While visiting with family for the Thanksgiving holiday I was really struck by just how different one of my in-law's cats is personality-wise in comparison to my two cats. My in-law's cat is named Hunter. Several years ago on a particularly chilly winter evening he was found by my father-in-law. They brought in the little kitty, fed him, and took care of him. At first Hunter didn't really interact with them at all, he more stared through them than anything else. Eventually he warmed up to them and started playing. He was estimated to be about a year old when he was found, he was probably a barn cat, and he was a scrappy fighter from the looks of his tuffed ears. Since opening up to my in-laws, he has become the most friendly cat I've ever met. He's hungry for attention (he will even use your hand to pet himself if you have stopped petting him) and playful as ever. I believe my mother-in-law said he's approaching eight years old, you wouldn't think he was much older than a year or two by his energy level.
Hunter is helping with quilting.
I think what surprises me so much about his personality is when I compare it to my cat Bailey, who was found when he was three weeks old and has been with people since that. Bailey is five now and although he has his playful moments, he's still a pretty stand-offish cat in a general sense. Maybe Hunter had been socialized with other farm cats when he was a kitten whereas Bailey didn't get much cat socialization. I'm not sure, I just know there is such a difference between these two orange cats!
Since we adopted Cleo I don't know exactly what her upbringing was like, but I do think she may have been a street cat. There are times when Cleo and Bailey get along really well though, so maybe she's rubbing off on him. He is a brat to her still though, don't get me wrong, he chases her through the apartment often. But they can at least both sleep on the bed at times without having a tussle. That's progress in my book :)!
Thanks for stopping in,
Melissa
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