Hey there fellow cat parents! How many times in your cat parenting era have you caught your cats stalking you? I’m not talking about those sweet paws just following you around, but straight-up stalker following?
If you know the feeling, then you will understand the man from today’s story, Bill Schaumberg. Let’s jump straight to his amazing story!
A few months ago, Bill’s friend had a sudden health crisis and sadly she was unable to take care of her beloved cat Teddy. She asked her friend Bill if he would be willing to take him in and he gladly agreed.
Like many cats, Teddy was afraid of his new environment at first. He went straight into hiding mode and spent the first three days under the bed. However, once he realized that Bill was actually a cool guy, Teddy decided to come out. As Bill said in a video:
“And then suddenly, like that, he was just no longer afraid at all and just made himself right at home. And then… he became obsessed with me.”
Teddy fell in love with his foster dad and no matter how much Bill played with him, he always wanted more attention.
If Bill came out from the bathroom, Teddy was waiting in front of the doors. When he opened his eyes, this adorable fluff was staring right back at him demanding some love and cuddles.
Wherever Bill walked, moved, and sat Teddy made sure to be as close to him as possible. This is when Bill realized he had a stalker in his house!
Since Bill was working from home, at times he just had to focus on his work. However, Teddy didn’t approve of this at all! Whenever Bill turned his attention away from him, Teddy would scratch him.
The constant need for love and attention was making Bill fall in love with Teddy, as he mentioned:
“It drove me totally crazy. But it’s complicated because, at the same time, we were both totally falling in love.”
Bill went on to describe their relationship as ‘toxic’. Despite all the love they had for each other, Teddy was still stalking Bill around and scratching him whenever he felt like he was not the center of attention.
To protect his scratched hands and furniture, Bill bought a bunch of scratch posts and automated toys. All for the sake of keeping stalker Teddy entertained.
Luckily, this seemed to work out perfectly. While Bill was having important Zoom calls, Teddy was scratching his soul away on the scratching posts. Most importantly, he was now stalking the automated toys and not Bill, LOL!
Sadly, Bill’s friend informed him one day that she would no longer be able to take care of Teddy. Bill was now facing a tough decision, as he shared:
“If I don’t keep him, does that make me a hypocritical animal lover at best, or just, like a straight-up bad person at worst?”
Since Bill was often traveling and at times he was not home for weeks, he decided it would be best to put Teddy up for adoption.
However, it took Bill some time to realize that they were actually meant for each other. Rehoming poor Teddy one more time could be a traumatic experience and with this Bill decided to officially adopt his fluffy stalker.
Although Bill wanted what was best for Teddy, it took him some time to figure out that he was actually what was best for him!
I’m beyond happy that Bill officially adopted Teddy and I wish the two many years together filled with adventures!
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