I have mentioned this briefly before, but I want to elaborate...
Dring the day, I feed them, let them go outside and kind of keep s watch over them. When they are inside, I toss toys and let them sit on my lap when I watch TV. They are usually around me somewhere in the main living areas.
After sunset, I count them to make sure they are all inside, safe from "whatevers"
But there is a time after dinner when they all seem to want a nap. It is a quiet time. They each have some special places they prefer, but it is not always the same places each evening.
So I get out of the chair and walk around the house quietly. Four cats, maybe a dozen typical places for them. I just walk around to look at them at peace. It soothes my sometimes contentious mind.
Seeing a cat asleep is a peaceful thing. I'm sure they know I am there (you can't sneak up on a cat even when it is asleep). But they trust me enough to not even wake up fully. I think that is wonderful.
So I go around the house, finding where they are and just looking at them trusting in the shelter of the house, stuffed full of food, and feeling safe.
I am sometimes amazed that these essentially wild creatures can live with me. Dogs came to us as wolves for food scraps and we slowly changed them. Other animals were forcibly tamed. Cats don't really need us, but they seem to like us. They are what they were millennia ago. OK, a bit of fur-color changes, but the body of a cat is the same as it was.
I let mine outside several times a day. I have a tall 6' dog-proof fence. They seem to understand that it defines our territory. The younger ones can get up on the fence top, but they seldom go over it. They know where "we" belong.
So, when I walk around the house at dark, I'm just looking at them and marveling. They are here by choice. They could leave and find a new home anytime. I'm not saying I am a perfect human, but apparently I'm "good enough" for them. I like that...
