Big Baby

My cat Merlin is a big boy. He will be eight years old in April and has grown from a little kitten to a huge cat. He is 15 1/2 pounds and when he stands on his back paws he can wrap his front paws around my waist. When I first got him he was only four weeks old and the mother cat had abandoned the litter. Because he never bonded with the mother cat when I got him he immediately decided I was his mother. I have been mothering him ever since.

At the moment my big baby is curled up on the bed. He has a little bit of either a kitty cold or kitty allergies. To look at him though you would think he was dying. He has always been the biggest baby when he doesn't feel good. I think it goes back to when he was a couple months old and almost died from pneumonia. Ever since that time when he feels the slightest bit sick he becomes depressed and droopy.

I have had cats all my life but I have never had a cat that was so dependent as Merlin. He is also very demanding and when I come home from work he wants my undivided attention. I always read before I go to bed and Merlin will stretch out on my legs. I hate to tell him he isn't a little kitty any more and sometimes he does put my knee to sleep.

One of the best things about Merlin though is that he makes my mother laugh. We had told Mom for a long time she needed a pet but she refused to get one. She has one now and most of the time she refers to him as her grandcat but sometimes she slips and refers to him as her cat. As happy as he makes her I'm willing to share the big baby with her.