We have a Turkish Van in our apartment. MOZART. He’s a big guy. 13lbs or so. He’s been with us for four years. A guy was getting rid of him on Facebook and we took him in. While there have been some ups and downs living with him, overall it has been great. Here’s why he’s a good bud and why he’s a lil devil:
Follower - One of my favorite things about him is he loves to be around us. He follows us from room to room. If I’m in the kitchen then he sits on a chair at the table. If I’m in the bathroom he sits on the floor or on the toilet seat. Turkish Vans are known to follow their owners wherever they go.
Shed - He sheds a lot. There is hair everywhere in the apartment. I often find strands in my food. I’ll remove them but I wonder how many strands of hair am I not finding.
Food Bowl - He scratches the ground around his food to mark his territory. He does this daily. Sometimes he even scratches at the wall by the food. This website explains why cats do this.
Plants - My wife loves to have plants and flowers all over the apartment. The bad thing is the cat likes to eat them. We can not leave flowers or plants on the table because he will destroy them. We hang our basil in the window and have shelves on the wall to hold plants.
Bear - When we return home from work or school we always find this teddy bear in different spots around the apartment. The bear belongs on the bed once it’s made. But for some reason, our cat takes him off and drags him throughout the apartment.
Water - He loves water. No joke. Every time my wife takes a bath, he sits on the edge of the tub and lets his tail hang into the water. His coat is water-resistant. I’ll drop water on him and he doesn’t feel it. It slides onto the floor.
Travel - If we decide to have a weekend getaway then we have to figure out what we will do with him. We can’t put food and water in his bowls and expect him to have a good weekend. He would destroy the apartment. One time he turned on the faucet in the bathroom and water-filled up the sink and overflowed onto the ground. That was a mess. Another time he chewed the wire behind the fridge to the ice maker and water leaked all over the kitchen. Another mess. Turkish Vans really do like water.
Lap Cat - You can’t pick him up and hold him. No way. He will leave. He only sits on your lap or near you when he wants. At night he sleeps at the end of our bed. In the morning you can find him sleeping on your chest, neck, or sitting on the side of your head. Sometimes he sits on my back when I’m sleeping on my stomach.
Knock Knock - He knocks over items throughout the apartment. We often wake up to find random tchotchkes on the ground. You can put a pen on a table and he will sit by it and then slowly push it off.
Blankets - We have blankets on parts of our furniture so he doesn’t claw up the sides. I run after him or yell so he stops. That often does the trick but it doesn’t teach him a lesson. My mom says to smack him with a newspaper but he’s pretty quick.
These are the ups and downs of having a cat.
