Tilly and Lori Comstock : Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail
“We were looking for an older kitten to keep our current cat Lyra company after the loss of our other senior kitty at Christmas,” Lori says. “When we first met Tilly (formerly Lily) at the shelter, she immediately came to me and wanted attention: bold but sweet. We felt that Lily was too close to Lyra, plus, to me, Lily is a very elegant name, and Tilly’s not elegant ... lol.
“Her adjustment to our home was immediate. She wasn’t staying in the spare bedroom when there was a whole house to explore. At first Lyra wasn’t happy about Tilly joining the family, but they’ve settled into a comfortable relationship, playing together at times, and Lyra is certainly more active now. Tilly is truly the life of the family. She plays, chases, cuddles, explores and gets into places she can’t get out of (like on top of the 7’ tall china hutch). She also really loves my son, greeting him at the door when he comes home and jumping on his shoulders for a ride and scratches. She’s always looking for attention from him.
“Everything is a toy to Tilly. She has an orange ‘kitty tent’ that she drags all over the house. Her first favorite toy was a pink feathered teaser toy that she still carries everywhere: I never know where it will turn up. She also has a basket filled with toys, including catnip mice, balls and feather birds. She loves ‘teaser time’ so much that we hide the teaser wand in a closet to keep her from dragging it all over the house if no one’s available to play with her. Plus, she has many other non-toy items that she loves playing with – laundry baskets, boxes, pencils, toilet paper, shoelaces and toes!
“Tilly does enjoy being petted and cuddled but only when she’s ready for it. She typically seeks out attention around noon, whenever we return home, and in the evenings. She’ll let me know when she’s ready for cuddle time by jumping into the middle of whatever I’m working on. She also enjoys watching the birds and bunnies outside on our back patio.
“Always endearing and adorably mischievous, Tilly can jump higher than any other cat I’ve had. Clearing 5’ straight up is nothing to her! She likes heights. That’s probably why she loves riding on my son’s shoulders (he’s well over 6’ tall). She also loves to play with anything involving water. Digging in her water bowl is a favorite activity, despite getting water all over the bathroom floor. I can’t water plants without ‘help:’ she wants to find where the water disappeared to. She’s also the most food-motivated cat I’ve ever owned. She begs for treats and is very vocal if she thinks I’m delaying a meal.
“At night, Tilly sleeps anywhere she wants. She thinks she’s an alarm clock and will wake me up at sunrise to make sure I don’t forget to feed her breakfast. She lies on top of me and purrs up a storm until I get up.”
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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.
