Dominus ~ My Kitty and My Nurse

Valentine's Day 2011 ended up being pretty uneventful.  "Mr. Lilly" had to work until 9:00pm, so he didn't get home until 10:00pm.  He was pretty tired, but he did manage to give me chocolates and a card.  (Thanks, honey!)  I made a present for him, which he wasn't expecting.  I may share what the present was at a later date, but I think I'll keep it quiet for now.  Hopefully, I didn't also give him whatever illness has suddenly taken over my body.  I started coughing around 6:00pm or so last evening, and it slowly developed into a fever overnight.  I'm not happy about being sick, but I hadn't even had a cold up to this point this winter so I figure I don't have much reason to complain.

Dominus, my kitty, has been my constant companion today while I coughed, moaned, sipped water, and cursed the unknown person who passed these germs on to me.  As thanks for his unwavering devotion, I thought I should dedicate today's post to him.  This is Dominus:

 
I moved into my own place in the fall of 2007, and Mr. Lilly was insistent that I obtain a kitty for my place.  He finally convinced me that the pros would greatly outweigh the cons, and we went to the animal shelter to look at the kittens.  I wanted to make sure that my new cat could use a litter box consistently, so we looked at the 3-4 month olds.  Mr. Lilly went straight to a gray fluff ball of a kitten who purred so loud we could hear him across the room.  I wasn't impressed with the idea of having a cat who could blend into the shadows, but Mr. Lilly was very persuasive and the fluff ball ultimately came home with us.  The poor kitty was terrified for a couple of days, but he ultimately decided that life with me was better than life in the shelter.  I'm glad, because he has been an integral part of our lives ever since.

Mr. Lilly and I were taking a classical Latin course at the time, and we decided to name our new cat "Dominus."  The inspiration for the name came from a print on my wall that read, "Nobody 'owns' a cat."  The classical Latin word dominus means 'master,'  like the master of a house or land.  We later learned that Dominus in church Latin means, "Lord God."  Unfortunately, by the time we realized we had named our cat "God," he was responding to the name.  Oh well.

Domi (pronounced like dough-me) is the most talkative and expressive cat I have ever known.  He has a rather extensive vocabulary of meows that he uses to let us know exactly what is going on in his life.  He frequently holds conversations with us, and he mimicks the sounds that we make.  He often chooses to 'trill' or 'chatter' rather than meow.  Around 9:00pm every evening without fail, he lays back his ears and tears around the house yowling and howling with a deep voice that he never uses at any other time.  Once, my husband was talking to my brother-in-law on the phone when Domi began his nightly routine.  My brother-in-law asked if we had a panther in our home.  Ha!

Domi has always been obsessed with running water, and he loves-loves-loves cold weather.  When he wants our attention, he uses one paw to repeatedly tap our shoulder/upper arm, much like a small child.  He has a toy mouse that he carries with him everywhere.  He chatters goodbye when Mr. Lilly waves to him before leaving for work every morning.  He often insists on smelling our food, but will only eat olive juice and cream cheese.  He wrinkles his cute little nose when he smells lotion, deodrant, or particuarly smelly foods.  He sits on his bum and uses his front paws to juggle toys or to hold an item for closer inspection, much like a bear or a raccoon.

He enjoys watching the birds every morning:

He loves playing fetch with a q-tip every evening:

He enjoys sitting on his bum, putting his paws on our hand, and letting us bounce him up and down:



He's also 14 pounds and growing.  We have a small dog carrier because he won't fit in a standard cat carrier.  He recently outgrew the top part of his beloved scratching post (see picture above), and he has taken over my seat on the couch as a result.

We didn't know it when we adopted Domi, but he is a Maine Coon.  Every article that I have read about Maine Coon characteristics sounds as though it was written about Domi.  Apparently, male Maine Coons do not stop growing until between 3 and 5 years of age, and they weigh between 15 and 25 pounds when fully mature.  Domi will be 4 this spring, so he should stop growing in the next year or so. (Thank goodness!)

Like most Maine Coons, Domi is gentle and affectionate but is not a lap cat.  However, for the first time in the 3 years and 4 months that I have known Domi, he willingly and unabashedly snuggled up against me for several hours this afternoon while my fever was at its worst.  My heart melted.  I think he might like me.  :)

I'm not sure that Domi would like for word to get out that he can be affectionate, so I leave you with this final picture that shows what he would usually choose when faced with snuggling or sitting in his own chair:

(Yes, he is so big that he takes up most of the recliner seat.)