Abby came to live with us February 12, 2011, according to the log my husband keeps on his computer. She was listed as a ‘lap cat’ in an ad in the paper.
She is an inside/outside cat, with a padded ‘cube’ on a ledge of wood we attached to the wall in the garage above an inside woodpile. She sleeps in the cube and eats from a bowl balanced on the woodpile with a water bowl nearby. She has a cat door so she can go outside whenever she wants.
Depending on the weather and her mood, she comes inside the house whenever she can get us to open the door at the proper time. She does meow at the front door when we have the inner door open. Mostly, she uses our routine to time her leaping into the house and then going wherever she wants to perch.
She likes to sit with us, so the ‘lap cat’ description in the paper years ago was accurate, but she doesn’t purr. We’ve had lots of cats over the years, but she is the longest lasting and truly a treasured member of the family. Her lack of purring is her only ‘flaw.’ She has shown us she is happy, but never got the memo on purring.
A weird thing has happened over the past month or so. She was in my lap while I was reading in my recliner. I absently ran my hand down her back and felt a definite buzz. I put my hand back on her and the buzz continued! She was suddenly purring, after 13 years. Since then, she has done it off and on. I’ve only been able to HEAR the purring a couple of times, but it’s a joy to FEEL it.
It’s amazing that she has stayed with us all this time and has just discovered she can purr, or wants to. It’s a really nice gift.
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