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She's Coming Around

When I first met my in-laws' cat, it was an interesting experience. She didn't just follow me, she followed me around and then rubbed herself all over every piece of furniture in my vicinity. She even made sure to rub up on walls that I had passed, just to make sure that she didn't miss anything. It wasn't just grazing the object in question, either. She would make an audible thud whenever she touched the object. There was some serious effort that went into getting her scent on the room.

Lest you think I'm making all of this up, we actually tested this theory out. I walked into a room, then waited for the cat to follow me and rub herself on the furniture. Then, after she had ensured that the room had the correct scent, I would touch a table leg. Sure enough, the cat circled back and made sure to rub up on the table leg I had touched. I heard the telltale thud as she did this, so it was pretty clear that she was trying to "correct" the state of the room after I'd passed through it.

As time has gone on, however, this cat has grown more accustomed to my presence. She hasn't tried to pee in my general direction again, and she no longer tries to make sure her scent is on everything in the house. These days, if I show up at my in-laws' place, the cat generally treats me with some indifference. Given this particular cat, I figure that's strong progress.

With this new set up come new patterns of behavior. She's been known to stay still if I pet her, or even to "ask" for a belly rub by turning over when walking in front of me. I'm never entirely sure how each interaction is going to go, but there have been enough good ones in a row that I'm now less concerned about cat shenanigans. Basically, we get along just fine.

However, this pattern is new to everyone involved. I discovered this the other day when my sister-in-law spotted me rubbing this cat's head and belly. I was basically minding my own business, and absent-mindedly interacting with the cat. However, my sister-in-law looked over, and immediately exclaimed, "Wait, [the cat] likes you now?"

I cracked up when I heard that, and I'm still giggling a lit bit as I write about it now. Apparently other people had noticed how the interactions with the family cat had gone, and they had assumed it would stay that way forever. In hindsight, I can see why that was the assumption, but it's definitely amusing now.

So, in summary, the cat seems to like me a lot better than before. but now it's the humans who are learning to cope with this new reality. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: cats sure do make things interesting.
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