osiris warms up

Osiris, my five year-old black cat, has always been a bit stand-offish.

He was easily startled as a kitten and didn’t appreciate being brought into a home with two rather curious — and large — dogs in residence. He eventually settled in, by degrees, but remained overly cautious. He’s still rather jumpy, and doesn’t like to be picked up or held.

In the last few months, however, he’s gotten a lot more snuggly than he ever was before.

As a kitten, he was very serious about heavy kneading when he was purring, and I sometimes awoke to what felt like shiatsu massage, care of this little kitten. As the weather got warmer and the blankets got lighter, these greetings weren’t nearly as welcome as his claws easily penetrated the bed linens to my skin. Still, he’d wait until I was asleep, and until the other kitten and the pups had settled down for the evening, and then would find an empty spot on the bed to curl up.

But he’s suddenly decided to stop being quite so distant.

At first, I’d thought it was the cold winter weather that was driving him to curl up next to me so quickly and so closely. He easily displaced Kenobi (the smaller cat, of the same age) at the head of the bed, nearest my face and torso, and even occasionally climbed up on the sofa with me, careful to lie down a short distance away from me, just out of reach.


Kenobi and Osiris

But now it’s June. Sure, this is Portland, so it’s still occasionally rainy and rather chilly as we move into summer, but Osiris is getting more and more snuggly even as the warmer weather makes its appearance.

As soon as I head to the bedroom — whether I’m retiring for the evening or just feel like taking a quick nap — Osiris is there. He’s on the bed as soon as I am, and curls up very close to me before my head even touches the pillow. He’s lately started jumping into my lap on the sofa — something he’d never done before — and while he won’t actually curl up on me, he snuggles right up against me.

It’s likely not the weather. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been feeling rather low these past few weeks — as I’d grieved for Nanook and then Journey recently, Osiris similarly became more attentive. This sweet and rather large kitty — the King of the Cats, the Pharaonic Feline — has been tending to me, letting me know that I’m loved, keeping me company. At least, that’s what I’d like to think he’s doing.

Or maybe he’s just finally warming up to me, and is after five years at last coming out of his shell.