The cats of the house - Monkey

Yes, a cat called Monkey. Monkey is the baby cat of the house, and a bit of a "fluffy" guy in stature. He even has a big cat head, according to his vet. He has short cat legs, a teeny little voice, and a desire to be alpha cat. He is famous for "making bread" and drools quite a bit when happily making that bread. Monkey came into my life back in 2005 as just a little kitten.

At that time I was living in a different house. It was in the city, yet seemed to be in the country somehow. The neighborhood was known to have all sorts of wildlife (and I don't mean the neighbors either). There were always visits to the yard by raccoons, skunks, possums, rats and cats. A neighborhood Tuxedo cat we nicknamed Sam would come and hang out in the wicker chair in the yard. One day, he brought his new little friend around. That little friend was Monkey.

It didn't take long before Monkey became a regular fixture in the yard. He was there in the morning and he was there in the evening. Turns out he'd sleep up on the roof at night where he was safe (the house was Spanish style with a flat roof.) I think he was feral. He was hard to lure in and was very skittish. It was always a challenge to catch him, and as time went on, he did seem to express a desire to get closer, but just wasn't terribly trusting.

After a few months, he began to develop a little trust (as best as he could). He had blankets and I even got a Dogloo for him to sleep in when it was cold and rainy out. He never used it though, only the skunks found it interesting. It was pretty cool when he began to trust enough to let you pet him (even if ever so briefly). He even started to come in to the house, but immediately seemed to "snap out of it" and would desperately try to get out. Now, I had a screen door and it was pretty crappy. Even though it was locked, you could always seem to get that door opened, even if you were a little cat pushing against it from inside the house with all your might. Oh yes, the beauty of rental property!

When the time came to move to a new place, we had to catch Monkey in the morning and put him in the cat carrier and take him to the vet to be neutered. Louie and Petey also spent that day at the vet so that they would be safe in one place with the action of that day. You see, when you have indoor cats, it is never a good idea to have them roaming around on moving day. Doors are always left open and that can lead to unhappy results.

Once Monkey was neutered and brought to the new house, he seemed to adjust quite well to his new domesticated indoor lifestyle. He and Petey became fast friends and they both love sleeping under my dining room sideboard. The sideboard just happens to be located over a heater vent. When the heater is on, the space between the vented area of the floor and the bottom of the sideboard is quite toasty!



Like Louie and Petey, Monkey is a bright spot and a joy. He is still a little suspicious of humans, but he's slowly learning to relax more when friends come calling.