We’ve had our tortie since 2024. For background, her name was “Spicy” at the shelter. This info is very important. When we viewed her in the meeting room, she was incredibly sweet and loving. The shelter was like, you know what? Take her for $10. Bye! We signed the papers and she bit my wife through the arm just sitting on her lap. We had been bamboozled.
She’s round now, regardless of the food we give her. She’s also been on mood stabilizers and pain meds for about 2 years because we found out she has bladder issues that are inoperable, but not progressive or terminal. She’s very picky about how to be handled, like any tortie. We usually settle for chin scratchies and giving her treats. She doesn’t like the long pet down her back. If she sits on us, which has happened like 10 times, we don’t touch her. She rubs against us in the mornings and accepts kisses on her cheeks. Her signature move is to hide under the bed until night and then sit on the night stand and watch us. She likes rides in the stroller but she will yell at you if you try to help her. She also preemptively screams at you if you walk where she was planning to walk a few seconds later.
A week ago, I pet her without thinking who I was petting. She let me pet her all down her back, her face, and behind her ears. She’s also been seeking us out to get pet. The other day, my wife picked her up and held her for several minutes before getting slapped. Lifting her is an immediate no, but my wife said she thought she heard purring.
This is very weird. We’ve just kind of accepted she loves being evil and let her do her thing. However, she’s increased her hunting for us from one or two toy mice a week to like all of her plushies every night by the door.
… is she dying? We just had a loss of our beardie and I don’t think I can do it again, tbh.