Friday, September 12, 2014

Thursday, September 11, 2014: I Pay the Price But It’s Worth It

After going to sleep late I hoped that I’d be able to sleep late. Tommy spent most of the early morning attempting to wake me. She even pushed my water bottle onto the floor which always makes a loud noise.  I knew that I had to get her out of the habit of thinking that I didn’t need any sleep and I was to be awakened whenever she deemed that it was time.
I finally got up at 8:00 and knew that there was going to be a price to pay. She would follow me around but wouldn’t want me to pet her or play with her. It’s her way of getting back at her “man servant” for daring to disobey her.  I know that it will be a rough morning, but sooner or later she’ll want attention and all will be forgiven.
I again spoke too soon. Tommy spent the first part of the morning occasionally following me around and each time I would calmly try to pet her or talk to her, she would spat my hand or walk away.  When I would go into the study, she would follow, sit by the Cat’s Meow and look at me.  I’d turn on the toy and she would look at it. The first time, she left, the second time she actually played with it.
Of course, when she saw that I was working at the computer transcribing, she left. She returned shortly, but I had already turned off the toy, so I needed to turn it back on for her. When I went over to do that, she jumped on her chair. She then left to resume her Buddha stance in the living room. Occasionally when I would enter the living room, Tommy would call out to me, but when I went over to pet her, she would pull away. She’s definitely “in a mood” today.
I decided to go to the fitness center and do some miles, hoping that my absence might put her in a better mood. I put some treats on the bed and she jumped up. I quickly left. When I returned and opened the door, Tommy wasn’t waiting, but came out a few minutes later.  The treats were still sitting on the bed.  I know that some were new and she might not like them, but I also put two of the turkey treats that she loves and those also were untouched.
After I finished showering, Tommy came up to me and seemed to be in a better mood. I moved to the sofa and she followed although she remained on the floor.  She rubbed my feet and I took that as a sign that her mood was improving. She allowed me to pet her and rolled over on her back. It looked like she wanted a neck rub, but I was wrong. As soon as I brought my hand near, she tried to bite it. She continues to baffle me.
I’m not sure why she no longer wants to sit on my lap or even sit on the sofa with me. She was much more affectionate when she first arrived. It now seems like she was growing more distant the longer she’s here. I’m hoping that sooner or later this “teenager” changes back into the affection cat that I love.
As I worked in the kitchen in the late afternoon, Tommy’s mood finally started to change. She came over by me and started rubbing against my legs. As I bent down by her, she continued rubbing and purred when I began petting her. I’m glad that given enough time, she finally decided to show me some love.  We then spent some time in the living room, her on the ottoman and me on the sofa.
After dinner I thought I’d again try to get her to play. We were able to play for a while with the flannel teaser and she finally appeared to be interested in interacting with me. When my sister called, Tommy amused herself and took care of some personal business. We later headed into the study and Tommy indicated that she wanted to play with the Cat’s Meow. Once it started she played with it for a while and then sat up on a chair to watch it. I came over and sat by her and for the first time in I can’t remember how long, she let me sit next to her and pet her while she watched her toy. To show her approval, she even licked my hand at one point.
When she left for a water break, I got caught up with the blog. She came back in and sat on her chair for a while. When she was ready to leave (or to let me know I had worked on the computer enough) she came over to me and very nicely told me to get up. We headed for the living room to play or sit and watch television.
During the evening we had a couple extended play times. It was good to have fun together again. At one point we played with the Cat Dancer; Tommy sat on her chair while I got to recline on the sofa.  For once, I wasn’t expending as much energy to get her to play.  We also used the laser pointer while I was on the sofa.
When Tommy started to tire, she went and sat in her usual spot on the living room floor. I knew that soon, we’d be going to the bedroom for the night.  Once she woke up was alert, I began shutting off lights and the T.V. When everything was done, I called Tommy from the bedroom door, but she wasn’t budging. 
When I went to her she got up, but wasn’t moving toward the bedroom. She just stood there, so I picked her up and took her to the bedroom. Other than a small whimper when I closed the bedroom door, there wasn’t resistance or complaints. She jumped down on the bed where she knew her bedtime snack was waiting.
I wasn’t sure what the night would bring, so I got into bed and hoped for the best.  Tommy was sitting on her scratching strip looking up at me. I said good night and turned off the light.  Within ten minutes, Tommy jumped up on the bed and settled in for the night. We had ended the day on a good note.

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