How would I describe my cat, Oscar? Well, there are plenty of words, but the ones I’d choose would be ‘cute’, and also ‘manipulative’.
On one hand, he’s very friendly — always looking for attention.
He welcomes new people with open paws, rushing straight to them the moment they arrive.
He really loves getting brushed; every time you brush him, a big smile will show up on his face.
Oscar does have his limits, but if you pat him too much or in the wrong way, he’ll just gently bat your hand away with his paw or get up and leave.
When we aren’t busy showering Oscar with pats and brushes and everything in between, he spends his time sleeping soundly or patrolling his turf to make sure there are no intruders.
And there’s his hobby of wanting to see what’s behind the kitchen cabinets.
However, while he’s great with people, he wasn’t as friendly with our old cat, Bundy.
When Oscar entered our home many years ago, he was a stark contrast to Bundy.
Bundy was old, Oscar was young.
Bundy ate exotic foods (for a cat), Oscar stuck to cat food.
Bundy had light fur. Oscar had dark fur.
And while Bundy was shy, Oscar couldn’t be happier around people.
The only two things they seemed to have in common was getting into cat fights when they were both in their prime.
They weren’t on good terms for a while; chances are, it started when Oscar first came to the house, and Bundy promptly slapped him across the face to establish dominance.
While they did get start to get along better, I feel Oscar held on to that moment, because when Bundy was blind and in his twilight years, Oscar returned the favour.
Nowadays, after 15 years of life, Oscar seems to have figured out exactly how to get what he wants, particularly pats.
Most of the time, all it takes is sitting in front of us and looking adorable.
But other times, we need a little more convincing.
He will jump on you desk while you’re working. He will scratch at your door in the middle of the night.
He will follow you around until you cave in.
And he has developed a new trick since we went on holidays last year.
As soon as we returned, whenever he couldn’t see us, he would start meowing.
At first, I thought it was just because he was worried we would leave, that it would pass in a week or two.
But no, he still does it to this day, and he has definitely figured out that we’ll come to him eventually if he keeps it up.
And while it’s not confirmed, I have a sneaking suspicion he likes new people so much because he knows they’re easier to manipulate.
Despite this cunning side, he’s still a very good cat and we all love him to bits.
* Sebastian Lawless is doing work experience at the News.