My pal Grizzy

Last time I wrote about Grizzy, it was the early days of our friendship and I was still a bit dubious about having a friend who expresses himself by peeing on one's leg. These days, he's known for peeing on just about anybody who comes within range.

Oddly (ha!), he still doesn't seem to have a lot of (any?) friends, either human or feline. But it's actually because of this that I resolved to make sure he knows that in me, he's got at least one good friend. Yes, while some cats capture a heart because they're cute or sweet-natured, some "problem" cats do it seemingly just by virtue of needing it so badly.

Lucky for me, Grizzy has proved very open to the idea of being befriended. He's been letting me pick him up for a little while now, and recently has started purring and actually enjoying a cuddle. For those who remember interactions of a much more terrifying sort when he first came to the sanctuary, I provide photographic evidence of his softer side. Thanks to Leslie for the camerawork.

He's still getting the hang of the idea that asking to be set down after he's done cuddling doesn't need to involve growling, but even there we're making progress.

The big win this week happened when he was snoozing on a shelf and I gave him a little stroke as I went by. This startled him awake, which I felt bad about, but as soon as his eye focused on me and recognized me, he started to purr. I think it's safe to say that he does indeed know he has at least one good friend.