Spotlight: Bryan the Cat

A proper introduction to Bryan the Cat is long overdue. The blog would be nothing without him. He is my photographic assistant and artistic consultant. Bryan the Cat will be 9 years old this March. His middle name is Spiderman. I adopted him in 2001 through the Petsmart cat adoption program. He was abandoned in a box in front of a museum in Trenton, NJ. A human by the name of Bryan found him and brought him to the local animal shelter- they named the cat after the person who found him. When I met Bryan, he was in a cage at the back of the room, reaching out with his paw. I picked him up- he looked me over and immediately began to play with my hair. I could not resist his charms.

Bryan is an adaptable guy- he has lived in 8 different apartments so far. He has endured teeny apartments, my old housemate’s smelly dog, and several trips to my parents’ house. Bryan is more dog than cat- he runs toward the door when the doorbell rings and he greets guests. When he caught and killed a mouse, he left it for me at the foot of my bed. Thanks, kitty.

Bryan is quite a guard cat: I was at work one day and my landlord had to get into my apartment for maintenance. She forgot the key so she climbed in through the window. Bryan saw the intruder, puffed up his back and his tail became a bottle brush. He slowly advanced toward my neighbor, growling. She feared a cat attack and crept back out the window.

Weighing in at 12 pounds, Bryan is a good-sized cat. He is fed Felidae, Wellness, Merrick, Instinct, Weruva, Innova, Nature’s Logic, Natural Balance, Prairie, Before Grain, and Evolve cat foods. Potato chips, tomato sauce, and ice cream are Bryan’s favorite people foods.

Bryan still has a kittenish attitude. We play a rousing game called “mouse on the couch” on a regular basis. The object of the game is to put a toy mouse on the couch and watch Bryan bat it into oblivion. Ambushing people’s feet is another favorite pastime, as is running laps around the apartment in pursuit of imaginary mice. There are a few feral cats in my neighborhood and my little social butterfly cries at the window and begs them to visit. Bryan is an indoor cat and he loves all cats, including his scruffy outdoor neighbors.

I’ve done a little bit of clicker training with Bryan and he picked up on behaviors better than I expected. I desensitized him to claw trimming with the clicker- now he purrs in anticipation of a treat while I keep his talons tidy. He also can do some very basic targeting exercises… for about 15 seconds before he gets disgusted and begins washing himself.

Bryan is an officer of the New Jersey division of the Black Cat Brigade, a mighty army that fights for and protects the rights of black cats everywhere.

My husband did not have any pets during his childhood. It took a few years before he and Bryan were completely comfortable with each other, but these days, I catch them snoozing on the couch together all the time. A familiar is spirit in the shape of an animal who serves for witchery or magic. So I ride a horse named Wizard and I have a familar named Bryan :^)