This Adorable Kitty Realized Her Owners Didn't Like Her Normal Gifts, So She Brought Home Leaves Instead
Baloo the cat had a very specific problem, her humans kept rejecting the usual outdoor “gifts.” Dead mice and birds were not landing well, so she apparently decided to rethink her whole approach.
That left Ben with a new routine to decode, because Baloo did not stop bringing home treasures, she just changed the kind of treasure. Instead of the usual hunting trophies, she started showing up with leaves, and she seemed proud of every single one.
Now her softer side is getting all the attention, and the leaf deliveries are only part of the story.
Meet Baloo.
Baloo once loved to bring fully alive rodents to her human, Ben.
Ben was a little shaken by the whole experience.
He said, "I’d wake up to her on my chest with something in her mouth, which she would then drop on my face or chest, and then meow. I don't know if she expected me to think it was breakfast or that it was simply a gift."
Oh my!
The super-duper, "very much alive" creatures that Baloo would bring to Ben were inevitably caught by him and released back into the wild.
C'mere, lil critter...
As Ben appeared to be unhappy with his gifts, Baloo seemed... perplexed. And sad.
"Why does hooman refuse gift?"
Ben said, "She always looked so confused and sad, which made me feel pretty bad."
Baloo clearly took the rejection personally.
That wild “gift” obsession reminds me of the cat who got obsessed with cat TV and stopped caring about anything else.
But Baloo is a problem solver.
Baloo was determined to bring Ben a gift he would love, so she tried her paws at something less alive and brought him an enormous leaf.
A new ritual.
Ben spent so much time rejecting Baloo's animals and critters that he knew it was important to express gratitude for the leaves she was bringing him.
And so he played.
"...I would show my gratitude by taking the leaf and playing with it while she sat on my chest." And sometimes Baloo would bring a twig instead of a leaf because diversity in gifts is important.
That new plan seems to be working just fine.
"She knew she was doing something right now."
Baloo saw her gift work and made an effort to bring Ben a new leaf every day!
What's up these days?
Well, the family moved, and the new hunting grounds were less than ideal. So, Baloo loafs around the house like any other cat.
Snuggles are gifts, too.
To show her love and appreciation, Baloo is all about the snuggle life. "She's a very loving cat."
Baloo may have found her best gift yet.
Ben’s leaf-gift drama is adorable, but wait until you see 50 purrfect cat pictures so wholesome people had to post about them.
Share this article:
