If there was ever an example of feline ADHD, I'm pretty sure it's him. He starts his day zooming around the house as if his asterisk was on fire, he naps, goes at it again, naps, and then ends the day zooming like a little freak.
You know, we adopted him thinking he would be a playmate to CJ, who wanted to play with Ozzy who was less than thrilled by that. But CJ is actually afraid of Ducky and wants nothing to do with him. So when Ducky tries to engage--multiple times a day--CJ runs.
Ducky thinks he's playing; CJ just wants him to stop.
Granted, CJ could end it by turning on him and paw-slapping him into submission, teaching him who the Big Kitty is, but CJ doesn't have a mean bone in his body so he simply won't.
I have high hopes that the day will come when Ducky realizes he's 1) not truly feral and 2) a cat, and the extreme zoomies will wane, but I'm also not holding my breath.
Working in his favor: he's adorable, he squeaks, and he loves us like crazy. He answers to his name and if he understands, he does what's asked of him (unless he's having a moment...like chasing after CJ.) He's a champion dishwasher-loading snoopervisor, and make sure that if an ice cube drops from the freezer that it's knocked about until it melts, washing a small section of the floor.
He also loves to sleep with me...which means that CJ, who used to do that, refuses to get on the bed.) I gotta admit, there's nothing like a soft, warm kitty cuddling close at 4 a.m.
Unless they drool.
Ducky is a prodigious drooler; worse, he can hold it in his mouth. So he does, and every night he jumps on the bed, gets some skritches on his little head, rubs his cheek on mine...and then lets it all fly.
Right into my mouth.
I started covering my mouth with a few fingers, but he still tries. When that fails, he dribbles it out, and then rubs his cheek all over mine.
It's like having someone run a cold, wet string mop across your face, occasionally stopping to shove their nose up yours.
And yes, he has shoved it up there and then blown snot out his nose into mine.
You think you'll never pick your nose? Trust me, when a cat huffs a wad of kitty snot into your nostril, you will. Anything to get that out.
And like all cats, he loves to knead his little paws often as hard as he can.
On my throat.
While he drools all over my chin and chest.
No, I have not locked him out of the room at night. He is learning to be less obsessive about my mouth and nose, and most of the time now he only tries for a bit before settling into crushing my windpipe. When he's done with that, he curls up by my head and goes to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes he starts all over again at 4 am, but lately he waits until the sun is coming up and I've actually slept for 6 hours.
Ducky is a handful, no doubt. And like CJ and Ozzy, he's a thief. They steal socks, he steals paper cups out of the bathroom.
He's learning to play fetch, which is adorable...maybe not at 3 in the morning when he most wants to, but it's still freaking cute to hear him squeaking when he brings his springy toy to me.
It's not quite as cute when he whaps my face for coughing, but I get it. I'm annoyed, too, and am ready to feel human again (am much, much better, just really tired with a tiny bit of a cough now.)
But, yeah...here's to hoping he chills tf out, because we're all getting tired just watching him.
And if I were ever tempted to start another cat blog, he would probably have to be the main subject. Ducky Did It, as told by CJ and Ozzy. I'm pretty sure they have a lot to say about him.
