Our four-footed friend loses his mind.

There is a reason we got a cat instead of a dog. One of those reasons includes not having a yard. But in general, at the time, a year and a half ago, a cat seemed like a better option. More independent, less maintenance, small, and well, I'm a cat fan.
Tigger came into our lives at the right time in the right way and was probably the right cat.
Tigger, however, has some dog like characteristics. For example, he's the first to greet guests at the door. He's very interested in shoes. He likes everybody.
I thought these were great characteristics in a cat. Until last night.
When you leave for four days, you are supposed to be able to leave the cat, alone, in the house, with food, water and a clean litter box. In fact, I even left a radio on for sound. In the past, I'd always had someone stop by and check on him, spend a little human quality time with Tigger. Yes, I do spoil my cat a little. This time, we would treat Tigger like the cat he is and leave him alone. Friends asked if we needed them to check on Tigger. I stuck to my guns. "He is a cat and should be okay for a couple days. We will need you at Christmas though."
So we left. Then we came back. After a long car trip back home, we were greeted with a meow and much rubbing against the legs and a continuous purring.... even though we weren't touching the cat. The cat that only purrs in your lap when he's really happy. He followed us everywhere. When we went upstairs the silly cat started meowing in a sad, melancholy way as if being tortured. The cat that only meows when he's mad or been thrown in the shower. We called to the cat and he came running. He was a purring machine. When I went downstairs to get my favorite pillow, the cat followed me. When I went upstairs I grabbed Tigger and carried him back up with me. This is that cat that doesn't like to be carried. There were no complaints.
Dogs are this loyal, but only some.
The cat that may spend a little bit of time sleeping at the foot of our bed, if we don't move too much, didn't leave all night long. He was between us, on us, between our heads, on Scott's head, licking my face, curling up on my arm and in various other positions we were too asleep to notice. The cat is still following me around. Currently, he is content on the futon, which is a step forward from always having to be in my lap. He still is Tigger, he did get mad at me this morning, and I expect will again as he realizes that we're not leaving again and he must punish us for our absence.

I guess this is what you get if you have a social, human-loving cat.
Next time, I guess I will have to get someone to stop by.
Good grief.