Monday, August 11, 2014

Tommy woke up around 6:00 howling and running around the bedroom.  Since I wasn't ready to get up, I let her enjoy the time and she finally settled down on the bed. When I woke up at 7:00 she wasn't facing me and wouldn't even acknowledge me. I knew that she was in a bad mood and there was trouble ahead.

I tried calming her down and she did allow me to pet her and rub her chest/neck area that she really loves to have done.  Again I thought everything was okay and we got up and started the morning routine.  After finishing, Tommy laid on the floor and it seemed like she wanted to have round two of her chest & neck rubdown. It started okay, but then she bit my other hand that was near her face and it wasn't a little nip, but an open mouth bite.

I did the usual “Ouch, No!” and left the room. I don’t know if it’s really working, if there’s a better way to get her to stop biting, or if she’s just a biter and I have to live a very cautious life with her. It’s really frustrating and at times I think that she doesn’t like me very much. She used to sit by me and occasionally on my lap, but now she prefers to sit by herself.

If I leave her alone, she does usually vocalize that she wants to be included wherever I am, but that may just mean that she feels that she’s missing out on something. Today when that happened, I opened the study door and she came in and checked things out and left, so I guess she just doesn’t want to miss anything.

When I returned to the living room she again walked near me and laid down like she wanted to be petted. This time when I brought my hand near her, she tried to swat it away. I left her alone and sat on the sofa. She went and sat by the balcony screen door with her back to me. We seem to be out of synch lately and I don’t know how to bring out the cat that first came through the door.

We spent the rest of the morning in a very tenuous manner. When she wanted attention, I would pet her and speak in a very soft tone, but within a few minutes she would again move her head in a way that indicated that she was getting ready to bite. I’d seen it enough times to know it and was prepared. Sure enough, each time she raised her head, her mouth would open and she moved in to bite. Each time I would leave the situation and try again later.

Around lunch time I was sitting on the balcony trying to stay out of Tommy’s way when she came up to the screen and howled. As I opened the screen she came out to explore. I kept myself between her and the outer ends.  She just wanted to look at and touch the furniture, so we were safe. After a few minutes we went back in and I could breathe again.

After that Tommy went to sit on her usual chair next to the sofa, but I could tell by where she was putting her paws that I needed to be in close proximity. I decided to try something. I picked her up and out her on the sofa on the opposite end of me.  She decided to stay and curled up. She also let me pet her, so I gave her a treat.  She fell asleep, but was awakened later by the garbage truck that seemed to take forever and was very noisy. We went to explore and after the truck left, she came back to the sofa and she got a second treat. Later when I made lunch and returned to the sofa, she was nowhere to be found.  Suddenly her head peeked out from behind a towel on a chair. I laughed and then the miracle occurred. She got off the dining room chair and came back to the sofa where she again curled up and fell asleep.

I don’t know why she was in such a bad mood this morning, but I’m glad it’s gone… Maybe I spoke/typed too soon. My aunt called this afternoon and while I was on the phone, Tommy came over and let me know how upset she was that I was talking on the phone. When I finished with the phone call I tried to pet her and calm her down, but we were right back to the not wanting to be touched.  When I went to the sofa she went to the balcony screen and kept her back to me.

She moved to the sunny window for a short snooze and when she woke up she came back up to the sofa to continue her nap.  Maybe she’s got multiple personalities and the “dark ones’ have been dominant lately. I’m just going to enjoy her when she’s in a good mood and try to be patient and tolerant when she’s move do the dark side!

Sunday, August 10, 2014: A Lazy Day to Celebrate National Lazy Day

After our late night play, we both sleep late. At first I can’t tell Tommy’s mood. She’s on the bed, off the bed, wants to be touched, or wants to be left alone. I finally get up and start the day. As the morning progresses, Tommy lets me know when it’s time for the morning petting/rub down. We also spend some time playing with her favorite toy, the fleece teaser.

We have a quiet morning and I get all the computer work done. While I’m working on the computer, Tommy sometimes comes in to remind me that she needs some attention.  When she’s not by my side, she’s either sunning herself by the study window or in her favorite little box that she commandeered when it arrived and was left on the floor.

During the afternoon, we take our usual siestas. I originally put Tommy’s box in an odd place that I can’t see, so today I gave her a ride in her box and moved it to a different location in the living room; we’ll see if she likes the new location. She spends the rest of the afternoon and early evening alternating among the box, her living room chair and her dining room chair.

This was National Lazy Day and we do our best to honor the day! We spend the evening watching television and playing before heading to bed. Of course, Tommy decided that she didn’t want to go into the bedroom and threw an absolute fit. I left the room for a while so she could calm down & understand that if she decides to sleep most of the day, we’re still heading to the bedroom when it’s time to sleep whether she chooses to sleep or not. 

Saturday, August 9, 2014: A Better Day

When I wake up things seem okay. Tommy is yelling for me to wake up and she comes up on the bed.  She lays near my feet which tells me now is not the time to do her morning petting/rub down. When she comes closer and indicates that she wants attention I try to pet me but she again goes into biting mode.  I do the usual “Ouch No” and head to the study to work on the computer.

As I go out to the living room to do the puzzles, Tommy comes over and rubs her face against my feet. I figure it’s safe to try to pet her, but I’m wrong again. Although she doesn’t try to bite, she moves to the screen door to the balcony and keeps her back to me. When I finish the puzzles I figure she wants to be left alone, so I head back to the study.

While I’m working in the study, Tommy comes to check things out and does come up on the desk a couple times. Whenever that happens I give her the attention that she wants. Once when she licks my hand, she again decides to try to bite. When I respond with “Ouch, No,” she jumps down, but returns again later and we try again.  This time there aren’t any issues and she doesn’t leave the desk until there is a noise outside that beckons her to investigate.

Well, so much for progress.  I was putting some clothes away in the closet and Tommy came in as she always does. When it was time to leave I picked her up as I always do and went to the bed to “deposit” her since she doesn’t like to be carried. When she got on the bed I tried to pet her, but was again met by biting and swiping with her paw. I figured this was a good time to leave her in the bedroom and do the ironing.

When I finished, I found Tommy lying on the bed and I could tell she was still upset. Usually when there’s been a time out, she will meet me at the door and be a little meek. That isn’t the case today. I don’t know what’s going on with her lately, but she isn’t the wonderful cat I’ve learned to love. She must be starting to go through her teenage defiant phase!

I forgot to run to the bank this morning and have to travel all the way to Oak Creek. Tommy can tell that I’m leaving and tries to duck out with me.  When I return she again just sits on the bed and doesn’t greet me. I still give her a treat and we spend the next couple hours trying to get along.  She sits either on the shopping bags on the dining room table or in her box in the living room. Once while she was in the box I got up and she went running. The next time I get up I go slowly. When I get near the box I try to calm her down and let her know that I’m okay with her sitting in it.

I need to go a planning meeting/game party. I thought that it was starting earlier, but found out that it’s later and I will be gone during the Arab World fireworks. I turn the television up louder than usual and hope for the best.

When I return home everything seems okay. Tommy greets me at the door and although it’s very late we play for almost an hour. I think we both appreciated the attention. When we head for bed, Tommy plays the “Where’s Tommy?” game where she runs around the bedroom/bathroom and then stops suddenly. When I ask “Where’s Tommy?” she’s flying around the rooms again. Sometimes she puts her head behind the scratching post; she’s probably just like little kids who think they can’t be seen when they can’t see you. Tommy lets me know the game is over when she sits by the window. That’s my cue to say good night, turn off the light and go to sleep.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I hope it didn’t have anything to do with the collision between my foot and Tommy’s body at the bottom of the bed in the middle of the night. As I was turning over Tommy decided to change sides of the bed and fell off when she “contacted” my feet.  I of course apologized and she was given a treat.

When she woke up she didn’t want her usual petting and throughout the early morning decided to use the litter box right after I cleaned it each time. I wanted to make sure that I disposed of as much as possible before the weekend.  After zooming around the condo for a while she finally got everything out of her system and plopped herself on the desk in front of me expecting her morning petting.  Of course, the spoiled princess got what she wanted. (There would be no living with her if she didn’t get petted when she decided to allow her servant to give her the attention she deserved.

I had to leave for part of the morning to help a friend, but made sure that I returned as soon as possible so we/I could continue the Friday chores. When I return Tommy is ready for treats and petting.

We spend a quiet afternoon, but Tommy makes sure that I spent enough time continuing to give her the attention she deserves. She spends time lounging on the desk while I try to type. She still occasionally tries to bite but I catch her whenever she starts to open her mouth and she learns to pull back. I know she doesn't mean to hurt me and she thinks we're just playing.

Tommy spends a lot of time sleeping today and when she finally wakes up for good around 8:00 P.M. we spend a considerable amount of time playing.  She’s getting better, but is still occasionally spooked by some unknown factor.  We’ll be playing and then she’ll stop, yell, and run. I have no idea what happened and it always takes a while to coax her back into playing.

She’s also been heading into the study at night. There aren’t any lights on and when I go to find her, she’s usually sitting in a ball on the floor. I thought that she might be looking for her favorite box, but she continues to go to the study even when I move the box to the living room. It’s another Tommy mystery.

