vagner is so weird. if it weren't for the fur, the ears, the whiskers, and the tail, i would doubt his cathood. yes, he has the typical cat behaviors - the bathing, the supreme highness stature sit, and so on - but he also seems to be borrowing from all over the animal kingdom as well. who knew something barely the size of a dust bunny when it was found (and is now the length of my arm without trying) would wind up so confused!

he is probably the only cat i've ever known with such a love for water, and i don't mean drinking it. this little guy plays in it like a kid (seal?), splashing with both paws and getting everything in a 1' radius wet: floor, table, food. we finally laid a towel down just to keep from have to clean it up all the time. this cat just loves water. i mean, he's slept in the water dish folks! now days he seems to content himself with getting the towel soaking wet and sleeping on that instead of in the dish. another reason i suggest a seal: he likes ice. i tend to eat ice all day and he likes to come up, stick his head in my cup, and lick the top most ice cube. it is totally odd to be sharing my preference for ice with a cat.

course, this could also be his desperate way of dealing with the heat, which hasn't really been at all pleasant of late. well, except, he's been doing this since he was big enough to actually get around without being stepped on by accident. (i swear! he really was that tiny when we found him!) fortunately, he may love water to the point of watching it run from a faucet when we're brushing our teeth, but he doesn't love it enough to ignore the spray pump we use to teach the animals what not to do. he's almost to the point of ducking and running right when he sees you pick up that purple bottle . . . .

he also seems to be a typical male, at least in the human scale of things. he always demands attention at precisely the wrong time. you know, the one time you actually have the motivation and energy to do something you've needed to do for awhile? i finally get to work on something and that's when he wants the snuggles and love or won't go to sleep unless i'm holding him and rubbing his belly. and, of course, when he's that demanding, he actually wants to go to sleep. do you know how hard it is to type while cradling a rather large kitten in one arm and rubbing its belly with the other hand? on the up side, at least my typos seem to dissipate. course, i'm also typing one letter every 2 or 3 minutes.

he's also somewhat of a writerly cat, even if he's decided he takes precedence over my writing. he loves my desk - sleeps on and around it quite frequently and likes typing out nonsensical messages to friends in my i.m.s or on my pages. however, he's also decided the printer is either a play toy or a threat, i haven't figured out which one yet. as long as he's not out like a rag doll (see below), the minute the printer makes it's prepping to print noises, he's there. and if i don't grab him and hold him, he attacks it and anything it releases. since i'm a writer, you can imagine how annoying this gets.

and can that cat sleep! you know those people who can find any little corner and just pass right out and not be disturbed by much of anything? he's just like that. i mean, you can even move this little guy from room to room without disturbing him! once he's out, he's out. he has got to be part rag doll, in addition to seal, writer, manly man, and dog/ant/elephant.

despite all the strangeness about this little beastie, he gives me my daily dose of affection and purrs. he loves to come up and touch my face with a paw while purring and giving me kisses. his purr is wonderfully loud, and already rumbly rather than that tiny sound kittens make. and he seems to have borrowed from the night owl in me, usually keeping me company when i'm working at night (often by insisting on attention or a game of fetch, both of which making writing a difficult task at best). roro goes to bed with dad and doesn't show up again till 4 a.m. if i go to bed earlier, he'll wake her up and insist on playing/attention.

okay, so he's fickle like a man too.

even so, i'm glad we found him and decided to keep him. he's my boy.