Friday, September 5, 2014: Happy “This Might Be Your” Birthday

During the night I awoke to a hot and humid room.  I shut the door and windows and turned on the air conditioning. This of course awakened Tommy and it took a while for us to settle back down on her bag and my bedspread respectively.

When I woke up in the morning, Tommy was still asleep. I tried to move quietly, but she woke up and greeted me with a yawn and walked over toward me. After her usual morning routine petting she headed for the study.  I wasn’t sure what she wanted in there, so I followed. Sure enough, she was heading for the peace lily for a quick leaf snack. I told her “No,” and when she didn’t stop, I picked her up and we headed back into the living room.  It seemed that she has gotten used to me picking her up and now “tolerates” this action. She seemed calm in my arms until we reached the chair where she bounded down.

She tried once more to have a leaf snack, but finally gave up and decided that it was play time.  As I was remaking the bed, she watched and played with her scratching post.  This was a reminder that she hadn’t received a treat lately.  Since it was her birthday, I made sure that she got her morning treats. We had a fun play session, and then she continued on her own while I did some chores. After play time, she went into the bedroom to eat and then ended up on the ottoman for her morning nap.

When Tommy awoke, she beckoned me, and when I didn’t rush to her side, she went looking for me. I was busy on the computer and she let me know that it was time for late morning play.  We played with her cat nip bar and Cat Dancer, two recent gifts from my friend Mary Kay and her cats Bootsie and Zoe. I can usually get a good 10-15 minutes from the Cat Dancer with, of course, water breaks as needed. I find it amusing that it the middle of a rousing play time, Tommy will just stop in “mid-play” and head to her water bowl for a drink and then resume right where she was.

Tommy came running when I jiggled the snack bag, so it was easy to get her in the bedroom. I left to get birthday presents and groceries and when I returned Tommy got her gifts which I also hoped would alleviate some of our issues.

Tommy finally gets to eat a plant!

I got Tommy a small pot of grass, but at first when I put in down in front of her she just smelled it and looked at me. I’m sure that she thought, “Oh here comes another test, I’ll show him that I’m interested but won’t chew it.”  After a while temptation got the better of her and she warily started chewing, but looked up to see my reaction.  When she saw that I wasn’t trying to stop her, she feasted for a few minutes on her new treat.  I moved it onto the cocktail table, but she wouldn’t jump up (as she usually would). I picked her up and put her on the table. She then started back in and enjoyed a few more blades of grass.

Present two was a small tube of wound corrugated cardboard that she could scratch or chew. She’s been ripping apart the shopping bags, so I figured why not give her some tough paper. As I watched her chew and start to destroy the roll, it looked like most, if not all, of the bits that came off the tube ended up on the floor. After she had played with the tube for a while she came searching for me in the kitchen where I was putting away the groceries. She wanted to continue play time, but I could tell that she wanted me to be involved. I knew that it was time for present three.

Tommy's new chew toy

At times when Tommy is on her back she wants me to scratch/pet her neck and chest, but at other times she likes to play and nip at my hands. I can usually tell which mood she’s in, so I usually just try to get her to play in some other way when she’s in the play/scratch/bit mood. I hope that present number three will help me play with her without killing my hands.

The aftermath

Present three was a glove that had plastic rod extensions in the fingers and small mice attached with strings to the ends of the fingers.  When she got on her back after playing with the tube, I knew we were still in play mode, so I put on the glove.  She had a great time interacting with the mice and biting the glove.  We’re just going to have to make sure that we’re on the same wavelength when she’s on her back, so I don’t send her mixed signals.

When we finished playing, Tommy went to relax by the windows and I went to do some work. So far it looked like she was having a good “This could be your” birthday. I gave her a couple “hairball control” treats to see if she would eat them and she did.

A little later I was beckoned back out to the living room. When I got there Tommy let out her “yolp” which almost sounds like human speech. I knew that this was her cry for help, so I followed her into the bedroom.  I watched her stomach pulsate and I was ready for what was about to happen. She vomited two small amounts of green material.  When she had eaten the grass I thought that she had overdone it a little and sure enough, some of it was coming back.

I cleaned up the mess and reassured her that all was okay. I think that our play was a little rougher or more stimulating so that also may have been a factor. A little while later she drank and ate some of her food, so I knew that although I’d keep a close eye on her, she was doing okay. She spent a calmer, quieter afternoon after that episode. She rested either on her chair, or near her toy basket which seemed to be a new favorite spot.

Tommy (after partying too hard)

Early in the evening my sister called while Tommy was napping on her chair. When Jane mentioned that the temperature had gone down I opened up the balcony door and there was Tommy sitting on the ottoman right behind me waiting to sit and enjoy the breeze. While she was sitting there, the dragon tree on the opposite wall decided to tip over. While Tommy wasn’t in any danger she did seem irritated. Perhaps she was upset that she hadn’t be able to enjoy a nibble on the leaves when it was finally within her reach. I righted the plant and readjusted the soil so it would be stable again…Sorry Tommy!

At ten o’clock Tommy was ready to play. I tried using her new toys, but she wasn’t interested. I brought out the fleece teaser and she was amused for a few minutes. I couldn’t figure out what she wanted, so I asked her.  She walked into the study and I followed her. She sat in front of the closet and let me know that what she wanted was in the closet. I had forgotten that I had put the Cat’s Meow in there yesterday, but she hadn’t forgotten. I brought it out, took it to the living room, and turned it on. She started playing with it right away. When I left her alone to play, she came into the study to fetch me. I sat down next to her by the Cat’s Meow and she walked away. When I sat on the sofa she went back to playing with it. It seemed I was to be nearby, but not too close, just in case something went wrong.

She heard a noise in the study and needed to investigate.  The breeze was going through the blinds and an interesting noise. She even stood on her hind legs to check it out. Once she tired of the noise, she left the room, but “reminded” me that I was expected to follow her out.

When it was time for bed, I prepared everything and then went to find my little princess. She was sitting by her toy basket in the living room. I could tell that she really didn’t want to go to the bedroom, but just wanted to sit in the living room. That was not the game plan, so I picked her up and put her on the bed. When I went to close the bedroom door, she remained on the bed awaiting her late night snack. After her snack I said good night, turned off the lights and went to bed.