It’s hard to believe that four years have passed since this saucy little ginger puss stepped paw into our lives.

He was only 8 months old when he came here, but he doesn’t look much different than he did then. Cats aren’t normally done growing until almost a year old and we thought he’d get a bit bigger, but Rupert must have finished early… because he’s Mr. Tiny.

It’s most apparent when he’s beside Relic (who is a GIANT cat), but you can see it pretty well beside both Peno and Burton too. Little Ru is only 6 lbs, 6oz, but he’s jammed packed with attitude.

He’s not afraid to tell you when he’s offended by something. And this cat is offended by EVERYTHING! Birds in the yard (he especially hates robins),  squirrels in the yard, rabbits in the yard… well anything in the yard – including Relic, who’s been part of this household for three years now. But Rupert still has to protest is presence every time he sees him hanging out or coming home.

He is offended if his favourite furry blanket is missing from the bed, if you pass him on the stairs, or even just make eye contact when he’s pretending he’s invisible. And for the love of god… DO NOT sneeze in his presence. That will earn you a death glare that’s sure to be instantly fatal.

Other than the death glare, most of his protests are vocal. And if a cat could ever sound like an old man complaining… Rupert has managed it. He might be tiny but his whine is BIG.

While he sleeps most of the day (in a sunbeam or on his favourite furry blanket in bed), every night around about 10 p.m., he goes into what we call “Gingernuts Mode”. It’s the typical cat zoomies, except its punctuated by some interesting caterwauling that sounds eerily similar to the sound of Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters. He also makes the same noise when he’s about to poop… and of course, to announce that he HAS pooped. Don’t ask me what that’s about.

And he loves to play. For some reason his favourite game is for me to grab at his butt while he folds himself in half and bites his own tail.

I don’t understand it, but he seems to like it, so we keep doing it.

And despite his super-sized attitude, he can actually be really sweet. He loves to snuggle (especially in winter). It took him a while to discover the joys of a lap, but once he did… well let’s just say, if he wants a lap, you better give him one.

He usually sleeps curled up against me – though that may have something to do with the fact that I usually sleep with his favourite furry blanket. Even if he doesn’t come to bed with me, he’s always there in the morning.

Like the other cats, he enjoys spending his summers outside….

Or enjoying a good long nap in a sunbeam.

He might be the strangest cat I’ve ever had… but I wouldn’t have him any other way!