The Personality of Spumoni

No creature large or small has ever given more love and affection to me than Spumoni.  But it wasn’t just me that he showered with his good graces.  Spumoni was the embodiment of kindness, love and affection.  He was very sweet and liked being around people, unlike many cats who can be aloof.

Whenever 2 or more people came to visit, Spumoni would always go to the person he had not met before or seen in the longest time.  It was as if he had this desire to introduce himself to newcomers and to reconnect with old acquaintances.

To this day he is the only one to ever come and greet me at the door when I would come home from work, shopping or some other event.  It was such a great feeling to know that when I walked in the door Spumoni would be waiting for me.  Often, he would stand on his hind legs and reach up with his front paws for me to pick him up as I walked in the door.  Such unconditional love is rare in this day and age.

Spumoni was very playful and energetic for 13 years before he started to slow down.  Everyday we made time to play together.  Whether it was chasing his wire and cardboard butterfly, wrestling with my arm or leg, chasing each other around the house or playing hide and seek.

One of Spumoni’s unique skills was teaching himself how to turn a door knob and open a door.  It sounds crazy, but he was incredibly smart and creative.  If I hadn’t seen him do this many times I’d never believe it. 

He would stand up on his hind legs, do a little jump and grab the door knob with both paws on the way up.  On the way down he’d quickly twist the knob and his weight plus gravity was enough to pull the door open.   Then Spumoni would just slip through the open door and enter the room.   

The best adjectives to describe Spumoni’s personality are playful, sweet, kind, loving, affectionate and happy.  He never complained about anything and was the quietest cat anyone has ever met.  You could hear him purring almost all the time when he was relaxing.  But he would occasionally speak up and voice his opinion if something was important.

Spumoni didn’t like going to the vet and unfortunately had to be sedated each time prior to being examined.  He was so resistant to being handled by anyone he didn’t know, that he shredded the forearms of 3 different vets over the years.  You sure wouldn’t expect that from someone who was normally the definition of sweetness.

All cats slow down over the years.  But Spumoni remained very energetic until he was 13.  During his last year we finally had a big house for him to roam around in plus stairs to go up and down.  He enjoyed basking in the sunlight by the south facing windows with a view of the Sierras and Lake Tahoe.

Since he passed away in May 2006, Spumoni’s spirit lives on and he sometimes comes to visit me.  There are times at night when I’m lying in bed and I can feel him walking across my legs and feet or snuggling next to me.  His spirit is very strong and there are even times he’s warned me of dangers that lie ahead.  I’ll share those stories at a later date as they are truly remarkable.