Photos and story courtesy of ©Artamnesia
I (Artamnesia) met Henry Jones one morning while doing laundry in the basement of my three-flat in Chicago. This little half-grown tabby cat walked out from behind the dryer and into my life.
He's really adorable-looking, with soft sleek fur, enormous green eyes and pretty markings. But he doesn't care much for petting. He considers human hands fleshy toys for stalking and attacking. As much as he doesn't like being petted, he hates being held even more! At the same time, he's no scaredy cat and he's not anti-social at all. He's actually very affectionate in his own way and will run to greet you and rub against your legs purring like mad when he sees you. When we have visitors he immediately comes to check them out, putting his orange nose in their faces and "over-sniffing" them -- as in making full contact of whiskers lips and wet nose.
I've had cats all my life but Henry Jones is unlike any other cat I've ever lived with. He climbs hanging clothes and hat racks, curtains and roman blinds, doorways and doors. You'll be in a room and sense that you are not alone and then realize he has crept into a cabinet and is watching you from its depths. He's broken every lamp that doesn't have a weighted base. He loves to creep under laundry and damp towels left lying around and if you leave a jacket hanging on a chair, he'll pull it down and then burrow inside it and creep down inside a sleeve for a nap. There's no way to safely change the sheets on a bed while he's in the room.
Henry is a real acrobat and loves to jump at pillows tossed over a bed, a towel flicked over him or his ribbon dancer toy. If you don't entertain him enough he'll make up his own games, like lying in wait for you to approach and then suddenly jumping out to do a flip in the air before running away.
Luckily Henry Jones sleeps like a log and if you can approach him carefully him you can take advantage of the situation to pet him while he slumbers. He might even purr. I can't help loving him!
