More Scottish Fold Manipulations . . .
. . . with brushing.
I’ve used a small, round stiff hairbrush for years. I’m not sure how it started, but a few years ago, Stanley decided when I was using this brush, it was time for him to get brushed.
Evidently, this brush was a much better experience than the three cat brushes I had purchased from PetsMart. And, of course, the best time for him to “request” a brushing was when I was getting ready for work. Eventually, I allowed a little more time in the mornings for this new routine to avoid being late for work.
Stanley liked the brush so much that, after I tired of brushing him, I just put it on the floor and he continued to brush himself. I ended up buying another similar brush for myself, leaving that particular brush on the floor for Stanley.
And he still uses that brush today. It lies on the floor at the foot of the bed just outside the master bathroom, so he can use it at his leisure – which he does. However, his favorite thing to do is to convince me that I must be the one to brush him with it.
It’s not just any brushing. He has a particular way he wants me to brush him and, if I am non-compliant, well, let’s just say, I better pick up on the increasingly intense cues fast.
And, to make things more interesting, Stanley alters how he wants to be brushed on any given day. Some days, the focus is brushing under the chin, along the sides of his mouth, and down his shoulders — with a little top of the head and elsewhere mixed in. Other days, the focus is brushing on top of the head, ears, down his spine and tail. And other days the focus is brushing elsewhere. And some days, he doesn’t want me to do anything more than to just hold the brush vertical so he can brush himself. He definitely lets me know where he wants to be brushed and for how long.
His cues of discontent vary in intensity. There is the purring and the various cat sounds (those are good signs), “the look”, the more intense cat sounds with a higher pitch, and the grab (those are usually headed toward trouble). If I continue doing something he’s not appreciating, the teeth come next (definitely not the direction either of us want to go). If he starts getting too insistent and particular, I leave the brush on the floor and step away, leaving him to brush himself the way he wants.
He’s definitely memorized Paul Anka’s “My Way,” the song made famous by Frank Sinatra.
In a way, I can’t blame him for his behavior and can’t help but see how cute he is. And, as we go through these maneuvers, I occasionally try to gently break it to him that he actually is fooling no one.
In the meantime, there lies the small, round stiff hairbrush at his beck and call, lonely until he chooses to get brushed – which isn’t long between intervals.