Hiss, Growl, Repeat

Cats, much like humans, have strong personalities—and they certainly aren't afraid to show their personality, displeasure, or even pleasure. Having 21 cats and 2 humans is a LOT of personality to deal with day in and day out. Let's be real—just 2 humans living together can be a lot of personality. I know there are days when I get under Gene's skin just being me and vice versa. Add in the cats to that mix, and it's a perfect storm where nobody truly knows who is coming or going.

Each of our very lovable cats has a strong personality in some way. To any person stopping by, they may not see it. Cats have the best poker face—not always ready to let us know what they are thinking. Read on to get a glimpse of some personalities we deal with daily, and how it affects the other cats and humans in the house.

I'll start with the under-a-year-old group. There are 11 that fall into this category. (Yes, I just had to count that out...) Here goes: Buddy, Monkey, Missy - they are siblings and might actually be closer to just over a year. Missy was adopted out for a few months but got returned (no fault of hers). She came back to us as a sassy kitten used to a young child and one other cat. I started calling her Pissy Missy because she was just that, pissy. Pissy that she had way more siblings than she used to, had to learn to share ALL the food and water bowls, the toys, and how each of the other cats plays and when they didn't want to play. Buddy and Monkey - total lovers and cuddlers. Each of them prefers to cuddle up with us during TV time. Great at giving leg rubs & begging to be picked up. They have a preferred way to be held and will squirm around till they get situated just right, no matter if it's good for you.

As for the other 8 kittens—Wilson, Grayson, Bella, Aurora, Eclipse, Echo, Blaze, and Gizmo—Wilson, for sure, is the lead troublemaker. Always getting into everything, pushing his way, or leaping into your arms. Truly, one day he was looking for attention and jumped at me from the desk in the kitchen to where I was standing looking through the mail at the kitchen table. He was so sure of himself that he would stick his landing—no matter what. Good thing I was only holding papers and caught him.

I guess it's less of a personality thing and more of an age thing—all 11 of them are FULL of energy 24/7. They easily sound like a herd of horses running through the house, up the stairs, down the stairs, through the cat door to the sunporch and back again. Maybe there's a jingle ball or spiral toy involved, but most likely not—it's just them chasing each other. This happens in the dead of night, or when Gene is in a meeting or needs to be focused on work. If you happen to be in their line of running, watch out—they will take you down without stopping.

Gizmo does not have a care in the world when it comes to napping. Her preferred spots are on top of any other sleeping cat. Maybe on the heated bed, maybe in the basket on the cat tower that's meant to hold only one cat. She climbs right onto them and settles in for a little R & R. Oddly, none of them fight her on this; they don't even move. It's like she's their own personal weighted blanket.

Eclipse and Echo are the true calicos of the litter—very much standoffish, determined to make you work for any attention they might consider letting you give them. This is especially true of Eclipse. Currently, she's not likely to let you hold her; maybe she'll hang around for a pet, but most likely not if she's in the middle of anything other than having a rest or nap. Echo, on the other hand, is more likely to let you hold her for a few seconds before needing to move on to whatever is next on her list to do.

Aurora and Bella are somewhere between a torbie and a diluted calico. While absolutely adorable, they are coming into their own personalities. Aurora, from day one, has decided that name tags and collars are NOT for her. We've put it back on a billion times, even having the vet put it back on once—she gets it off in a mere few minutes. So she's clearly going to be the one telling US what is going on and when. Bella, on the other hand, is a bit of a happy-go-lucky girl at the moment. She's a bit of a follow-the-rest baby. If one of the cats is doing something that catches her eye, she pushes herself right into whatever it may be—helping me crochet, stealing a toy from someone, or just pushing her way in for wet food.

Grayson is keeping a low profile currently with his personality - it will come out soon enough, I'm sure. He could potentially have a bit of Siamese in him - if he does, he's going to be a little spitfire. But currently, he is the sweetest cat around - absolutely LOVES his human, Jimmi. He can always be found at the food bowl - especially if we just topped it off.

Blaze is also keeping most of his personality in check. Although he has been known to find ways into my closet—an absolute NO CATS ALLOWED area. How do we know it was him? I found his collar and name tag hanging off of my hanger, so he climbs my work clothes and one day got hung up. So he is keeping a low profile for now but is one to keep an eye on.

At the end of the day, just how much hissing, growling, and purring do they individually contribute to? Plenty! While they all mostly get along, there are times they are the instigators of the growling and hissing. Granted, the hissing and growling (and sometimes hitting) come from all the older cats. The kittens, as we refer to them, are still just full of love, fun, and want to play. They are still working on the fact that "personal space" is a real thing for animals and humans, the senior kitty may get different or special food and you have to wait for her to be done, and learning the rules of our house.

Till our tails cross again,

Melanie

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