"Why are you running away...?" Jealous of my husband, who cats love! The frustrating relationship between a cat-loving mother and her beloved cat

Cats are cute because the more you show them interest, the more wary or aloof they become. My mother couldn't live with cats when she was little because my grandmother loved dogs. Perhaps as a reaction to this, she became a huge cat lover. There have always been cats in her family home.

My mother, who has decades of experience owning cats, is a cat master who knows how to interact with them. But for some reason, our cats are aloof towards her. "Why do you run away...?" she laments, diligently offering them treats.

My Mother and Kotarou the Cat Just Don't Get Along

Our family lives on the same property. My parents are close enough that our soup wouldn't get cold on the way to their house. Our three cats have interacted with my mother since they were young, and she has always offered them treats.

お母さんが作った首輪で、お上品になったたぬき🦝 pic.twitter.com/II93Wg36Lk

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) January 11, 2022

Despite this, the bond between the three cats and my mother hasn't deepened much. Leon, the tabby, is a charmer with any woman, so when he's in the mood, he'll go to my mother as if to say, "You may pet me." But the other two cats are quite cold.

The one with whom she has absolutely no bond is Kotarou, the brown tabby. Kotarou is the most attention-seeking, yet he's a wildcat who bites and scratches anyone but me.

My mother, who has known him since he was a kitten, is no exception. If she hasn't seen him for a few days, he'll give her a cat punch when she tries to pet him, as if to say, "Huh? Who are you?" My mother, though saddened, reconciled herself by saying, "This cat only gets along with you..."

However, something happened that made my mother's jealousy flare up... It was the arrival of my husband, who for some reason, became extremely popular with the cats. In just about two years of living together, my husband completely captured Kotarou's heart.

Although Kotarou gave him the usual cat punch when they first met, he started rubbing against my husband relatively quickly. Now, when my husband and I relax under the kotatsu, Kotarou will come between us and sleep on my husband's lap. (It's frustrating!)

He completely won over Kotarou in just two years... The shock of it rattled my family. LINE messages flew back and forth: "Did you hear? Kotarou's attitude!" "I did! It's so frustrating!" This is what will be remembered by future generations as the "Kotarou Incident" (?).

By the way, the "Kotarou Incident" was also a shocking event for me. I'm happy he's so attached to my husband. But, Kotarou... wasn't I special after all...?

Although I feel a bit lonely, I can't say anything when I see my husband smiling and saying, "He's not mad today!" every time he pets Kotarou's head.

Kotarou Cuddles with My Sister, Mistaking Her for Me

Kotarou has become completely devoted to my husband, but there's actually one other person besides me whom he allows to pet him. That's my older sister. My sister lives out of the prefecture, so she dotes on the cats when she comes home to visit.

Among them, Kotarou is my sister's favorite cat. That's because my sister loves brown tabby cats.

My sister used to be very close with a brown tabby cat named "Chatora" who lived with us at our family home. The cat, whom the family called "Chato," had a very gentle personality. To wake up us sleepy sisters, my mother would often send Chato into our futons.

Entrusted with the mission to "wake them up," Chato would burrow into our futons, but we would tempt Chato with "Let's sleep together." Chato would easily succumb to the temptation and fall asleep soundly with us, so the usual pattern was that my mother would eventually come and wake us, saying, "Wake up! You too, Chato!"

Because of these memories, my sister loves brown tabby cats. Perhaps that love for cats is conveyed, as Kotarou happily goes to her when she visits.

However, since my sister and I are often told we have similar vibes, it's possible Kotarou "mistakes me for my sister." In fact, when my sister speaks, Kotarou will look back and forth between us with a face that says, "...Huh? Was that her voice?" and then, realizing, "Ah, that's the owner," he'll quickly rub against my feet.

"He came again, mistaking me for you," my sister says with a laugh, always happy. She looks at Kotarou with kind eyes, playing with him and offering him treats. Perhaps Kotarou likes being looked at with that gaze.

Jiji Suddenly Started Running Away From My Mother

Now, back to my mother. Even though she couldn't build a strong bond with Kotarou, my mother had established a decent relationship with the other two cats and was able to have some physical contact with them. Of course, they often came to her for treats.

However, after our cat Jiji survived a life-threatening situation, his behavior towards my mother changed.

Some time after he was discharged from the animal hospital, my mother came to offer him treats, saying, "Oh, Jiji, you've been through so much. You did so well."

But Jiji didn't budge. He's usually a slow eater, so I urged him, "Jiji, it's treat time. Go get it," but for some reason, he just kept observing my mother from a distance.

So, when I picked him up and took him to my mother, he dashed to a corner of the room. Once again, he started observing my mother from afar.

"Huh... Is he wary of me...? Did he forget me? Jiji, why..." my mother lamented, overwhelmed with sadness. Perhaps Jiji had to endure a lot of painful treatments at the animal hospital, which made him wary of everyone except my husband and me.

Jiji, who used to devour treats, remained unmoved and simply watched my mother from a distance. Seeing him like that brought a rush of emotions.

Nonetheless, my mother sometimes takes care of our cats when we're away, so I hope Jiji will remember her as the "treat giver" he's seen before. I'll be watching their relationship unfold with great interest.