You may have noticed our friend, Hump-me the Tiger, as the model for my recent crochet projects. There’s a story behind Mr. Hump-me the Tiger, as is probably self-evident from his name.

Hump-me the Tiger, modeling simple fluffy scarf
You see, Ralphie humps. Specifically, Ralphie humps Studley. A lot. I’m not sure when it started. When I adopted Ralph, he had ringworm. He had to be in isolation. After he lived with us a few months, horror of horrors, Studley got ringworm as well. (Most likely it was a combination of the stress of the move and remodeling as well as a screw-up on my part possibly not practicing safe protocol when leaving Ralph’s room.) So, I put Studley in Ralph’s room – the room of fungus.
Ralph was smitten IMMEDIATELY! He ran up to Studley in delight. Studley took one look and hissed at him. Hissed! Studley NEVER hisses. I guess he wasn’t sure Ralph was really a cat. (Ralph had little fur at the time, and looked like a gremlin in transition.)

Ralph and Studley, sitting in a box lid
So, I’m not sure when the humping began – but I certainly discovered it soon enough once they were fungus-free and rejoined society.

Ralph humping Studley
I felt bad for poor Stud-man. I tried having a talk to Ralphie, explaining that while I’m sure he enjoyed humping Studley, I didn’t think Studley’s feelings were mutual. Since Studley was his friend, surely he wanted Studley to be happy? Ralph thought about it. For a week, he didn’t hump Studley. Then, apparently, he decided Studley could just close his eyes and think of England.
My next step was to look for a Studley-substitute. I found a stuffed tiger, pretty much Studley-sized at Kmart, and thought he would be perfect. I named him “Hump-me the Tiger” and encouraged Ralphie whenever he got the urge, to play with the nice tiger. Ralphie looked at me as though I was a pervert for even suggesting it.

A little cuddling is nice, but that's as far as we'll go!
Princess Meow Meow, on the other hand, became quite fond of Hump-ne the Tiger.
In an effort to impress Ralphie, Louie even took up humping Studley. So, Studley now has two admirers.

Cuddle-bugs
So, Hump-me the Tiger seems finished with his days as feline sex slave, and is pursuing a career in crochet modeling.

Hump-me the Tiger, modeling simple hooded scarf
OMG! I laughed so hard reading this post. Your cats are so funny! And you write so well too! I am still giggling…
Buster has taken to humping Rocky. Ugh! I’ve only seen it a couple of times and it seems to be intermittent.
[…] complete story of Hump-me the (not Tiger but) Lion is here. Hump-me the lion modeling my first […]
that is sooooooo funny! my dog poppy yes a lady will hump things even tho she is spayed etc! i used to have a toy rabbit until she destroyed it that she used to hump! i am glad that your tigerbear is now safe and enjoying his retirement as a model!