We found Ojos in our garage one day, hiding behind a stack of boxes where he'd made a bed. I brought him some tuna and coaxed him out and petted him, and started bringing him up to our flat. He would often be waiting for me on the steps when I came home from work.
I thought he was lost but it turned out he'd been given to the girls downstairs by a woman who didn't want him any more, but they wouldn't let him in their flat because they had just gotten a kitten, so he had to stay in the garage. So when we moved away the next month they let us have him. He was so glad to have a real home again.
For awhile he would sit at the dinner table with us every night, so we indulged him by feeding him on the chair. His favorite game was to get behind or under something and reach out to attack my hand or a toy 
, and of course he liked to get into bags 
and boxes 
... even the mailbox. 
He loved flowers, and would often smell them 
or even eat them. He especially loved to lie in alyssum 
. He spent a lot of time contemplating the garden or sleeping in the sun 
.
Ojos loved piano music, and would come sit on it while I played
or curl up on the couch nearby. He liked to walk up and down the keys for awhile and then lie down on them 
, sometimes in the middle of the night. He'd even do it while I was trying to play.
Another of his quirks was sitting in the rain. I made him a shelter
but he'd often be sitting on top of it, maybe the rain helped clean his long hair?
He sat in the sink a lot 
or waited in the bathtub until we turned on the faucet for him to drink from. 
. Liking water is typical of Turkish Vans. He also had other traits of that breed like the coloring, the fine fur, a long winter coat and being very attached to his person. He was so devoted that I called him "my faithful dog Ojos" He'd wait for me or sit in my chair if I was out late, and made sure to get some lap time from me every day. If we weren't getting up fast enough he would climb on the skylight 
to say hello.
He also liked to wrestle and play-bite
. If I made a claw with my hand he'd make a snarly face and then attack it. I didn't mind my forearms getting scratched up cause he was having so much fun. When he was done playing he'd sit on my lap like a sphinx, with his paws on my knees.
Ojos was crazy for catnip
so we grew some in the garden, but he destroyed it by rolling all over it 
.
One of his eccentric habits was to pick a spot to be his home base for days or weeks at a time, and it would be the only place he'd sit or sleep. Then one day he would abandon it for another spot. Sometimes he'd pick my desk, and get my sticky notes all over him, so I made some notes just for him.
This spot on the deck was his favorite, he could keep an eye on us in the living room, or look out at the forest 
. In the morning he'd often be at the other end of the railing 
, looking in and waiting for me to wake up and give him some food and attention.
He was the most sociable of all our cats and always showed up to greet guests. He was also kind to the other kitties, and would leave some of his food for the younger ones if they were hungry. When we got Beijo he was a good big brother to her.
Once when we were calling for her, he went and herded her home from several houses away where she was probably sleeping.
We were lucky to have such a fun, loyal and affectionate friend. The night after he died I had a dream that Ojos was playing with another cat in the woods, leaping from a hiding place and then running down a path until his fur became a white blur.
Here's some more cute pics of my best cat ever...
