto my bed, stands next to my head, and meows her squeaky little meow to announce her presence. Which is helpful because otherwise, seeing as it’s fairly dark, I wouldn’t know which of the fluffy three black cats she was. So she meows, and then stands there patiently until I take notice. If I don’t take notice, she escalates, gently placing her paw, claws fully extended, on my hand, or face, whichever is closest. That generally does the trick, and I adjust myself so she can lie down in her preferred spot: alongside my head, facing the headboard. At times she drapes her fluffy little tail along my back. Swish swish. Swish Swish. She can go on like that for twenty minutes, lying squished up against my face, purring, swish swishing away. Occasionally she will intersperse the purring with a low growl, lest any other cat attempt to rotate in prematurely.

She is, indeed, a funny little cat. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

17 comments

  • Oh my gosh, Sophie is lovely and gorgeous. I think she is part Persian and half something else because of her face and Eyes are different then a persian. .But boy is she absolutely gorgeous!

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  • “likes to lie on top of me and get pets, but only if I’m covered with a blanket or duvet cover. She will not simply lie on top of a fully-clothed me. … No matter how many times I tap my tummy … simply cannot bring herself to climb up unless I’m properly adorned.” – Same for my male. My female does not like to lie on top of me even in bed.
    The meowing you hear is that of a feline mother coming back to her litter of kittens to announce it is her. Felines are born with eyes closed. Some female cats show this behaviour regularly. And yes, my two do want to cover their wet food, too, after their first bites. Maybe I should try the kitchen paper towel trick ..

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    • So Sophie isn’t so odd after all. She is announcing herself. But with one tentative little meow. It took her nearly two years to decide I am her litter of kittens. I love that she’s becoming more at ease here. I have no idea how long she was outside or what her life was like before she became so, but we’re making up for it.

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  • Sophie is very beautiful!!! Mom says I (Hemingway) am very much like Sophie. When I eat my breakfast then I scratch all around so I can “cover” my food. Mom said that’s part of our heritage from our ancestors long ago when we all lived in the wild and wanted to save our food for later. We’re so glad you humans are adapting. 🙂

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    • Smart kitties think alike! Sophie’s sister Sally likes to scratch around her food too, but hasn’t yet asked for something to cover it. Sadie just eats all hers so she doesn’t have to worry anout it. Yes, Sophie is doing an excellent job teaching me how to live with such a clever little cat. You might ask for a cloth, Hemingway, to make sure your leftovers are safe from Shakespeare. 🙂

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  • Sophie is so so beautiful! I am loving my kitty and I want another. Even though HER odd habit is to wake me up every night between 3:00 – 4:00 by licking my nose and gently clawing my face. Every. Night. Still, I want another one. And after I find another place to live and settle in, I’m going to get one.

    Cats rock!

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    • Kitties are amazing, odd habits and all. What is up with the gentle clawing of the face? It’s rather disconcerting, isn’t it? But Sophie is always gentle when she does it. Two cats are always better than one. Even if it takes nearly two years for them to warm up to one another. 😉 I can’t wait to see your kitty combo photos, Denise!

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