Meet Dobby! He’s my logo boy! You may have already noticed him in Southsea Pet Sitting’s logo! I chose to use him as my branding colour was already blue and because of his cheeky, confident personality. Lorri Slee, a local Southsea cat artist, created the logo for me and it was exactly what I imagined. Look out for it on my car!

Dobby was born in 2016 and is the most intelligent and naughtiest Devon Rex cat I’ve ever owned. He was a very bold kitten and boxed Batfink around the ears on his very first introduction. They became playmates, but even now, 4 years later, he can be mean to Batfink. He wants to be boss, but elderly Batfink has managed to retained the title. They argue like brothers, but snuggle up to each other too. So he fits in perfectly at Southsea Pet Sitting HQ.

Southsea cat Playmates

I soon realised that Dobby needed friends! Teddy and Batfink would go out a lot in the summer to sit in the garden. I’d be out a couple of times a day to cat sit. So, Dobby was alone. Even when I was home he’d tailgate the cat flap to follow Batfink and yowl to be with him. In 2018, I introduced him to two rex brothers, Wiggy and Ziggy and they thought he was their Dad. It was so sweet and they are a lovely trio now. They play and cuddle together. I often find them wrestling for for fun.

Naughtiness

He’s always been naughty. When he was a kitten I couldn’t relax in the evening as he’d climb onto the parrot cage and go on Taz’s swing. Taz was out the whole time he was a kitten and they eventually reached a truce and he stopped going near him.

He loves to escape. I couldn’t find him one day and realised he’d tailgated the cat flap – it’s a dual microchip one and he wasn’t added. I bought it especially so my two older cats could go outside and he would be inside. For some reason, he was desperate to go outside and used to bang the cat flap door. I think it was because he wanted to follow Batfink and didn’t want to be alone. Anyway, I saw a blue cat walking along my next door neighbour’s fence and realised it was Dobby. That wasn’t the only time.

His favourite thing is to do a runner to the end of the garden to see the chickens. The side of my house is enclosed in a catio for Dobby, but he still tries his best to follow me when I feed the chickens. I only have to rattle the chicken food bag and he appears in an instant.

Southsea Cat School

Dobby the Devon Rex is the most intelligent cat I’ve ever owned. All my cats can do a high five and stand up for a treat, but Dobby is something else! Is he really human? I had to teach him to sit as a kitten as he’d dig his claws into my legs at the sound of a rustling plastic bag – even if it was apples and my legs were full of red scratches.

He naturally used his paws. He’d box Batfink, hit Teddy, reach for the door handle, bang the cat flap, reach for people at the door, catch flies in his paw pads and so it was fairly easy to teach him to do a high five. Stick em up was next! He’d stand up and put his paws up in the air! Then I taught him to wave, one paw up at a time. This wasn’t too difficult as it was natural for him.

Next, I taught him to play dead. This was not so easy and it took him ages to understand. I held a treat, asked him to sit which he’d do straight away. Then it got difficult. I’d say BANG! and usually have to poke him in the side to make him fall over. Sometimes it’s most spectacular like he’s a Southsea cat movie star other times not so good.

I’ve recently taught Dobby to ring a bell for a treat. It took two sessions, but he’ll do anything for a treat. Clever boy! I’m going to look at Learn How To Clicker Train Your Cat – Teach Your Cat To Fist Bump (catschool.co) next, but without a clicker as he learns quickly anyway.