Note: If you have "rearophobia", this rescue kitty, so dashing in his "tuxedo", is not the one for you, but if you have rearophilia or even rearomania, you'll love his ways of showing love! Please read the description of his personality and looks below and, if interested, send in your answers to the questions asked here - everyone who sends in answers (in the body of an email addressed to philoctete@mailbug.com) is guaranteed to receive a prompt reply. Ifyou're seeing this, he is still in need of a home. Thanks!
Everyone who gets to know Nudge Nudge will have his or her own favorite thing about him; for me (I've been asked to assess his behavior and list him on my Petfinder account for another rescuer), my special thing that he does is how he "dialogues" with you. It is by no means a loud or irritating meow he has; it's very soft and often it is silent, so that you only know he's talking to you because his mouth moves. His favorite topic of conversation by far is "why have you stopped petting me?" and "when are you going to go back to petting me?" though he also meows as a greeting, to make sure your intentions are as friendly as they were the last time he saw you (for Nudge Nudge has had, till now, lifelong trauma inflicted by the person whose house he was living in, and he is a trusting but timid fellow from his traumatic background). The way he whips his head around queryingly as soon as he senses your hands are no longer all over him is a joy to behold, if, like me, you like feeling that somebody likes you!
Nudge Nudge is not a lap-cat exactly, though he likes to sit as near to your lap as he can, either facing you, his kneady paws working in and out on your belly, or (more usually) faced away, his head low and his bottom held high. This posture, which looks such a strain to maintain, is actually one of his favorites, for it enables you to run your hands over both flanks, pet his tail and his belly, and reach his head too (he is a small, slender, and rather delicate kitty). He likes it when you hold his tail in your hand and pet it from base to tip; indeed, he seems to like your holding his tail as much as your holding his paw, for comfort for both of you. When you pet his back, he usually flings it into your hand with a loving and very amusing darting motion.
You'll like the ways he shows love. Though he doesn't seem to want to bonk heads, or lick your nose and things like that, he loves to lingeringly, lovingly run the length of his lips on your knee, arm, ankle, shoe. It's not wet/sloppy, it's just thorough and obviously meaningful to him. He'll nudge your leg, trying to bury his muzzle in your trousers or shirt-sleeve, and he likes to lie between your legs (if you stretch them out) with his chin resting sweetly and trustingly over your ankle, as his high-held bottom continues to present itself to your hand for petting.
He's extraordinarily gentle and, though he does not much like it when you hold his back to your chest, stand him up, and rub his belly, or when you pick him up and cover him with "smooches", he allows it because he wouldn't think of causing you harm.
Nudge Nudge has a couple of blasted ears; he was mainly kept outside all his life and had chronic ear infections that got so bad (untreated in any way) that his ear literally exploded and what we see now is (I am told by a vet who examined his twin brother, who also has the same issue and also needs a better home!) the aftermath of that "explosion" (implosion?).
Though his characteristic ways of love and his obsessive thirst for human contact (in the form of hands-all-over-him-every-which-way) show themselves during the first minutes of his acquaintanceship with you, he is an insecure, scaredy kitty and the ideal adopter for him would be someone who is comfortable with how he likes to hide when you are not in the room petting him, and how he startles easily. I am sure that these are things that would improve with time; I have not been assessing him for long and I suspect he would blossom and grow out of his uncertain and flinchy behaviors in a home of his own with a person or people who had more than a few minutes a day to be a companion for him. Above all, he wants companionship and I have discovered that eventually you can use your hands for other things than petting him and he will still sit happily between your legs, purring quietly and kneading his paws in the air, emotionally fulfilled by just your presence alongside him.
If interested in trying a trial adoption of Nudge Nudge in your home, please write in with your answers to the questions below. If we think that based on the answers he and you sound like a good match, we will ask to exchange references and to arrange a time/day for him to come to your home. Everyone who answers the questions is guaranteed to receive a prompt reply! Thanks!
1. What diet/nutrition would you feed him? Please be specific about what brands of dry food (if any) you would feed him, what brands of canned food (if any) you would feed him, and what brands of raw food (if any) you would feed him, providing the approximate ratio of dry to wet (canned or raw/homemade) food you would offer. If you would let him graze overnight or during the day, please mention that too. Thanks!
2. What are your views, pro or con, on declawing?
3. What are your views, pro or con, on neutering/spaying?
4. Under what circ*mstances, if any, would you consider parting with him? (We are 100% no-kill and would ask to take him back if for any reason at any time you no longer had him in your family/household.)
5. Would he be indoor only, outdoor only, or a mixture of the two?
6. What kind of water and what type/brand of cat litter would you offer him?
7. What kind of domicile would you share with him (rented apartment, trailer, owned house, rented house, dorm, yurt, etc.) and what other humans and non-humans would live there with you and him?
8. It can be really helpful in determining a good match for us to know something about you - particularly interests/hobbies/leisure pursuits and your source of income (such as job or profession), since cat care can sometimes be expensive. You can also add details, if you wish, such as your previous experiences caregiving for cats, dog-sitting, volunteering; your age; and so forth.
9. If there's anything about Nudge Nudge in his looks or his description that appeals to you, "speaking to you", please let us know what it is!
