Relationship with my cat

I think that I have a pretty special relationship with my cat. We both just know how to read each other and give each other what we both need when we need it. It wasn't always completely like that though. I've had him 10 years, since he was a kitten, and we've both been through a lot together.

We appreciate our time together. We have gone through ups and downs together, moved several times, a couple boyfriends, thrown into new and unknown situations, homeless, etc. We have been through and seen a lot, and we were the only thing that stayed constant in each others lives. We have built this bond over a long time.

So let me tell you about him. He is super quirky. He makes me laugh with his antics. He is a conversationalist. He is super cuddly, has the best purr, and he is super soft. He makes my day so much better without even trying. But here's why...

So every time I went through some sort of experience that was also going to affect him, I gave him time. Time to adjust. Time to be mad at me for messing up his world. Time to be himself again. I did not smother him. I didn't force him to be with me. I didn't constantly pull him out of where ever he was hiding. I just gave him time. I find all to often that people try to smother their cats when they adopt them or change living situations and shock them. This is the kind of actions and behaviors that will make your cat not want to be near you. This is why cats "lash out" at people. When he was ready he came out. He came to me. He realized that this was home (wherever it was that time) and that he was safe. He would go back to "normal". The only change I would see would be with his affection towards me. He has become more affectionate every time we moved. I think, that he thinks, that I am his security blanket. Which does make sense. I am his safety.

Cats are like people too. They have feelings. They have emotions. They need time to adjust to different situations, but unlike humans who can rationally think, they react based off of emotion. They feel threatened or scared, they are going to react in a negative way. If they are happy and content, they'll act more calmly and "rationally". When I moved during my past relationship and brought my cat over there, He reacted the way I knew he would. He ran and hid, didn't eat for a day, and was just all shook up. He finally came out a couple days later. I found him in the window when I got home. He literally looked like he had been crying. He had a tear in his eye and some more had already run down his cheek. It broke my heart to see him sad, but he came around. He soon became super happy and playful again like he always was.

I don't chase him if he leaves the room and bring him back in. He sets the boundaries. When he's done cuddling, he'll move. If he wants to be in the living room on the couch while I lay in bed, I let him. I let him live that way he wants to, I just provide the necessities for him to survive. He always has food, water, toys, and a clean box. He has a roof over his head and he's always warm. Even during the time when I was homeless living in my vehicle in New Jersey in February, I made sure he had everything he needed in there too. He ate before I did. I would remote start my vehicle several times a day to warm it up so he wasn't cold. Go sit with him during my breaks and comfort him. I reassured him that everything would be ok. I talked to him. He was all I had in my life at the moment.

After we went through those several weeks to get myself put back together and get back to some sort of stable living situation, he became over cuddly. I think that he was so grateful to be back in a home. He was sad when we lived in my truck. he couldn't run around or really do anything other than sleep or wait for me. He became able to have a real life again, and live happily.

I honestly treat him and care about him the way I would my own child. I refer to him as my son, my fur baby. We make a joke at home all the time that when we die we want to come back as my cat. We'd have the best life ever. LOL.

Now that I have rambled about my cat for a little while, I hope it brought just a little it of insight on building a relationship/bond with your cat. My situation is/was my own that I learned things from. It is unique to me and my cat.