Interview: Fritz
Pets, they’re your best friend and confidant. Big or small, fluffy or a bit scruffy, it doesn’t matter, we love them all. They’re there for you unconditionally and the feeling is mutual. Our interview series celebrates this special bond between animals and hoomans. Let the awws begin.
Cat: Fritz (11 years old)
Home: Portland, United States
How did Fritz get his name? I wanted something quick and easy to say. And after I saw him, he just struck me as a Fritz! I’m a big fan of the Nutcracker Ballet, and Fritz is the main character’s mischievous little brother.
I love when Fritz curls up in my lap, he’s like a little space heater! His fur is so soft, so I love petting sessions where he just purrs and purrs. But, Fritz is truthfully a little shy. When people come over he prefers to wait and see. He’ll hide for a bit and then slowly approach.
He’s also a homebody, he HATES going outside. The few times he’s gotten out of the house, he hasn’t gone far. He has hidden under a bush or just meowed loudly until I’ve come to get him.
I thought it would be fun if Fritz was a shoulder cat, so I started just putting him up there. It took a little while for him to get used to it, but after awhile he was content to ride around on my shoulders. I had to train him not to use his claws as he was jumping up, but now we’ve got a pretty good system. He’ll wait on a counter and I’ll bend down and let him climb up.
Like all things with Fritz though, this happens when he wants, rather than when I want. I’ve had to start watching my back, as he’ll climb up when I’m doing things like putting groceries away or cleaning his litter box.
Fritz is not a snacker. He doesn’t like treats, which really dashed my hopes of training him. He does, however, like unseasoned meat. And I’ve gotten into the bad habit of sharing when I’m eating it. So when I’m eating something like salmon or ham, Fritz assumes he’s eating salmon and ham and will pester me until I give him little bites of my food. If I don’t, he’ll get very aggressively in my face, trying to climb into my lap—even if there is a plate already there!
Figuring out how to communicate with Fritz is always an adventure. He’s a meower, but it’s not always clear what he wants. It felt like a huge breakthrough moment when I realised that while cooking, his meows meant that he wanted to smell what ingredient I was working with. Unless it’s meat, he really only wants to smell it.
Fritz knows when my alarm goes off, he can tell when I’m awake. I usually don’t let him sleep in my room, so he’ll sit outside my closed door and meow until I either let him in or feed him. He eats breakfast, and then it’s naptime! And followed by that, more napping. Next comes another nap, perhaps followed by some grooming. That really tuckers him out, so it’s naps again after that. Then dinner, then, after such a hard day, it’s time to hit the hay and go to bed.
Follow Fritz being a homebody here.