I was awakened at 4:12 A.M. by
Tommy’s yelling, but it didn’t stop there.
She proceeded to push my water bottle off the end table, run around, loudly using her scratching post
and just making a din that could probably wake up the entire east side. Usually
she entertains herself when I asleep and only wakes me if it’s necessary, like
when there’s a storm.
When I tried to calm her down she
brought over toys or yelled all the louder.
I hadn’t been feeling well, and lack of sleep also hadn’t helped. When I
got up to use the bathroom she kept trying to step in front of me. It was so
hard in near darkness not to step on her. She yelled loudly when we walked past
the bedroom door expecting me to open it and let her “have at” the entire condo
while I slept.
It was at this point that I lost
it. I yelled back, letting her know that I was sick and needed sleep. I also
let her know that she had had plenty of opportunities to play during the day,
but that she hadn’t wanted to play. My final words were something to the effect
that I was going back to sleep and I expected to be able to sleep in my bed for
as long as I wanted unless there was an emergency.
I knew that Tommy wouldn’t
understand what I was saying, but she would know how I felt. I went back to bed not knowing what would
happen next. Amazingly I didn’t wake up again until 7:15 A.M. I found Tommy
asleep near my feet on the bed. A much tamer kitty greeted me.
As we started our daily routine,
Tommy was wary but accepting of my actions. At 8:00 I received a text from my
aunt stating that they were leaving Oshkosh for Madison. I had planned on meeting
my aunt and uncle who live in North Carolina, but were visiting Wisconsin in
Madison to see my other aunt. I didn’t know how Tommy would handle this after
the night that we had just experienced.
As I got ready, I could tell that
Tommy knew what was happening. If a cat can show sadness, Tommy did at that
point. I tried to reassure her that I’d be back soon and gave her some treats
to help compensate for her loss of face time with me. This was probably the
hardest it’s ever been to leave Tommy.
When I returned I could tell that
my little friend was back. We spent some time showing affection to each other.
I had picked up a new toy. I was still searching for toys that she liked. We
have several with which she has showed no interest in playing. This new
“fishing rod” with bobber, worm and fish seemed to do the trick. We had fun
playing with it and hopefully she will continue to enjoy it for a while. I will
continue to reintroduce some of the “failed” toys to see if she has a change of
heart.
Tommy decided to take a
midafternoon nap in the bedroom and I headed for the study to catch up on some
of my work. Later, she, of course, came to check up on me and let me know that
I hadn’t been paying enough attention to her lately. We spent some time playing
and I gave her more of the petting that she loves. When it was time to eat, I put my dinner on
the placemat on the table and Tommy jumped up on her chair to keep me company while
I ate. She hadn’t done that in a while,
so it was good to see. Of course, I don’t eat quickly enough for her, so near
the end, she grew weary of watching me eat and decided that a snack of grass
would be appropriate.
Later as we watched Big Brother,
Tommy headed for the bedroom. During the
next commercial I went in and found her laying on the bed on her “catghan.” I
decided to join her on the bed and watch BB in there. She seemed to me content
to have me laying nearby and we settled in for a time. After the program I did the
dishes which told Tommy that it was almost play time.
We had another round of play, but
Tommy didn’t last too long before calling it quits and settling down in the
living room near her toys. I got ready for
bed and then watched the news. When it
was time for bed, I went and got Tommy who came in all by herself and jumped up
on the bed for her nightly snack.
After finishing final bed preparations,
we both were on the bed in our usual spots. Tommy seemed to have returned to
her normal contented life without the drama and biting, but with the love and
play that we both enjoyed. I was so glad to have my Tommy back!
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