Tommy again woke up around 4:00,
and seemed very nervous or scared. She even hopped up on the bed near my head.
It took some time, but with much petting and a quiet voice, she finally calmed
down and just curled up near me. It didn’t
last long, but I’m glad she felt better. How do I know she was better? She
pushed the bottle of water I keep on the nightstand down onto the floor to play
with it. Fortunately I always keep it
capped, so no harm, no foul!
When we wake up Tommy seemed to be
in a good mood. I was hoping that we would have another good day. All seemed to
be going well, when as I was petting her, Tommy again tried to bite. Right
after the attempt and my scolding, she crouched down on all fours which made me
think that she knew she had done something wrong. I left the room as I always
do and went to print the morning puzzles (a good excuse).
When I opened the door and returned
to the living room, I found Tommy in a very submissive pose. She was on her
side and kind of curled up, but it wasn’t her normal “sleeping in a ball”
position. When I went to her I petted her and talked to her very quietly. There
was no biting and at times she extended a paw to touch my other hand. I could
tell that she knew her behavior was wrong and wanted to make amends. After a
few minutes, she finally got up and all went back to normal.
Tommy was pretty quiet throughout
the morning. I’m not sure if using the pheromone spray on the sofa to stop her
scratching had any effect on her. At one
point she was laying in the dining room and as I walked by I got down and
petted her to let her know that all was well. She started licking my fingers
which usually leads to a bite, but this time after she finished licking my
fingers she started grooming herself. I’m glad I trusted her this time and let
her prove herself. She tried once more later, but I think it was my fault for
not catching her signs about where she wanted (and didn’t want) to be petted.
I spent much of my day doing some
organizing and trying to find my bank bag that has all my important documents.
It took quite a while and of course Tommy wanted to help. She climbed around
the closets and “helped” look in all the drawers. We found it; it had fallen
behind something. Tommy was pretty
tired, so as I was finishing up, she took a nap in the sun by the study window.
This may seem a bit bizarre, but
we’ve had relative peace for a few days now, and today my peace lily started
unfolding a flower for the first time in four years. It’s a special plant to me
as it was given to me by my local union when my father died. I thought I’d
killed it when I went on vacation four years ago. I tried reviving it, but it
didn’t come back and after cutting all the dead leaves off (which were the only
leaves there were) I couldn’t bear to throw it out. A month later just when I thought the soil
had finally dried out, a shoot appeared.
It’s come back, but hadn’t flowered until now. I guess it’s a sign that Tommy and I are
finally settling in to a peaceful coexistence.
When I start transcribing my
grandfather’s diary by dictating into the computer, Tommy decides that there’s
be less noise in the closet and naps there. Most of the rest of the evening
Tommy spends on the dining room chair, but expects attention (which she receives)
whenever I come near. The day ends peacefully as we head to bed.
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