Meet Cody!
Name: Cody
Breed: Domestic Short Hair, Buff-colored tabby cat
Likes: Watching what’s going on outside from the kitchen window (the rabbits, chipmunks, birds, neighbors, dogs), playing on the stairs and the railings, playing with shadows in sunshine, hiding and surprising his Mom and making her squeal, checking out visitors, following his Mom around the house, leading Melinda around the house to make sure things are in tip-top shape, being brushed, napping and waking up with a good long stretch, carrying his toys (especially the lion and the beaver) around the house as presents for Mom, adventure on his terms, catching bugs, when people pay appropriate amount of attention to him, Mom, Linda Rosenfeld, Gigi Lopatto, Nanette, but especially Melinda from Sit-A-Pet!!
Dislikes: Oscar (the big blowhard cat who travels through our yard), being stuck in the house all the time, even though he knows he needs to stay safe (pets should be free!), car rides, loud noises from Mom’s ipad, surprise loud sneezes from Mom, chaotic activity, certain foods, going to the vet, our temporary house in DC, people bothering him when he is done with being bothered.
About Cody: I met Cody between a job that involved lots of travel and a new job that involved none. I was visiting the Animal Welfare League of Arlington occasionally and thinking if I ever found a cat that reminded me of a cat (Pete) I used to take care of when his family was on home leave, I might adopt one. That Sunday, Cody had just become available for adoption. He had been at AWLA for a week and no one had come to look for him; although he had been neutered and his front paws were declawed, so he had been cared for. I visited with him and he paid me very little attention – just wanted to get out of the room and I thought this is perfect, I wanted an independent cat! So the next day after my first day at my new job, I picked him up and took him home.
AWLA suggested leaving him in a single room with food, water, and his litter box until he got used to my house. By the end of the first night, he had figured out how to get that door open and push open all of the other doors in my house. He is afraid of nothing!
In his early years with me he used to race up and down the stairs, weave in and out of the railings on the second floor and play a lot of hide and seek. Before I bought him toys, he used to bring socks upstairs from the basement and bills downstairs from the office – he’s always liked to bring me presents! He has slowed down some but still has the greatest, funniest personality.
He loves to sit in his spot in the window at the front of the house just keeping track of the neighborhood – everyone knows him from the toddlers who meow at him to the retired folks on their walks. He’s the Mayor! He supervises me in the kitchen and he has his own cookbook “Cooking with Cody!” He makes sure I’m up and ready to go every morning at 5:30 – he wants his kitchen window open and his breakfast prepared so he can get a jump on the day and start his nap rotation through the house. He runs to the door when I come home and while he used to try to escape, he’d only make it to the sidewalk where he’d throw himself down to be rubbed.
When I started traveling again, I found Sit-A-Pet and I am so glad I did!! They are so dependable and helpful and I never worry about Cody when I’m gone. He LOVES his pet sitter Melinda, who seems more like family – they have quite a routine when she comes to visit, checking out each room in order and making sure he gets time in the window.
I had an animal communicator reach out to Cody when I first got him and ask about his life before me – they told me he had always been cared for and lived with a family. The family either grew too much or got a new puppy, things got chaotic and he wasn’t being appreciated for his superior qualities as much as he deserved so he decided to leave and in short order ended up at AWLA and then my house. Therefore I tell him every day before I leave that he is the blessing of our house and every house we ever live in and the blessing of my life – he seems to like that!