I’ve always been aware that my cats’ behaviour continuously changes throughout the years and at first I was afraid that I would always have difficulty bonding with our youngest cat, Kalista.
Kalista is the third cat in my immediate life, but similar to Walker, our personalities didn’t really fit each other at first.
Kalista was always a scardy cat who didn’t like it when people came over, but in the past year especially, she has come out of her shell and has become a much bigger presence in our life.
Kalista has always been a big presence in our life in the playful aspect, where she loves to dart around and spend time being mischievous. She’s even teamed up with Beau to set up some break-ins that caused me to become a lot more cautious what I leave in my office, closets and low drawers, just in case Kalista wants to get in.
Let me just say this, Kalista may be a cat who has a “foot thing.” She loves being by our feet, she loves sleeping by our feet and she spends a good portion of her day sleeping by the front door with our shoes. Kalista is basically the scent queen. The cat in the house who does the most headbutting, kneading, and rubbing herself against us. The thing Kalista does not like though is being held, being confined, or oftentimes, being too close to a human unless she has chosen to do it.
Beau, on the other hand, is a cuddly sloppy mess who always sleeps with us, whether it be on our chests, on our feet, by our sides, on our laps, Beau will always be there. Beau can be picked up and held at any time of the day and he loves physical affection, making him the best when you’re sick.
At first, I thought Kalista was only going to like my partner since she gravitated towards him much more than she gravitated towards me, but after some time Kalista began sitting on my lap while I worked. Months after Kalista began sleeping close to my work desk whenever she wasn’t sitting in my lap, seeming that she wanted to spend more and more time with me.
Now, Kalista is doing two of the sweetest things ever. First, Kalista is greeting me every morning when I wake up, by meowing and running towards me as soon as she sees me. Or if I sleep in, which is rare, she will come running into my bedroom when I wake up to say good morning. Kalista is becoming more attached to us in such an adorable way.
The most recent change in Kalista’s behaviour is joining me in bed whenever I sit there to work. As of late, I’ve had to take things a bit slower and rest in bed while working, giving Kalista this new window to snuggle with me.
At first, I thought that it was a behaviour that was going to go away fairly quickly, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be going away any time soon. Anytime Kalista hears me typing while sitting in bed she will bounce her little self into bed right next to me and flop over, placing one of her legs above my arm and the other below. She basically “koala bear’s” me.
It seems like it’s Kalista’s way of saying, I want my belly rubbed right now because if you don’t begin rubbing her belly of petting her head, she will start nipping at you. I have gotten Kalista to lick me more often than bite me, but sometimes if she’s extra excited to cuddle she will still chew on my fingers, or bite then lick me.
Kalista still gets overstimulated, often turning this cuddle fest into a “let’s attack my human and start jumping all over the place” which isn’t the most fun to deal with. I do love playing with Kalista and have been making more time to play with Da Bird! with her since she loves it so much, but sometimes I just need to work. So, I’ve been finding this sweet spot of petting her enough to make sure that she doesn’t get too excited, so she can still enjoy her time with me while letting me get some of my work done.
It’s been working and the cutie is currently sleeping pushed up against me right now. It feels a bit shocking, given how little Kalista used to like to sleep with us, but I’m so happy to have both the cats with me consistently when it comes to bedtime.
Last night Kalista even slept with Beau between my legs, as they used to when they started bonding.
I’m curious how often Kalista’s behaviours are going to change because Beau has been fairly consistent with us. There have been slight changes, but this feels like a huge personality change for Kalista. Who knows what the future holds.
Have your cats stopped making personality changes? How many months or years do they usually take to make the next change? Let me know in the comments below!