scritch reactions

I've been thinking lately about the different reactions I've seen when
one of my cats jumps up for some scritches. I've only had four cats as

Pat...

Mine run the gamut from tentative to lap fungus.

Abelard doesn't demand often (a few times a day) but when he does, I'd best
forget about whatever else I was doing at the time.

Beatrice nags and nags, but from a distance, and you can't help but feel
sorry for her and invite her up. She only does it once or twice a day.

Billy politely asks permission and then doesn't stay too long, which is a
good thing because he's huge. I think he knows what an imposition he is, and
that if he stays very long I will start working on the matts in his fur..

Eli doesn't jump into my lap, he just hangs close to me and demands to be
petted. Once I start petting him, it's hard to get away because if I try to
stop, he quickly snags my clothing and pulls me back.

Lily is the one most often in my lap, and she never waits for an invitation
and never gets down willingly. She's content to just sit there, but if I do
interact with her in any way, she talks. And talks. And talks and talks and
talks....

Baby Eyes is very much the same as Lily in her demands, except she goes in
cycles. I might not find her in my lap for a week or more at a time, then
for a few days she becomes a lap fungus (much to Lily's dismay). Also,
anytime there is a storm in progress, Baby Eyes cannot be dislodged.

Tommy will jump up without an invitation and then walk in circles on my lap
before scrunching himself down. He purrs extremely loud if I then give him
any skritches. He's also hard to dislodge.

an adult - I spent 20 years active duty in the Army, and as a single
soldier never thought it right to get a pet and have to rehome it if I
deployed somewhere.

polonca12000...

Soncek is not a lap cat unfortunately. Otherwise he loves scritches, but
only on his own terms.
Best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

Little Bit jumps up and pretty much demands scritches. Not that I mind
her attitude, and I think all cats SHOULD expect scritches, it's just
that she expects them. Sammy is the same way. On those rare ocassions
when Sammy can hold still long enough, she jumps up, demands scritches
for awhile, then jumps down when she's had enough. Neither seem
especially thankful, it's something they expect as their due from
hoomins.

Rocky was the extreme other end of the spectrum. His years as a feral
had taught him not to expect good things from hoomins. To him, laptime
scritches were wondrous things, something he learned to love but never
expected. He would never consider just jumping up onto a hoomin lap.
Rocky always had to be coaxed up. The closest he ever came to asking
was to sit and silently look up at me. Once I told him it was okay,
he'd jump up, but he had to be convinced that it was okay and was
always ready to jump right back down in case he was reading the
signals wrong. It was always like he wasn't sure if I REALLY wanted
him up there. Once I started to give him some scritches he'd relax and
enjoy the wondrous feeling. He never EXPECTED scritches, he always
seemed surprised to receive them. They were wondrous blissful things.
I learned that he was a silent purrer (you could feel the vibrations,
but seldom heard anything. And he was drooller. He'd purr and knead
and drool, purr and knead and drool. Also, he never completely
relaxed. Despite his enjoyment, the slightest shift by the hoomin was
taken as a signal that laptime was over, and he hopped right down.
What he never really learned was that I enjoyed his laptime as much as
he did. I was always very careful not to shift around, even when his
kneading got a little painful - he never did learn not to use his
claws.

Spotty is somewhere in the middle. When she wants some lap time she
starts by reaching up and touching me, and she's very vocal so isn't
the least bit shy about asking if she can get some laptime. But, if I
don't respond, she'll jump and and park herself on my lap without any
coaxing. When she's getting some scritches she shows her enjoyment.
When I look down at her it's usually to see her gazing back at me -
she seems to be saying thankyou for the scritches. If there's a pause
in the scritching she'll sometimes stand up and touch noses with the
hoomin. Unlike Rocky, she does completely relax. In fact, she'll
sometimes roll off my chest and I'll catch her with my arm. She'll lay
on her back, craddled in my arm like a baby, and the whole time she'll
be looking up at me.