Thursday, January 8-Friday, January 9, 2015: We Have Some Missteps

Today was the second day of the new heat pump time change.  Tommy was up early and did wake me up, but she amused herself and me until about 6:30. She then made it known that she was ready for breakfast regardless of whether the heat pump had started.

I got up and got her breakfast and fresh water and then got ready and left to pick up my car that had been taken in for repairs yesterday. I returned about an hour later.  Tommy was sitting on the sofa. She seemed a bit put off and we tried to play, but she seemed to be very fickle about what she wanted to do. After a while I let her sit while I handled postings and paperwork.

While I was working, Tommy jumped up on the desk and after sitting and staring at the storage cupboard I thought that we’d try again to get her to investigate that area. I got the small mouse teaser and dangled it above the cupboard.  She tentative moved toward it and finally jumped up. She spent some time exploring the various objects on the top before jumping down and leaving.

I had to call my sister and while we were on the phone Tommy came back from the bathroom. She stopped at the bedroom doorway and then ran into the living room. I noticed that she had left a “gift” for me on the floor. I mentioned this to my sister stating how shocked I was since she had always been so good about using the litter box. She mentioned that maybe it had gotten stuck to Tommy and she hadn’t meant to take it out of the litter box.

When I went to take care of the problem, Tommy watched form under the dining table. Once I was done cleaning up the carpet and emptying the litter box, which had more poop, I went out to let Tommy know that everything was okay.  It took some time before she was assured that all was well. I knew that we were okay once she jumped back up on the desk while I was working to get some attention.

She then left and I finished my typing. I went to the living room and there she was looking out the window. When she noticed me she came over to greet me and/’or tell me what our next activity would be. I followed her into the bedroom and we played with the fleece teaser for a few minutes before she dragged it (and me) back into the living room. Seeing the snow falling, she dropped the teaser and went to the window to watch the snow falling.

While she watched the snow fall, I made bread. Just as I finished mixing I heard a thump from the living room.  Tommy’s scratching post/perch had fallen over. I looked for Tommy and she was standing near my feet. How she got there without me noticing is beyond me. I went over and righted her perch and then put her on it to let her sit there if she chose. She jumped down and moved to the window and I went back to bread making.

Tommy came into the kitchen a couple times to check out my progress and once I finished I thought we would have a play session, but Tommy wasn’t in the mood. I decided that it would be a good time to brush her teeth since it was about the time that she usually gets her hairball treats.  We completed the brushing quickly and she also finished her treats quickly.

I went to quickly type on the computer and upon returning to the living room, there was Tommy on the sofa calling to me. As I sat next to her she began kneading the blue fleece throw. I’m not sure if she thought that kneading it would bring back last night’s warmth, but after a few minutes she lost interest and went to the balcony door to watch the falling snow. I worked on the day’s puzzles while I waited for the dough to rise.

Tommy called to me as she stood by the toy storage area. I pulled out a couple toys and we played with the fish for a few minutes on the floor and on the cocktail table. Tommy decided to move back to the sofa, but then got down to grab a bite to eat from her dry food. A gust of wind brought Tommy running to the window to watch the whirling snow. She stayed there and then jumped up on the scratching post as it gave her a better vantage point.

With the wind not cooperating to hold her interest, Tommy joined me on the sofa. As she groomed herself she also checked outside whenever there was a gust of wind.  I went to shape the loaves after the first rising and when I returned Tommy was no longer on the sofa. 

I found that she had moved to the bedroom window.  I noticed a draft so I went and got a large beach towel to act as a draft stop.  Tommy followed and supervised and then resumed her spot at the bedroom window which now was much more comfortable. Happy with my solution I went back to working on the puzzles and waiting the end of the second rising.

During the second rising Tommy first moved around the condo checking out the snow flurries. She then moved to the sofa, first to walk all around the arms and back before moving to her usual spot. We played with the fish, but Tommy seemed more interested in playing with the attached yarn I used to move the fish.  Once she tired of the yarn, she settled down for a nap making sure that I joined her on the sofa. When I got up to put the bread in the oven she sat up and waited for my return before again curling up in her spot.

 With the bread made and the mail picked up, tommy must have felt that I could handle the next part of the day alone. I had put out the grass, but she didn’t want to eat any yet. She moved to the bedroom and curled up on the bed in her usual spot. I stopped in to scrunch up the fleece to help her stay warm while she napped. She doesn’t like anything covering her, so this is the best I can do.

When it was time for dinner, all I had to do was get out a bowl and start to put in her food and Tommy came running. She started eating her food, but came out to the kitchen to see what I was doing as I was making my dinner. When it was done, I put it on a T.V. tray and came out tot eh living room.  Tommy jumped up on the back of the chair to check out what I was eating. Once she saw what I was eating, she went back to the bedroom to have her early evening nap.

I stopped in later to check on her and put the rest of her dinner near her just in case she was planning on finishing it. I went and did the dishes that needed to be done by hand and turned on the dishwasher. Then I settled down to finish some work before watching the news. Once I went to bed, tommy was right there looking for her snack. After she finished it, she curled up and settled down for the night in her warm little spot.

Tommy woke up early and was ready for breakfast well before I was ready to get out of bed. Since the heat pump hadn’t come on, I foolishly thought that I was safe, but Tommy was persistent.  After several unsuccessful attempts to rouse me, Tommy changed tactics. I had left a half-filled glass of water next to the bed. Tommy hadn’t had a water issue for a long time, so I had a a false sense of security. Tommy put her face up by the glass and I reminded her to leave it alone. She looked at me and then proceeded to dump it.

Needless to say, Tommy went flying out of the bedroom while I let out a string of expletives before cleaning up the mess. Because it still wasn’t time to get up and I was tired, I went back to bed. Tommy decided to stop trying to wake me up, in fact, she stayed out of the bedroom.

When the heat came on I went and got Tommy her breakfast. For a good portion of the morning she was quite timid and pretty well practically made herself invisible. I tried to pet her and let her know that everything was fine, but she didn’t seem to believe it.

I needed to leave to have coffee with a friend and then run errands, and see a movie. I again let Tommy know that all was well and that I’d see her later. She planted herself on the sofa and was there when I returned hours later.

Tommy didn’t let me out of her sight for quite a while and followed me around as I put things away.  I had gotten her a new toy and fortunately she liked it. We played with it for a while and then took a break for dinner.

After dinner Tommy sat up on sofa near my head and fell asleep. Later when she woke up she stretched a paw and then put it on my face and then my hand.  After some petting, she left to finish dinner & water then back to sit next to me on the sofa. As she was grooming her back including stretching as far as she could to get to unreachable spots, she stared at me. I went and got out her grooming glove and brush her fur. Her purring told me that I had done well.

Tommy moved to the bed and I remained in the living room to finish up watching a program on the DVR.  It seemed that the togetherness time had ended for the night. When I finished I moved to the bedroom to watch television. As I reclined on the bed, Tommy looked around for her snack. Since it wasn’t yet bedtime, it wasn’t out so she jumped down and moved to the bungalow.

Later as I got ready for bed, tommy watched probably to see if her snack would finally appear. When it did, she jumped up, ate it and then left for the living room. I wasn’t sure if she’d reappear later to sleep on the warm bed or remain in the colder living room.