My crazy cat, Miso

He was on death row for a year and a half. The only history i have on him is that he was almost euthanized because he was classified as having serious behavioral issues (which he kind of does, but they are kind of part of his appeal). his previous owner obviously neglected him, and then dropped him off at the pound as a kitten. so he had very little interaction before he went to do 18 months of hard time in a small cage. what little human interaction he had, was probably very unpleasant considering how fucked up he was when i got him. people can be such assholes.

he's very pretty though, and i chose him not just because he looks like Mao, my old cat. but also because i couldn't get any cat adoption places to consider me since I have a backyard. I guess it should be pointed out that having a backyard doesn't mean its the kind of yard you can escape from, mine is sealed off for animals, except birds unfortunately (fucking pigeons!). and also, if i want to save a cat, and have had cats my whole life, i find it HIGHLY insulting that an adoption center would deem me unworthy of giving a home to one of their cats. Highly insulting. I ended up sending a picture of him chilling in my yard to two of the places in a nasty email that basically said, "thanks for making me feel like i am unworthy of saving a cat. here's my new cat living a better life then you people do." naturally i didn't get a response.

So i had to take Miso from the one guy who gave me a chance, and he wasn't really doing me a favor, or at least he thought. he showed up with Miso and pulled him out of the carrier and basically fled the scene. I found out a few seconds later why he was so quick to give me the little guy. Miso was almost feral and was/is scared to death of people. he spent the next few weeks lurking about hissing at us....until he met Calvin, the resident gentleman cat brought to me via my girlfriend.

Calvin is a very gentle, old, people loving cat. he had no idea what he was about to get into with Miso. Miso fell in love with Calvin. he follows the old guy around like that little dog who flanks Spike in the Looney Tunes cartoons. never more then a few inches away. always trying to hump him when he is resting. Calvin is either too old to fight, likes it, or just gave into Miso's single-minded craziness. now they are like an odd couple. clearly in love, they lie together in a heap of fur and lick each other all day. Miso on the left, Calvin on the right.
Miso is much younger so his craziness is mostly his own. Calvin chills out and watches the little psycho bounce off of all the walls and skid, head-first, into the furniture. he crashes into things all the time, he jumps every where, occasionally miscalculating as he is cross-eyed and very dumb. it's cute though, except when its REALLY loud and at 4am. he also is warming up to us. he has come a long way since we met. i can pet him now, and he sits in my lap, he sleeps on me, and he has actually started to let me pick him up briefly. i feel very accomplished with him.

except he still has flashbacks, like he will be in a tight place, maybe an open drawer, routing around in the clothes. and all of a sudden he will feel like something is attacking him, i guess, because he will spaz out completely. the other day he did it so hard and suddenly that he wacked his head on the top of the open drawer and had to sit under a table shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness. i think he is mentally challenged for sure. but it makes for some great entertainment. although i wonder how amused Calvin is by it.

this is how i found the lovers the other day when i got home. Calvin must have sat there waiting for somebody to come home, and Miso had to sit RIGHT next to him. you can't tell from the angle, but part of Miso's butt and leg are literally on Calvins. he's ALL UP IN CALVIN'S BID-NESS.
Look at how Calvin tries to ignore Miso.