I am a 61 year old person and have had 5 Maine Coons kitties at various times through my familys’ life. I tried to lay a foundation of love, distraction if necessary (kinda like kids....rather not scold, but let’s enjoy something new and fun! Like a catnip homemade sock). I now have an 11 year old Maine Coon heavyweight who has been endulged and adored by my family since we brought him to his Old Orchard home at 8 weeks old. He fit in one hand when we brought him home. Now my lap on nail-trimming day is a snuggle of a fit he and I respectively attend to every month. Now, he pets me awake every morning. He pats my hair while purring, and pets my eyes and cheeks and chin. I typically “play possum” while my 21 pound mouser cat gently wakes me up. Cats can actually gently pet their beloved family with love. He dispatches any varmints quickly! But he pets my eyes and face exactly the way I pet my sweet Coonie.
Please be gentle and loving with your cat or kitten. They have a great capacity to return kindness and love. Please don’t ever swat, hit or yell at a kitten.
My “pet” goal on my bucket list was for one cat to have a beloved life. Too many animals are unloved or abused. A beloved pet petting you back every morning on your face is, for me, a sign Heaven exists on earth. My daily gratitudes begin with a Maine Coonie wrapping his big paws around my face.