Posted on 2024-09-21
My partner has been staying at their mom's to help her recover after surgery, so it's been me and the cats for the last week. It's interesting to see how they behave differently with my partner around.
Maya, who was originally my partner's cat, has become a lot more independent. Typically, she sleeps on cushion in the bedroom and hops up on the bed when I get up so she can spend more time with my partner. She loudly purrs the entire time she does this. Meals are also a time for neediness, as Maya will refuse to eat her kibble if someone doesn't sit with her and give her "her cuddles". This is just petting her for a couple minutes while she moves like she's thinking about eating, before stopping herself and purring loudly as she gets pet some more.
With my partner gone? She wants nothing to do with me. She sleeps in the living room and barely even needs a cuddle to start eating. When she wants something she'll make some noise to get my attention, but is otherwise content to do her own thing.
Now for Penny. My sweet, dumb girl. The absence of her step-parent has made her into more of a spoiled creature than she was before. And she knows I'm a sucker. She's been waking me up at 5:30 for food, even though her automatic feeder goes off at six. She wants to play more than she has in months, usually a bit past 11 PM. She is shadowing me constantly during the day. If I'm in bed, she's next to me if not directly on top of me. If I'm cooking, she's in the hallway watching. If I'm working, she finds a chair to "supervise" from and nap on. She's my exhausting little friend to the extreme.
It'll all go back to normal when my partner returns, but it's been interesting having these new dynamics with my smallest roommates.