Meet Arlington’s newest Pet of the Week, Franco, a rescue cat who enjoys sleeping and snacks.
Here is what Franco’s owner had to say about his life here in Arlington:
Franco, named after James Franco by our now-living-in-Brooklyn daughter, is a huge, obnoxious, grouchy – but extremely handsome – ginger cat. (Some may ascribe some of those same traits to the actor, but…) He is a a rescue cat who, according to his microchip info, is originally from Dade County Florida (which explains a lot). When the people at PetSmart said this kitten was “a biter,” we thought meh, he’s just a kitten, he’s just playing. Ahem. Personality-wise, he is basically every cat meme on Facebook. Extremely lazy, aloof, bossy, patronizing and bullying (he is Christmas Story’s Skut Farkus to our small female tiger cat’s Ralphie – and she may yet let loose on Franco the same way Ralphie did; we are waiting…). His favorite pastimes include sleeping, eating, naps, snacks, having a resting grumpy face and…occasionally…inexplicably…jumping in your lap at odd times and purring. When this happens you’re so overjoyed you begin petting him and cooing at him, which basically makes him jump down after rolling his eyes. He also enjoys hiding out behind doors patiently waiting to leap out at the aforementioned small female tiger cat and making her jump a mile in the air in fright.
He is basically a handsome male model and knows it. He has little patience and is completely annoyed with being hugged, kissed and petted on the regular by the female resident of the household and the daughter-from-Brooklyn when she comes for a visit. He has been known to inflict scar-making wounds on these ladies, who never seem know when to quit. In his defense, he usually gives out a weird guttural meow when he has had enough, indicating that you must stop what you are doing and back away. These warnings are frequently ignored. (“Please LOVE me” goes the popular meme of a female holding a cat who has unmercifully scratched her).
Oddly, given his disdain for humans, he seems to hang around whenever we have friends over, but this has been attributed to his knowing these social occasions frequently involve unattended food. His other adorable trait is incessantly sharpening his claws on all the furniture, so that the decor resembles shredded cheese. It is obvious why we love this cat, who we’ve had for….no one remembers how many years. Seems like he’s always been here – spoiled, lazy, rotten but oh-so-lovable.