We continue to have a biting issue and I don’t understand why.  I can understand that she might occasionally try to bite when we’re playing or when she doesn’t want to be bothered. I try to watch my hands and her demeanor during those times. Tommy sometimes opens her mouth to bite right after she’s licked my hand.  It’s not an aggressive biting, so I don’t understand why she does it.

I continue to use the “Ouch, No” cue and then remove myself from the situation, but it doesn’t seem to be helping.  As we went to bed and she came up to be petted (I assumed) she tried to bite me again.  When I responded with the regular cue she moved to sit in front of the bedroom window and that’s how we ended the night. I’m sure sometime during the night she’ll move back up onto the bed and we’ll be back to normal in the morning.

Thursday, August 7, 2014:A Day of Rest (for one of us!)

I wake up a little early this morning to find Tommy’s head resting against my arm. Lately she hasn’t been sitting on my lap, so to have her cuddling my arm is always a nice way to wake up in the morning.  We have our usual morning routine and then I need to rehearse my songs for ARCW choir.  Tommy doesn’t care for my singing so she camps out near the balcony screen. I’m sure she’s hoping that the sounds of the city will drown out my singing.

I leave to attend the State Fair for a couple hours. When I return, Tommy is napping and it takes her a minute to come out of the bedroom. I caught her off guard, so she doesn’t scold me, but does, of course, accept a treat.  I go to the study to transcribe another month of my grandfather’s diaries and Tommy either sits up on the desk when she needs some attention, or suns herself by the window. 

Tommy spends most of the day napping by the windows in the sun with an occasional break for food, water, or attention. We spend more than half an hour playing before heading to the bedroom. I play a couple You Tube videos on the tablet and find that it’s not just my singing Tommy doesn’t like.  She sits next to my leather chair until I stop the video, then she finally feels that it’s safe to jump up on the bed as we get ready to sleep.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Tommy let me sleep in until around 7:00, but she was in a crabby mood. I took care of my morning duties, but we skipped the petting because Tommy indicated that she’d rather play. We played for about 10-15 minutes with her favorite, the fleece teaser, and also a couple small toys that were tied to the end of a cord.  She didn’t play with the small covered paper roll before so putting it on the end of a strong thick cord made her want to play with it.

After our short play time, Tommy quit to sit by the balcony screen and watch the outside activity.  Occasionally she would play with one of her toys, but then would return to the balcony screen. As I get ready to meet a friend for coffee Tommy realizes I’m leaving and goes under the bed. I’ll only be gone a short time, so I hope she understands.

When I return, Tommy greets me letting me know that I was missed and doesn’t seem too upset with me. We spend a leisurely afternoon both taking short naps as needed. During one of Tommy’s naps I try to work on transcribing my grandfather’s diaries, but the wind blows the door shut and wakes up Tommy. After we spend some much needed petting time I’m allowed to finish the month’s entries under the watchful eyes of Tommy who sits in front of the keyboard and expects me to use at least one hand to continue petting her.

After dinner I could go to a classic movie at a nearby museum, but decide to skip it. I figure that I’ve already been gone today and have been gone quite a bit lately, so I decide not to go. (I really wasn’t that interested in the particular film, so it was okay.) Tommy spends most of the evening on one of the dining room chairs and we spent very little time playing, so maybe I should have gone to the film.

The night ends okay and we head for bed. Tommy decides to stay up and amuse herself. I turn off the television and lights knowing that sooner or later Tommy will decide to sleep on the bed and I’ll wake up in the morning with her close by my side.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014: One Month Together

Around 3:00 I woke up and felt all of Tommy’s paws touching my knee. She also woke up and we spent a little while awake as Tommy completed what must be her predawn activities. When she came back to bed, she curled into her usual ball, but this time she was against my arm. She seems often to have a physical connection to me usually by just having a paw touching me. It was a good way to end our first month.

When we truly awake up for good, everything goes well. We (really just I) complete the morning tasks and we have our usual quiet petting time. It’s one of my favorite times of the day. I went for coffee with a friend who came back later to meet Tommy.

Tommy was again a great hostess and allowed my friend to pet her and give her all the attention that she thinks she deserves.  At one point she did think we were in play mode and did try to bite, but it was just one futile attempt and then she realized that we were in “meet and greet” mode.

After the company left we spent some time playing and then celebrated the one month anniversary of our adoption. Tommy spent the afternoon taking nap in various places, but usually woke up if I got up from my seat.

Unfortunately Tommy was napping as I prepared to go to see a movie as I usually do with friends. She was not very happy about being moved and let me know. She also knew I was leaving so that added to her vocal rebuke. Upon my return I was greeted without as much scolding as I’d expected. Maybe she was catching on to the routine of my comings and goings and wanted to show me how after one month she was learning. We spent some time playing before bed and then called it a night.