Roughy picks a new favorite human!

This is the exact thought that runs through Roughy's head everyday.

It's no secret that Roughy is a mean, aggressive, orange boy who still showers people with love and affection—just on his own terms. What was a secret? How quickly his alliance with any single person would change! Sure, we humans pick our favorite pet, kid, aunt/uncle, parent, grandparent, etc. But we sure don't let on that we have a favorite. That memo never made its way down to Roughy.

Roughy's favorite human was my cousin Joe. Roughy taught him that cats hate water and don't "stay" on command. Once, Joe placed Roughy on a truck tailgate and told him to stay, but Roughy left as soon as he was unattended. Open windows meant adventure for Roughy. Joe was the fun person who could get away with anything.

Roughy moved on, though - he realized that his human mom would be more than happy to spoil him - in a different way. One-on-one time - no other cats - for nap time, gentle pets - staying away from his back and never too much petting at one time. I would also always warn the other cats not to mess with him, or they would pay the price when he decided to fight them. I used to say we both looked forward to our nap time - he knew the difference between the true nap time and when I just wanted him to chill out. If I said nap time too late in the day, he would walk away. But say it mid-day, and it was a sure thing.

He slowly started favoring another person - Wally, our favorite long-distance hiker. Wally quickly learned the no-pet zones and stuck to them. He also started putting Roughy in a "headlock" and then pulled his arms away, saying he slipped out of it. To say Roughy loved that would be an understatement. Wally became his truest best human friend - ready to spend hours sitting on the couch binge-watching TV or playing video games. When Wally got the hiking itch and hit the trail, I thought Roughy would be back for his nap time routine with me.

Sadly for me - not the case. He moved on to Scatter, Wally's girlfriend. I'm miffed - because she gives him all the things I used to. The big exception is she's home more than I am - so now he has nap time, bedtime, and whenever he wants! He hunkers down on her bed and settles in for a long haul of sleep - no matter the time of day. When she leaves for work, he walks around the house looking for her, stands in front of her bedroom door, and cries because he wants to be let in. It's like her room is really his room, and he just lets her stay there. It could be that most of the other cats don't hang as long in her room, so he truly feels like an only cat in our multi-cat house.

Whatever his deal is, he has single-pawedly figured out how to manipulate all the humans around him. The days of him being scolded are long gone—we realized that if we scold him, he spitefully pees in places; reprimand him, and he takes his frustration out on the other cats. So he is the true King of the house. His favorite human may change, but it's always whoever gives him what he needs or wants at the current time.

Can't say that we blame him—he figured out the system and is making it work to his full advantage.

Till our tails cross,

Mel & Roughy