Monday, October 10, 2016

Tarquin's Evaluation

Disclaimer: This is coming from an experienced cat owner, but not a certified animal behavior expert. My opinions are my own as the person that fostered him for several months, not any official stance of the Gifford Cat Shelter.


The short version is that Tarquin is a big ball of energy that loves interactive toys like lasers or strings and things that crinkle. He's handsome and funny and full of self-confidence.

This is an "I will wrestle you" pose. I call it the Most Dangerous Beanie Baby.

Here's the long version!

We had Tarquin for several months because he arrived at the shelter with a wound that needed stitches and by law he had to be quarantined for several months. He adapted to the house almost immediately, but doesn't do well in the car and transitioning back to the shelter after quarantine was difficult for him.


He likes affection after a long absence like sleep or work, but for the most part he'd rather play than be pet. Diving into a paper bag or chasing a ball, string, laser, or feather toy, it doesn't matter as long as a person is also part of it. He also likes to wrestle ankles and can play a bit rough.


His fur is super soft, and he sheds very little. Or the hairs are so fine that they're hard to see, it's hard to tell. Either way, cat hair has not been the problem that we expected it to be based on our previous cats. He hasn't had any problems with hairballs.


The thing that surprised me about him is his patience. He didn't wake us up early to feed him breakfast, he didn't try to escape out the door, he meowed very little, and he wasn't destructive to anything but the paper bags we gave him.


Between his confidence and his size, I like to describe him as a clumsy dragon. If he were a person, he might be the star quarterback of a college football team.

He'll always have a place in my heart. At time of writing he's back at the shelter, and I hope he finds a forever home soon!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Tarquin: The Cat Tree

We've had a cat tree for a long time, our previous cats have spent good chunks of the day on it. It took Tarquin months to even acknowledge that it existed, let alone climb it.

And once he started using it, we could see why. He's too darn big for it. At last weigh-in, he was approximately 14lbs, and the cat tree sways and shakes under him. To make it more awkward, the shelves aren't big enough for him to sprawl on. He's accidentally rolled off the top shelf a couple times. He's more careful now.