Sophia’s Antics! Our Rescue Kitten. Aged 1-2 years

So, how old is your cat in human years? Well….There certainly is a wide discrepancy on this answer dependent on the age of the research source, the expertise of the source, and whether your kitten/cat is indoor only or a combination of indoor/outdoor.

Older sources typically tended to be more generalized stated a cat/human equivalent would be about 1 cat year to 7 human years. Newer sources typically list a 1 year old cat as about 15 years old in human years, a 2 year old cat is about 24 years old; then the age accumulation reduces dramatically to about 4 human years gain for each additional cat year.

These numbers generally refer to indoor only cats. Sophia is definitely an indoor/outdoor cat. As she grows older, research sites agree that Sophia will age somewhat more quickly than indoor only cats. But for now, she enjoys the freedom and excitement of both worlds.

This blog post reflects the crazy, entertaining antics of Sophia aged 1-2 human years or 15-24 in cat years. She definitely lived her teenage years to the fullest…and we have the grey hairs to prove it! Introducing Sophia our rescue kitten aged 1-2 years of age.

On the day Sophia turned 1 years old, she determined that she was not using an indoor kitty litter box anymore. She has never had an “accident” in the house and she only relieves herself outdoors now. She also suddenly became mainly nocturnal! She tends to sleep and nap most of the day and becomes very vocal and anxious if she can not go outside in the night.

As a result of her sleeping pattern, we have captured many cute and interesting sleeping poses and positions. This video illustrates our shining star, Sophia!

The Anxiety and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Sophia suffered when we first accepted this small rescue kitten into our home, has really decreased now. Sophia trusts us and interacts with each one of us. She is quite popular in our neighborhood cul de sac and has even started walking over to greet many of our neighbors.

However, the necessity of her comfort pillow is undeniable. Sophia continues to use her kneading pillow every day. She likes to knead the red heart pillow before she takes a nap. Sleeping beside the pillow or partially under it continues to be one of her favorite pastimes.

Sophia interacts with us, but definitely has a special bond with me. I spent the majority of time with her when this tiny rescue kitten first arrived working through her anxiety and PTSD. She loves to jump up on my lap and make sure she is noticed when I am reading or trying to complete a Sudoku!

An expert at hiding, Sophia is quick to stake her claim inside boxes, bins, tubs, egg cartons? or under mats, blankets, or anything she finds!

We have been successful at calming many behaviors and even teaching Sophia to reach up and ring bells on the door handle when she wants to go outside.

But in order to reduce the inappropriate scratching, we have had to make many changes in our home. Most of the living room furniture is covered with blankets. We switched from leather and faux leather to microsuede and cloth fabrics. Certain doors are closed when she is in a playful mood. There are scratching posts throughout the house! Hopefully, these adaptations will reduce as Sophia ages and possibly becomes a more passive cat. But in the meantime…..

Festive Season is always fun with Sophia as she likes to be involved in everything! There is the wrapping of the presents…Actually, she prefers the unwrapping or shredding of the paper and ribbon! She also is fond of inspecting Mark’s efforts clearing off snow on the deck and stairs.

Sophia also likes to be included when we decorate the house or when we are getting ready to create a fire. Basically, she is incessantly curious about life.

Sophia can be possessive of me at times. It is not uncommon for her to sit on my lap and put her arm over mine so I won’t get up or move. Also sometimes she sneaks under the covers on my side of the bed and we discover her napping there!

We bought a robotic vacuum (Deebot) and Sophia is quite intrigued by it. She wants to observe where it is located and will follow its travels provided Deebot is at a “safe” distance. We have noticed that it’s actually entertaining for Sophia when she appears to need stimulation and also effective as a type of alarm clock when we want her to wake up from lengthy naps!

Sophia is absolutely part of our family. She still tests our patience at times–especially when she scratches inappropriate places or wakes us up during the night! She does not travel well at all, so our freedom to explore is limited at the moment. However, with Covid travel restrictions, this has worked out too.

My next blog posts will be exploring more hiking trails around mid Vancouver Island area. Keep Safe and Keep Optimistic. Cheers S