This Adorable Kitty Realized Her Owners Didn't Like Her Normal Gifts So She Brought Home Leaves Instead

If you have a cat that you let venture outside then there's a high probability your cat has brought you a special gift in the form of a dead mouse or dead bird... or mostly dead, or in some cases... very, very much alive. Either way this has a tendency to really upset humans but your cat has only the best intentions. Your cat's gifts are a sign they care about you and your well-being, and they also might be concerned about your poor hunting skills.

The real question is, when us humans reject these special gifts, what goes on in our cat's mind? Frustration and sadness seems to be the norm but for a cat named Baloo, she turned her sadness into determination in order to find just the right gift to bring her human, Ben.

Ben said in an interview with The Dodo:

And Baloo was determined to find the right gift and it appeared she found it in big, beautiful leaves!

Much like gifts of mice and birds, Baloo needed this less-alive gift to be special, too. She appeared to put effort into finding only the best leaves for Ben.

And today she has really put effort into less-hunting ways of giving her love and affection to Ben, cuddles, purrs, and all the love.

Meet Baloo.

Baloo once loved to bring fully-alive rodents to her human, Ben.

Ben was a little shook by the whole experience.

He said, "I’d wake up to her on my chest with something in her mouth which she would then drop on my face or chest, and then meow. I don't know if she expected me to think it was breakfast or that it was simply a gift.”

Oh my!

The super-duper, "very much alive" creatures that Baloo would bring Ben were inevitably caught by Ben and released back into the wild.

C'mere lil critter...

As Ben appeared to be unhappy with his gifts, Baloo seemed... perplexed. And sad.

"Why does hooman refuse gift?"

Ben said, "she always looked so confused and sad, which made me feel pretty bad."

But Baloo is a problem solver.

Baloo was determined to bring Ben a gift he would love, so she tried her paws with something less alive and brought him an enormous leaf.

A new ritual.

Ben spent so much time rejecting Baloo's animals and critters so he knew it was important to express gratitude for the leaves she was bringing him.

And so he played.

"...I would show my gratitude by taking the leaf and playing with it while she sat on my chest." And sometimes Baloo would bring a twig instead of a leaf because diversity in gifts is important.

"She knew she was doing something right now."

Baloo saw her gift work and made an effort to bring Ben a new leaf every day!

What's up these days?

Well, the family moved and the new hunting grounds were less than ideal. So, Baloo loafs around the house like any other cat.

Snuggles are gifts, too.

To show her love and appreciation, Baloo is all about the snuggle life, "She's a very loving cat."