When I first met Bogart up at Rescue Village, he was isolated from the other cats living in the hallway where the laundry was kept. The hallway was in between two of the cat rooms and so Bogart could watch the other cats – which was good and bad. Good because he had exposure to role models and fellow felines, and bad because he did not understand why he couldn’t be with them.
He would stick his paw through the barrier to reach out to a cat working to get their attention. And if you were in the cat room petting and playing with the cats, he would stand at the door and look up at you with the most imploring look as he let out a long and sad meow.
The other notable thing about Bogart was his red collar.
“Why does he have on that red collar?”
“It’s to warn you that he can be aggressive.”
“Really, he has been very sweet with me.”
“Just wait. He will suddenly turn on you.”
And it was true, Bogart could suddenly get over stimulated and lash out. He never caught me, but there were a number of caregivers who do have some war wounds from this handsome boy.
As much as he could be aggressive, he also could be the sweetest loving cat soliciting pets and asking to sit in your lap. Whenever you entered his cat room in Cat World, he would be front and center to say hello and when you sat down he would climb onto your lap, nuzzling and rubbing. He loved attention and wanted all of it. That may have contributed to his becoming ornery – maybe he was jealous of the attention given to the other cats.
Bogey did mellow a lot as the years passed and as his posted bio said, “I have a bad reputation for biting people. It hurts my feelings because I really love being petted and snuggled. I will be the first cat in your lap! Just watch my tail for fast twitches and then slowly stand up so I can get off by myself. You may think I’m hardcore, but I just need the right person who will love me and my quirks.”
Sadly, Bogart never got a home of his own. He has been battling several health issues over the past few years and he finally succumbed to bone marrow cancer. He was crossed on Monday, May 29th to join so many of his fellow Great Kitty rescue feline friends on the Rainbow Bridge.
A special thank you to Shelli and Mike Bzdewka for bringing Bogart into their loving home for his last days ♥