He never did like to share with the other cats, especially after Merlin joined us.  Dmitri seemed to genuinely appreciate our giving him his own food dish.  If the others hurriedly finished their food and then tried to move in on his, he'd walk away, disgusted, rather than stand his ground.

If Merlin tried to join him on a chair or other horizontal surface, 'Mitri would immediately jump down.

Sometimes, when I sat in the easy chair, Dmitri would get on my lap.  Sky would get jealous and get up there, too.  I called this the "Lap Wars".  Dmitri eventually would jump down.  Sometimes, Sky would be first, and 'Mitri would get on my outstretched legs on the footrest, but it was never comfortable for either of us for long.

This dislike of sharing no doubt led to his habit of perching on the crossed leg of someone sitting.  This way, he had a person all to himself.

Perching on "Uncle Tim"
He liked "Uncle Tim" Lindsey.  Tim had a way with most cats, including Dmitri, and knew where just to scratch him.

Tim invented the "voices" we used to anthropomorphize the cats, starting with 'Mitri.  We often imagined his thoughts were not complimentary, sprinkled with an occasional expletive.  Tim said Dmitri reminded him of a grump old Jewish man.  I agreed, supposing of saying "Me-ow", it was "Me-oy". 

Dmitri liked attention so long as it was on his terms.  He usually didn't like to be cuddled, although he would tolerate it occasionally.

He hated having his head kissed, most times, unless it was quick and gentle.  He got such a foul look on his face when held while being kissed loudly and energetically .  That was "gross"!

Later on, he would tolerate it more , because he came to know it as show of affection.

 

Research says that cats don't typically like their bellies touched, because it leaves them exposed  For a cat to offer its belly to you means it trusts you   Dmitri didn't like for us to touch his belly, at first.  However, he saw how much attention Sky got because Sky had no compunction at all - he loved to have his belly rubbed.

He started rolling partially on his back, with a "Look, I'm cute!" expression.  He may've been ticklish on his belly, too, so we didn't allow ourselves to be tempted.  He was much too likely to bite and scratch our hands still.  Yet, he'd get up and stalk away, looking insulted.

Over time, we discovered that if we placed a hand gently but firmly on his belly, rubbing without stroking or patting, he came to trust us more. 

 

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