My Bella now has a special spot in the kitchen. It does to say that our kitchen is huge - some 15 feet in length and 12 in width (at least.) Full of light. Wonderful butcher-block huge kitchen table. I spend most of my time at it, writing (I'm a journalist), researching, reading e-mail, etc. Bella used to sit couched on the kitchen table next to my left arm, dominating the newspaper. Now, however, she sits all the way over against the back wall on a mahogany box that contains silverware. There's a window there, where she often suns herself and looks out.
She does sleep on our bed at night - always in my husband's place, not far from me. My little rescue cat, Jamie, lies at my feet. Neither is a lap cat. Both show their attachment to me by their proximity.
I adopted them only five months after my beloved Trooch, the last of a trio of Siamese siblings, died in January 2017. Bella and Jamie both arrived June 1. I kept them in separate rooms for a week, used a gate to separate them, then we released them into each other's company. They did a good deal of swatting and hissing for a bit, but began playing together quickly. Now, they hardly hiss at all. In fact, never. They don't swat much. They romp around merrily, skiing along our hardwood floors. They have lots and lots of space - great for a Bengal and great for Jamie, who matches my Bella in energy and athletic prowess. What I'm wondering is whether Bella has bonded more with Jamie than with me. They do NOT sleep together. I'm not going to say they never will - I figure they have years and years ahead of them since they're not even two yet. But I'd be surprised. However, they really are good girlfriends, finally. They're really fun to watch, and we laugh and laugh at them. My attitude now is: I've never had cats like these. All my others have been conventionally affectionate - lying scrunched up next to me in bed, sitting in my lap, etc. But I do appreciate their cat-ness. Bella especially is more the "aloof" animal some people think all cats are. One disappointment: she never licks my nose anymore.
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