My response: "Well, we find him slightly irregular." I thought it was funny - the guy didn't get it.
I was out walking Ruf late this afternoon and a guy who had just come out of his motorhome was watching intently. As he walked towards us, it was apparent he was going to say something about this cat on a leash. Then, the title to this post.
He then said, "No, he doesn't look like a regular cat - is he one of those Maine cats?"
"We think he is at least part Maine Coon."
The guy said, "My son is a meter reader, and there is one house that has a Maine cat, and he said that cat creeps him out."
I replied, "I don't know why; Maine Coons are friendly. This boy is very social - he likes everybody. In fact, if he doesn't like someone, I trust his judgement."
Then, his wife came out and said, "That cat is huge!"
I said, "He's on the small side for his breed; but, yeah, bigger than a lot of cats."
That was the end of the conversation. As they walked away, Ruf looked at me and asked, "Were they weird?"
"Yeah, buddy, they seemed a bit weird to me. Good judgement on your part." ;-)
Walking back to the motorhome, I thought about that "huge" comment. He doesn't seem huge to me. He is built like a weight-lifter, but he doesn't seem taller than most cats. Could be my perspective: I'm not around other cats. Steph and Dan's trio is my comparison, and two of their cats are Siberian Forest Cats, and they are big cats; then little Tango (the orange boy) is tiny by comparison. Rufus seems just right.
I may be biased.
(file photo - I need to do a new photo shoot on this boy)
4 comments:
Such a fine handsome lad! And a Good Boy!
Thanks for noticing, Earl. ;-) How's Duke doing?
Duke is doing better. Alice decided that he was not going out on the leash anymore, since he seemed on high alert any time he was outside. He went nuts whenever seeing another animal, be it cat, robin, squirrel, etc. Especially other cats. He seems to have accepted the change and is getting mellower overall. We still have not made a full supervised face-to-face introduction with Lucy, but sense that is getting closer too. She’s all for it, as long as he doesn’t attack. She is mellow around other cats, including the feral stray that we feed.
Today we got a bid from a contractor to screen in our covered back porch. Choosing heavy grade “pet-proof” screen will keep the bugs away *and* withstand the occasional attempt at climbing. It won’t be cheap, but we essentially gain an extra room with poor climate control. Duke will then be free to be on the porch when we play music out there and we’ll only close the patio door when weather dictates. Hopefully that is the best of both worlds. He can experience outdoor sights, sounds, and smells but still remain physically secure. Cats — they are no trouble at all…..
Good to hear that Duke is better. If the leash wasn't working for him now, you can always try another time in the future. Your back porch plan sounds nice; for the people and the cats. As far as the "no trouble at all" thing: in our household, I am probably more of a pain than Rufus. Because, he's a good boy. I don't recall anyone saying that about me. Maybe we should ask Alice how that is in your home? Maybe not. ;-)
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