Here’s some more information about celebrity cat Maru – when he was little (“chibi”) and when he first came to the house of mugumogu, his caretaker/guardian/human companion and wrangler 😉 .
Maru was around 4-months-of-age when he was adopted and came to live at his new home on 21st September 2007. The video maker and caretaker, ‘mugumogu’ does not reveal her real Japanese name. The likely reason is probably to maintain focus on Maru, the cat celeb; a good idea.
Maru weighed a pretty hefty five pounds and 6 ounces at four months old. He is described as looking like a little cat rather than as a kitten at this age. Mugumogu discovered that, unusually, Chibi-Maru was not scared but very inquisitive. This tells me he is a well socialised, confident cat.
Maru did not hide in a corner but explored. As soon as he was brought into the home in his carrier and released, he “started sniffing around the room”. Maru is a fast learner. He learned about the litter tray, and what it was for, very quickly and instinctively.
Mugumogu showed him how “to dig the sand with his paws”. After two tries, Maru got it. It is interesting that mugumogu refers to “sand” in the litter tray. This is old-fashioned, naturally occurring cat litter. It is what cats used before commercially manufactured cat litter became available. I am not sure if she means sand or cat litter. If she means sand then she may have subsequently used cat litter but perhaps she prefers that Maru uses sand as it is organic and therefore safer (some litters are, frankly, dangerous).
Maru’s confidence and natural inquisitiveness resulted in mugumogu describing him as “a little monster” (don’t we know!). For Maru, an object was a toy if it moved so when mugumogu wiped the floor or vacuumed it he’d dart out the shadows and hunt it 😉 .
Maru had (still has?) a habit of civil disobedience – doing the opposite of mugumogu’s requests (an independently minded cat – that’s what we like). For example, when Maru was told, No, when he tried to jump into a waste bin (trash can) this simply made him more interested in jumping into the can. Maru also learned that all he has to do in order to get mugumogu’s attention is to stick his head in the trash can 😉 . Confirmation that cats can provoke us into action.
Nowadays, when mugumogu says, ‘No’, it is a signal that play is about to start. This is because when she first said it, Maru ran away and I am guessing mugumogu followed. An example of cat-training-person if I am not mistaken.
This is a loving relationship and it is sure that Maru was a confident little fella when young. No doubt this helped him develop into the celebrity cat he is. He is probably the best loved cat celeb despite the presence of Grumpy Cat.
