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.
Baloo once loved to bring fully-alive rodents to her human, Ben.
He said, "Iād 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.ā
The super-duper, "very much alive" creatures that Baloo would bring Ben were inevitably caught by Ben and released back into the wild.
As Ben appeared to be unhappy with his gifts, Baloo seemed... perplexed. And sad.
Ben said, "she always looked so confused and sad, which made me feel pretty bad."
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.
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.
"...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.
Baloo saw her gift work and made an effort to bring Ben a new leaf every day!
Well, the family moved and the new hunting grounds were less than ideal. So, Baloo loafs around the house like any other cat.
To show her love and appreciation, Baloo is all about the snuggle life, "She's a very loving cat."
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Tina Towsr
November 07, 2018
Baloo is a very beautiful & clever cat. I believe cats are highly intelligent. Milly my black three legged cat us, being a rescue cat & so so timid when she came to me she knew what to do until she trusted me but it is me & her human boyfriend Arron she trusts. We talk to each other but she likes to play on her own at the moment, so I understand where Baloo is coming from. You have a very handsome clever cat, enjoy as they are the best company ever.