Saturday, July 26, 2014: A Day of Surprises

For once we didn't wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 A.M. and actually almost made it to 5:30.  Tommy tried to play bite and I just roll over. I think she got the message because when she came over to the other side, she “seemed” contrite, or at least she wasn't trying to bite. Once we’re up and the day begins Tommy and I get through the routine and she even sits patiently on the desk while I finish the morning posts.

Since she seems to be in a good mood, I decide to try to introduce her to the harness. I don’t have any trouble putting it over her head, but she won’t let me fasten the straps. I figure that a small victory is better than none at all and decide that we can continue to take baby steps with the ultimate goal is to have her be comfortable in the harness and the two of us enjoy the balcony.  I won’t let her out there unless I feel that she’ll be safe.

The rest of the morning, Tommy is agitated probably from the harness experience and I give her a lot of space.  I did “catch” her on the cart in the kitchen, a place where she’s never been and I don’t care if she climbs on it. The minute I come around the corner she bounds down off it.

My next surprise is one I wasn't sure was going to ever happen. I was sitting on a chair doing the morning puzzles when Tommy decided

 to come up onto the chair. She usually sits next to me and nudges me over so she has a better position.  Today she climbed up and began kneading my lap.  She fortunately was pretty careful with her claws in the “sensitive area” of my lap and then curled up in a ball on my lap and fell asleep for about 45 minutes.

She probably would have stayed there longer, but the phone rang and woke her up. I didn't get up to answer the phone; I just figured I’d hear the message and would call the person back on my cell. No message, but Tommy did get up. I thought that this was a good time to get anything I might need should she decide to come back.

I also thought that this was a good time to call my sister and while we were talking Tommy came back up on my lap. I’m glad that she now trusts me enough to become a lap kitty. This should bode well for our future harness work.

Another surprise…I went to take a shower before joining friends on Brady Street and when I went to the closet, there was Tommy sitting on top of lower cubbies. I have no idea how she got up there because even though it’s not very high, there’s not much head room between the top of the cubbies and the shelf of cubbies above them. To jump or climb onto that shelf means Tommy needs to be coordinated enough to jump but duck her head to get on the shelf. No small feat for this young kitty.

When I returned from the Brady Street Festival, Tommy would have nothing to do with me for the rest of the night even after she got her treats attempted neck/chest rub. This continued up until bedtime, but surprisingly she joined me up on the bed to go to sleep.