Sontoo and Puffy

I don't understand it, but I think it's pretty cool.

At about 5:30 a.m., I was sitting at my keyboard, trying to come up with something to write about (for yesterday), when I heard a few soft thumps from Sontoo's room. I looked down the hall and watched as he emerged, clutching Owen, his teddy bear, and rubbing his eyes. Beside him, walking and stretching simultaneously, was Puffy, his guardian.

Puffy, the grey ball of feline fur we picked up last year, has attached himself to four-year-old Sontoo in a way that is just really cool to watch, but impossible to understand.

From the time he was a wee little kitten, Puffy has been, well, a toy in Sontoo's mind. He picks Puffy up in the most awkward way, uses him like a blanket and hugs him until his eyes bulge. 

Puff and Sontoo, the early years.

And more recently.

Puffy has learned to just go limp when this happens. And he's learned to just enjoy the ride. 

Rather than run when Sontoo enters the room, he'll actually go sit beside him. If Sontoo's doing a puzzle, Puffy lies on the table. If Sontoo's on the couch, Puffy's nearby, on the floor. If Sontoo moves, Puffy moves.

And most nights, when Puffy's not out prowling the neighbourhood, he's sleeping in Sontoo's bed, or very nearby. Last night, just after bedtime, Puffy plopped on down in the hallway, just in front of Sontoo's doorway. Half an hour later, he was inside the door on the bedroom floor, and half an hour after that, he was on Sontoo's bed.

I really don't understand this relationship. I mean, I'm good to the cat. Always have been. My wife is good to the cat. Sontoo is, well, he's not mean to the cat, but he's pretty rough on it. And yet the cat likes him best. 

I'm a little wounded.

No, I'm not. I'm amazed to see them stumbling together out of his room in the morning. I'm blown away that the cat will hang out in the front yard while Sontoo plays on his swing. And I don't understand why a cat will lie under a water table as Sontoo splashes above it in the backyard.

Whatever the reason, I'm happy to see it. If a boy can't have a dog as his loyal subject (ours has imprinted on my wife) then he should have a cat that loves him, puts up with his crap and sleeps in his bed. Don't understand it, but I do think it's cool!