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When we first brought him home, we kept him separated from our other cat, Baby, until she could get used to him. We put him in our guest bedroom, but he cried so much that Kim had to go in and sleep with him. She left him on the floor because he was so little that she was afraid she would squish him. But by morning, he was curled up next to her on the bed.
We swore he was part ferret because he would steal things all the time. He was a little thief.
One year at Christmas, he ripped a whole string of garland off of the Christmas tree and ran up the stairs with it trailing behind him.
He loved stealing pieces of candy out of the Halloween candy bowl. He didn't eat it, he just wanted to play with it.
He stole the duster from the cleaning lady when she set it down and ran off with it.
He loved paper clips. Anywhere he would find little metal objects, he would steal them. If there were papers with a paper clip on them, he would scratch and bite at the paper clip to get it off and then he would run off with it.
Every day, we would find little things in his food dish - paper clips, picture hangers, Christmas tree ornament hangers, his collar and those little furry mice toys. Sometimes we would find one of the furry mice in his water dish and it had turned the water the color of the mouse: green, orange or blue for instance.
For some reason, he became obsessed with our humidifier. He would stare at the bubbles, the water droplets, and scratch at it. Eventually he would knock it over and get water all over the floor.
He loved to scratch on the shower door. When we would get out of the shower, he would often get in the shower and lick the walls. His feet, tail and backside would always get wet, but he didn't care.
When Kim would take a bath, he would race into the bathroom when he heard the water running. He would put his front paws on the armrest of the tub and test to see where the water level was. He would drink some of the water and just hang out while Kim took a bath. Sometimes she would pet him with her wet hands until he was soaking wet, and it never fazed him.
Merlin loved Greenies cat treats. He would sit up on his hind legs and eat them out of your hand. As soon as he heard the crinkling of the Greenies bag, he would come racing.
He loved his scratching posts. But he was very particular. He only like the kind that were wrapped with rope. We got him a shag carpet-covered scratching post and he wouldn't touch it. He completely destroyed two scratching posts. One was broken into two pieces!
Kim and Merlin would have meowing matches in the morning. While we were getting ready for work, she would meow at him and he would meow back. Back and forth, back and forth. They would do this at least a dozen times.
When he was younger, he would climb into the bed and crawl on your chest and purr like a chainsaw. He was so heavy.
He like to crawl into John's lap. Kim was always jealous because Merlin would very rarely crawl into her lap, but he would crawl into John's lap all the time.
He liked to tear through the house sometimes. He would get frisky and race up the stairs. He was so big it was like a herd of elephants charging through the house!
Every time we did laundry, he would jump into the clothes basket. Whether there were clothes in it or not, he would jump into it.
Merlin was always in the bathroom while we were getting ready for work in the morning. Before John got into the shower, he would take off his t-shirt and drape it over Merlin. Then Merlin would get up and walk around with the shirt draped over his back like a cape; swishing his tail from side-to-side. We think Merlin liked it and was just showing off.
One time, Kim looked up and saw Merlin walking out of the fireplace! She was so surprised to see that he had gotten in there.
He loved those little fur mice toys. However, invariably they would end up under the couch. Every month or so we would lift up the couch and there would be at least a half-dozen mice under there. Then Merlin was in kitty heaven because he had all these mice to play with. In a few days, every mouse would end up under the couch again!
Merlin was very dog-like. When he was younger he would play fetch! He would carry his toys around in his mouth. It was so cute to see him carry his collar around with the tag hanging. He hated wearing a collar, but he loved playing with them.
We got an umbrella stroller recently and he became obsessed with it for some reason. We had to put it into the closet to keep it away from him.
Merlin loved to lie on his back with his back legs spread eagle. Kim would find him at the foot of the bed in that position all the time.
We found several rolls of toilet paper completely wound off of the spool and shredded. What a brat!
He would drink out of the toilet sometimes. The funny part is that he was so big, he would have his back feet on the floor, his stomach bulging over the side of the rim and his head and front legs completely in the toilet while he would lap at the water. It looked like he was getting sick from a hangover or something!
If we left any piece of furniture open where he could fit, he was sure to crawl into it; our armoire, our entertainment center, cabinets and the dryer for instance.
His purr was so loud. It sounded like a chirp because he would vocalize and purr at the same time.
He loved to sit on the back of the couch. That was probably his favorite spot to sit while we were watching TV or a movie.
When Kim was taking some Christmas garland off of the handrail upstairs, Merlin was sitting downstairs watching her, pacing back and forth and meowing at her. Eventually he just sat on the coffee table and kept meowing at her for some reason.
Merlin loved to be where we were. Every morning when Kim would get up, she had a very predictable routine. She would get up, start the shower to warm it up and use the bathroom. By the time she was done with that, Merlin would invariably be sitting outside the door waiting for her to let him in. She would crack the door and let him in. He would greet her this way every morning.
When Kim would get home, Merlin would either be waiting for her at the door or come around after a few minutes with the cutest sleepy look on his face.
