CATS of WEST TENTH: The Many Sides of Mr Whiskers

Mr Whiskers is a complicated guy. He is a strong, powerful cat. When he meuws he sounds like a kitten. Now that he's feeling better, he's moving much more quickly (he's on antibiotics for a bacterial infection). When I pet him he melts. I try to do some touches while he is eating, but he's starting to like them so much that he keels over--right into his food. Yesterday, he fell into his water bowl and didn't even flinch. He just kept leaning into my hand. I was happy to discover he trusted me enough to dry him a bit with a paper towel. I get the feeling that he is love starved. He must have been living outside at least 3 years. While out on the street he gave this veneer of tough guy. One of the reasons he looks tough, I believe, is that he does not use any calming signals. He just looks wide eyed all the time. Who knows, he may have vision problems.

Cats have very similar calming signals to dogs I have learned. They blink their eyes (or squint) or lick their lips or look away. When I'm petting Mr Whiskers I try the squinting and looking away because he's still skittish. Even though he falls over when I pet him, if I move my hand in a way he's not ready for, he jumps. I use the back of my hand to slide down his beautiful soft fur because it has less heat, is less stimulating and possibly less threatening. He may swat, but he doesn't have his claws out, I'm very careful to read his body movement. If I feel him begin to startle I stop or withdraw, close my eyes. I'm careful because his feeder while he was outside got scratched, but he has not scratched me yet. I think watching the signals carefully helps.

He rolls over on his back exposing his belly, but I'm not going there yet. Sometimes he rolls into me, resting his paws against my leg--I pray he does not decide to use his claws and he hasn't. He really must have been someone's cat at some point.

He's starting to get more comfortable on the third floor because he meuws for me to come up and feed him. And he doesn't hide under the bed when I come up the stairs.

Here I'm doing some ear slides which he loooves and starting to hold his head. He likes to fall asleep with his head in my hand.