So I’ve been getting into house plants of late. That has had me going to quite a few plant nurseries and such. I’ve found it interesting how some will have a cat out and about, and that cat will always be the most chill cat I have ever seen.
I’ve experienced this 4 times now. A cat will be in the shop (or barn) and just walking around like there is absolutely no care in the world, and happily sauntering up to customers for a hello. That cat is basically your ideal cross-country drive buddy; relaxed, easy going, probably up for a good time.
The average pet cat has socialized into the family it lives with. Chills out and is calm. Might prefer some family members over others.
They may get skittish when new friends and strangers drop by the house. But they get used to that too.
Now imagine a cat socialized not only to his family, the shop staff, but to many of the regular customers who drop in and also to the endless stream of strangers stopping by.
This will be a real chilled out cat. Cool, with it, and down to the scene.
And seriously, people suggesting these types of cats are at the shelter, not in my experience. I’m talking a cat with a total zen like attitude; saunters around without a care, happy to brush against someone, or just ignore them for a sun beam.
All I seem to meet is Mr. Razors, or Fluffy, the world’s most skittish cat.
I have often heard that yellow boy cats are the most zen and having gotten one I find it to be true. This guy’s whole goal in life is to get me to let him in my lap and then rub his head while he zones out. He was pretty skittish when we got him as an 8 month old who had been abandoned and rescued, and I thought he might never calm down. His sister, a brown tabby, is still very skittish but Streak is a mellow yellow lump of love. Just goes to show that maybe you can’t ever tell in advance. But maybe a rescue cat would be more socialized than a shelter one.
Certain breeds of cats are friendlier than others. Russian Blues, for example, are noted for their sociability*. (We had a cat similar to a Russian Blue and it was amazingly friendly to strangers.)
But nurture is even more important. Being used to people from very early on is key. Plus not being exposed to abusive jerks.
Although is does seem that nearly every breed of cat is listed as being friendly on their Wikipedia page.
Nursery cats are variable in my experience; most are friendly or at least calm and approachable, some can take or leave humans and keep their distance.
All in all, the nursery life is good to cats - lots of room to roam, wildlife to hunt and eat, worshipful humans…
Man, I met a cat like the one in the OP. When I lived in Georgia, my car insurance agent had this GORGEOUS (and HUUGE) Himalayan-looking office cat named Oof.
The story was that about a 6 months after she moved into that space, the cat snuck in behind someone and just never left. Nicest cat I ever met that wasn’t mine.
my ginger fellow has been like that since I met him in the shelter. He was 3 when I adopted him. right now he’s napping in the sunshine. There might be some crazy runaround later, but maybe not. He doesn’t bite or scratch, but he’ll talk and tell you when he doesn’t like something.
Some of this is nature, some cats are just gregarious. Some of this is nurture, a kittenhood spent meeting many people.
I do think the OP has some confirmation bias, they only see the laid back socialized cat out and about the nursery grounds, the skittish nervous cats will be in hiding.
I share my home with one of each, anytime I have a guest over, Kit is right there in their face, literally nose-to-nose “Love me, scritch me, adore me”, Spice however is under my bed or the top shelf of the linen closet “Please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me”.
I have…hosted many cats. My experience has been that cats are as humans, in that each is who they are. And they can change over time, too.
The three I have now, are all different, even though two are from a single litter. The eldest decided some time ago that she owned one of my sons. So she treats me exclusively as a butler or servant. The other two were both very scared upon first arriving, as many young ones often are, but each changed in a different way over time.
The smallest was originally so nervous, that if I was over twenty feet away, and raised my arms over my head as though I was going to pounce, she would get a look of panic on her face, and would run and hide for a half hour. Now, a year or so later, she reacts to the same gesture by, at most, putting one ear back, and looking elsewhere. She sleeps on my lap.
Many cats are like humans, in that they REACT TO YOU. If you deal with them as though they ARE cool and confident, as opposed to yelling at them as they roam the area, they are very likely to become that kind of cat.
This is one of the joys of cat (or other pet) ownership. We’ve had a lot of cats. All had completely different personalities. It’s hard to get around how a species with “a brain the size of a walnut” can exhibit such a wide and varied range of characteristics.
Regarding Nursery/Bookstore/Coffeshop/etc. cats. If they don’t have a personality suited for the “job”, they don’t last. In particular, for outside cats like at a nursery, there’s an additional option to cats if they don’t get along: they just leave.
Before you EVEN bring a cat into your home you need to made sure none of the plants you have are toxic to cats ! Cats are know to chew plants leaves and it doesn’t take a lot to kill a cat.
I don’t know. I don’t remember if I was ever told how the cat was named, I just remember the cat being the office cat and thinking that it was wonderfully strange and the name was weird.
