Having a Cat

Rory has been here for two weeks, and I've yet to talk about it!  Sad.  Here's the deal about owning a cat:

1)  My cleaning-that-can-wait tendencies are being stretched to the limit.  I've got a little cat nook in my room, which means litter, food, and water frequently escape their boundaries because Rory likes to fling things around.  I usually try to ignore it as long as possible, which is, I'm told, gross.

2)  The paranoia!  I live upstairs, and there's a ledge along the hallway from which you can overlook the wooden staircase.  Halfway along the stairs, up high, is a window.  One day I walked upstairs and saw that Rory had jumped from the ledge to the window.  When he saw me, he meowed piteously and moved foreward and backward, sometimes leaning toward jumping, sometimes a paw slipping.  I stood underneath on the stairs but couldn't reach him.  I leaned over the ledge toward the window but couldn't reach him.  I beckoned him to jump, then ran to my room to hide my face because what if he didn't make it and then he splattered on the stairs ten feet below him?  FINALLY he jumped, and I thought, thank God, now he's learned his lesson and we'll never have to suffer through that heart attack again.

Five minutes later he jumped up there AGAIN.  Well, that was it, because even if it didn't bother him, it bothered me.  I locked him in my room and looked up ways to keep him from perching there.  Aluminum foil, apparently, but we didn't have any, and it took two days for me to buy any.  Eventually I covered the ledge with the stuff and tentatively allowed Rory to experience life outside of my bedroom.  I went downstairs, and soon I heard him jump up, heard the crinkle of the foil, heard him jump down and race to my room.

He hasn't jumped up there since.  But also, now the ledge overlooking our staircase is covered in aluminum foil.

3)  He is one of three person-centered cats, and since I am home more than anyone, they all flock to my room.  I assumed this would be adorable, but since Rory is not entirely comfortable with either of them (more so Nash than Billie), it mostly means listening to cats hiss or dart around me.  Occasionally they will all be tired at the same time, at which point it is adorable, but most of the time I just kick out the other cats and ignore their whining at the door.

4)  I'm a user; I admit it.  I wanted Rory for his cuddles.  And he is so good at them.  Evening is when he is more playful and crazy, but as soon as I turn off all of the lights, he curls against my legs and goes to sleep.  Sometimes he crawls up to lay on my chest and purr in my face, which is my favorite.  Sometimes he curls up by my neck and I bury my face in his fluffy fur.  It's incredibly adorable.

5)  Rory is stupid smart.  In the mornings, he likes to lick my face.  Which, if you are familiar with cat tongues, is not exactly comfortable.  I saw online that it's a thing cats do if they really like you, if they think you are their cat friend who needs grooming.  But still, it hurts.  So whenever he starts licking my face, I push him away.  But now he knows that if he licks my face, my hands will come out from under the covers and he can turn my pushing into petting.

I have yet to solve this puzzle.  Beaten by a cat, how embarrassing.