Looking for Love

She's the most aloof of any cat we've had.

DW's and my first cat, Leo ("Leopold The Bold") was a social cat who would sit in the centre of our living room when we had company, making himself the literal centre of attention. He also liked to either sit between DW and me, when we were watching TV on our sofa, or he would move from lap to lap when he wanted our attention.

Edwin was another social cat: not just with us, but with our entire neighbourhood, where he would pay a visit to each home in our circle or would come up to say hello to whoever called him. When I came through the front door, he would come to greet me, giving me a head bump.

Jake, who was high-strung and constantly vied for our attention, didn't stay with us for long. He had a rough time getting along with Edwin and we eventually had to find him another loving home.

Lily, who is really DD17's cat, is content to be on her own or to be near us, but at the end of the day she isn't happy unless she's curled up under the covers overnight with her 'Mommy.'

The kittens that we adopted, last fall—Finn and Cece—love to be around us and constantly climb up on us.

The only one who isn't particularly social and is only interested in us when she wants food, water, or to be let outside, is Camille. She rarely gets close to us, and if you give her too much attention, she's outta there.

She'll literally duck to avoid being petted.

Except last Friday, while I was working from home.

Now that our eldest kid is home for the summer, DW and I, who converted her bedroom into an office, have once again split up. DW has moved her desk to a space in front of our front window on the ground floor, near our front door. She's placed a screen between her desk and the living room, to allow her some privacy.

I've left my desk in the room, where our daughter has set up her computer. I've moved to the old desk in our basement, and I'm back to where I worked from home, when the pandemic lockdown started in earnest.

With the exception of the furnace, the basement corner is pretty quiet and is definitely isolated, allowing me to work without being disturbed.

Also, except for the cats.

Finn and Cece, who love to be around us and are now looking for my new location, will jump on my desk, walk across my keyboard or step on my mouse, or will try to chase my mouse cursor as it moves across my screens.

But last Friday, as I was sitting back, attending a video meeting, Camille came downstairs and rubbed herself along my legs. She then hopped on my lap, purring. She stayed there for about five minutes.

She never hops on anybody's lap.

At one point, I had to shift in my chair to participate in the meeting, and Camille looked like she was ready to move on. But instead of hopping onto the floor and moving away, she stepped up onto my desk and lay down on my laptop, which rests between my two monitors.

She stayed there until my meeting ended, nearly a half an hour later, when I got up, myself, to head to the kitchen, for lunch.

We've noticed Camille watching us, as we shower the kittens with affection. I think, after all these months, she's finally decided to look for some love of her own.

At least, she's stopped peeing in our bathroom sink.