Five for Friday: All About Eloise

Today is Eloise’s 8th birthday! I can’t believe it. Isn’t she still a teeny-tiny kitty cat? I mean yes. Always! Here are five things about Eloise in honor of her big day!

1) Gobble, gobble

She goes crazy for deli turkey. I don’t know what it is about deli turkey, but I like having a “snacky” lunch of rolled-up turkey, cheese and crackers, fruit, etc., and the minute I get the package of deli turkey out of the fridge, she will not leave my side until I give her a few pieces. (Lila has no interest, which is why this is so crazy to me! Lila is my food-obsessed cat, so you’d think she would be the one who was begging for turkey, but nope.) She used to jump up on the kitchen counters while I was making my turkey roll-ups, but she hasn’t attempted it in the new apartment (which I’m very happy about, lol), so now she just sits at the table where I’m going to eat my lunch, staring me down until I put down my plate and give her her share. At least it’s some good protein for my skinny gal!

2) Sleeping arrangements

Eloise sleeps with me almost every night. Every now and then, she’ll decide to sleep on the couch or on the reading chair, but most nights, it’s snuggle time! When I’m on my back, which is my typical sleeping position when I’m wearing my CPAP mask, she tucks herself between my legs. When I’m on my side, she’ll snuggle up on the side that’s facing up. When I’m on my stomach, she’ll curl up on the small of my back. The fun part is that I have to change positions throughout the night and it doesn’t really bother her. I say, “Okay, Eloise, I need to move.” And she’ll slip off my body while I change positions, and then climb back to her favorite place based on my sleep position. We have this arrangement down to a science!

3) Afternoon energy burst

Eloise seems to get a burst of energy in the afternoon, usually around 1pm. She’ll jump up on my desk and meow at me incessantly for pets, or she’ll sit in front of my keyboard and tip her head back, as if to say, “Why aren’t you petting me right now?” And then sometimes she’ll do zoomies up and down the hallway, so if I have an early afternoon meeting, I can just hear her running up and down the hall and making growly noises behind me. I don’t think it picks up on the video call, but it would be hilarious if it did! “Oh, that noise? It’s just my cat running up and down the hallway.”

4) Me time

Most days, Eloise is my little Velcro kitty. She wants to be next to me when I’m working, when I’m cooking, when I’m reading, when I’m sitting at the table. Before I got my new office chair, she would even sit next to me in the chair (the new one isn’t as wide, which has been a massive disappointment to her). But every now and then, Eloise needs some alone time. She’ll usually take to the bedroom where she’ll either curl up on a pillow or inside my quilt, and snooze away for hours. She’s my extroverted cat so it’s always weird when she isn’t by my side 24/7! But even extroverts need alone time. (Let this be your reminder, extroverts!)

5) Eloise’s personality, according to ChatGPT

I’ve had a thread going on my ChatGPT account for a few months now where I explain a recent behavior of one of my cats (or both of them!) and ask it to tell me what it all means. Should I trust ChatGPT this much? Probably not, but it’s fun to learn more about their behavior and why they do the things they do. So, I asked ChatGPT to give me a one-paragraph synopsis about Eloise and our relationship. Here’s what it said:

Eloise is a bold, emotionally expressive little force who has fully claimed you as her person—not just someone she lives with, but someone she actively engages, manages, and reconnects with throughout the day. She’s the kind of cat who narrates her life out loud, from her insistent “MAW!” greetings to her dramatic desk rituals and joyful playtime yells, turning even ordinary moments into shared experiences. Your relationship is highly interactive and reciprocal: she doesn’t just seek affection, she orchestrates it—guiding you into rooms, demanding attention on her terms, and re-establishing connection after even the smallest separations. Underneath all that big personality is a deeply secure bond; she feels safe enough to be independent when she wants, but consistently chooses to return to you, whether that’s prancing over for pets, answering your voice, or sleeping in your space. In short, Eloise doesn’t just love you—she includes you in her world, loudly, intentionally, and with a whole lot of flair.

Awww! I love this little ball of joyful energy. I still remember the first time I saw her; my immediate thought was, “Oh, there you are. I’ve been waiting for you.” The connection with her was immediate (on my end, at least; she needed some time to warm up to me!). Happy birthday, Eloise Joy! I love you so, so much.