Beautiful Boy...

 

If you said, "A song from John Lennon, 1980, Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," you get 20 bonus points.

Of course, I am talking about Murphy.  Although I frequently tell him how handsome he is.  Late yesterday afternoon, while out for a walk, Murph laid down and I was looking at him from directly overhead...

 I find his markings interesting: he is quite dark in the body, with shades of black, gray, tan, blond, and a bit of red undercoat.  The front sides of his legs and his belly is much lighter in color.  From the back, his legs look like he is wearing black boots.  The striping on his front legs is pretty symmetrical.

And from the front...

 Strong markings on the angular face.  Yes, I think he is very handsome.  We didn't pick him based on looks.  Well, we saw his photo on the Humane Society's website and we wanted to meet him.  When we first saw him and took him out of the cage he was in, he just wanted to be held.  We were hooked.

And, hood-winked.  He wants to be right by us all the time, but he is not a hugger.  He will tolerate it when Joan gives him hugs, but it is rare that he initiates it.  We don't try to force it.  Our other cats have all been huggers.

And, from a looks standpoint, I guess we do have a type: a gray(ish)-brown tabby.  Our first cat, Smoke, set that pattern in us.  Molly came to us, looking for love.  She was a lighter gray color, with subtle striping.  Next came Izzy - I called her our feline supermodel: long, lean, perfectly symmetrical stripes.  She loved the camera and it loved her.  Perhaps the sweetest cat ever.

Next came a real change for us: we picked Rufus because it looked like he really needed to be rescued.  I described him as "quirky" looking (like the cartoon character Bill the cat).  He outgrew that in the first 6 months we had him (we were told he was fully grown and weren't expecting the big changes in his appearance)... he went from quirky to looking like Thor, the cat god of thunder.  Big, burly, and a real presence: some people were intimidated by his size and strong personality - he just knew that anyone he saw was there just to see him.  Joan called him my "chick magnet" when we were out walking; women (especially) were drawn to him and he loved the attention.

And now, Murphy.  Like the others, he walks on a leash, but he hasn't had a lot of experience on that outside our yard.  His face is angular, with bands running back from his eyes.  He is our "Rico Suave" - he gets away with some naughty behavior... because of his looks.  He is not allowed on the counters, but he will hop up there, hop down, then come walking up to us with a swagger that says, "Yes, you adore me."

Each of our cats have been family, and our lives have been enriched by them.  I know we have given them good and interesting lives.  Smoke was a cat, Molly was wise and worldly, Izzy was shy and sweet, Rufus bold and commanding, and Murphy is secure, but wary of new people.  I appreciate that they have all been unique personalities.

Murphy is different with each of us: he is sweet with Joan, loves to lay by her, touching and being touched.  He is more playful and stronger-willed with me.  I sometimes wonder if he is challenging me for the position of Alpha Male.  He gets several walks each day, in our yard; we have gone to his first morning walk on a leash, the subsequent walks off the leash, but keeping a watchful eye.  He can leap to the top of the 6' wall around our property in a heartbeat, but isn't a flight risk.  Still, we discourage that "leap to the wall" behavior... and he will pull out the "Yes, but you think I am very handsome, don't you?" look.

Gotta love 'em.  :-)