Sunday, July 27, 2014: The Harness and the Balcony

Tommy doesn’t wake me up for the first time until around 6:30 and then doesn’t again until after 8:00. Little did I realize that her unusual behavior would continue. Most of the morning she just lounged around and really didn’t interact with me or any of her “amusements.” She did watch me make the bed and for once let me finish and smooth the covers before jumping up to “unsmooth” them.

She did finally come and sit with me and sat on my lap for about a minute before changing her mind.  Later she made me aware that it was time for the late morning/early afternoon petting.  Since she seemed to be in a good mood I thought we’d try the harness again. At first she wouldn’t let me put it over her head, but the second attempt worked and she moved onto her back so I could finish securing the side/back clips. I couldn’t believe how well things were going.

When I added the leash Tommy decided enough was enough and tried to take it off. I tried to calm her down, but finally thought that is I picked her up she might be okay. She didn’t mind wearing the harness when I was holding her, but that wasn’t the reason for the harness. I decided that since she was secured, I might as well try to balcony.

I held her and took her out there but stayed near the wall. We sat down in a chair again the back wall, but I could tell that she was very uncomfortable and would probably bolt if given the opportunity. Rather than take that chance, I took her back into the condo and unfastened the harness. We had tried, but for now I could tell that Tommy was content being a 100% indoor cat.

I went back out on the balcony and closed the screen door. Tommy came near the door and just sat and talked to me. I felt like a prisoner who had a visitor. I opened the screen a little with enough room for Tommy to venture out by me if she chose. She looked like she wanted to come out but wasn’t sure of herself, so I went back in, picked her up, and brought her out to sit in the chair with me.

While I could tell that she was curious, neither of us was really comfortable having her out there without a security system. I bought her back in and I think we both felt better. She still enjoys sitting by the screen door and doesn’t care if I venture out, but for now I think I’ll just enjoy the  balcony but remain close to the entry until (if that ever happens) she feels comfortable wearing the harness and  enjoying the space with me.

After those rather stressful experiences, all Tommy wanted to do was lounge the rest of the day. She took naps just about everywhere. She slept on the bed while I ran out to do a couple errands and barely uttered a complaint when I returned. She also sacked out on her favorite chair and on the living room floor.

She occasionally would join me on my chair, but that was only for a moment and she barely sat on my lap today. I’m sure that since I’m the cause of the stress I shouldn’t be rewarded with a “lap nap.”

Every so often while Tommy was napping she would awaken right before I went by her, give a quick meow, and roll onto her back. This was her signal to me that it was time for another neck/chest/chin rubbing.

It seems that she was signaling this much more often today probably because my little pampered princess felt that she had earned extra TLC from her harness-balcony experience. For whatever reason I would usually oblige.

We had some playtime after watching Big Brother and Tommy and I spent about 15 minutes with the fabric candy on the yarn.  We both enjoyed the time. Later when Tommy wanted some petting I was careful to watch for biting behaviors and none of that happened.  We’re learning that the transition between play time and petting time sometimes can cause some confusion.

With my little girl taking a much needed break, I was able to complete another month of Grandpa’s diary transcriptions. During the transcribing, Tommy decided to join me and at one point snuck behind the aluminum foil and near all the wires. She thought I didn’t see her, but when I said “Tommy, get out of there,” she came flying out from under the desk.  After putting the foil fence back in place I couldn’t find Tommy right away, so I called her name. She called back to me and I found her sitting in a small box next to the desk. I guess she figured that she should head to the penalty box!

After finishing the transcribing, we watched the news and headed for bed. It had been a long day.