Imagine: It’s a beautiful, sunshiny day. There’s the slightest breeze drifting through the solarium. Sharing the bench is a gigantic black cat with a white-tipped tail. He is purring softly. When sharing that bench with Oram, no matter the size of the person, Oram gets to take up most of the bench. There’s no reason to do anything except accept the matter and enjoy the lean. He looks up adoringly. He loves to get scratched under the orange collar that reminds his visitor to remain alert to sudden changes in the wind.
For all of his propensity to go from zippy to sleepy in a wink and to go from nappy to nippy for no apparent reason, Oram is truly a great cat. (Full disclosure: My bias is far bigger than Oram himself.) Oram is great-big, true, but he is also great at getting the zoomies. Outsized, high-speed ruckus is his specialty. Sumo-style wrestling with the also great, also big Tucker is one of his deep, deep joys.
As Oram sees it, it is very great in a very big way to be Oram. All sides are upsides, and even a positive diagnosis for FeLV is not really a downside. After all, Oram’s FeLV+ diagnosis landed him at Tabby’s Place. Here, with a vibrant, phenomenal staff of…well…staff…and also magnificent volunteers, Oram’s every need is seen to. And, from the solarium, he gets early views of visitors as they exit their cars and, often, come close to peek in the solarium and bask in his glory.
Oram simply adores being adored.
Oram also adores laps. Although not being one for very long lap-time (refer back to his very big size and zippiness), Oram will happily take advantage of someone’s crossed legs when they sit on the floor, even if only for half of a heartbeat. For longer visits, it is necessary to remain vigilant because, sometimes, Oram will decide to explore the flavors of a particular shirt…or an arm. Personal experience is that Oram is typically pretty gentle. Even so, such sharp behavior is strongly discouraged. Yet, despite best efforts and awareness and carefulness, there was a recent, very reliable report (directly from Jon) of Oram testing to see what Jon tastes like. Since then, it has not proven effective to try to explain to our feline friend that one does not bite the hand that has made every single feeding for over 4,000 cats possible.
During such conversations, with Oram’s shadow creeping up over my lap on the solarium bench, it has been important to remember that Oram is proud of his orange collar. Not only does it beautifully offset his shiny fur, it demands special attention be paid. And Oram wants special attention…actually, all of the attention, but in his way. Oram wants to be scritched, but only so much. He wants to sit on laps or create shadows that overlay adjacent laps, but on his terms. Oram wants to follow the sun from spot to spot, and he wants to clamber all over the “house” that is a two-level cat bed, even if Sweetie is in occupancy.
Curious and cute, Oram casts a long shadow. While it mostly behaves, unlike Peter Pan’s, Oram’s shadow – along with all of Oram – sometimes even eclipses suitemate Charles.
With zest and flare, Oram shines so brightly that special glasses are no help. For this luxuriant feline, patience and understanding are the best tools for a quality visit (also, wand toys). When such interactions are appropriate and careful, being side by side with Oram as his shadow slips across your lap on a breezy summer day is one of the best ways to make the most of the season.
Oh, and just for fun, click here for a recent remake of a great song that captures a little bit of what it is to spend time with Oram.