Ten Months and Counting

On May 5th it had been ten months since Tommy joined me in the condo.  We've settled into a routine, but each day is a new day with surprises and changes. This last week was the first of two weeks where I'm gone quite a bit during the day and I wasn't sure how Tommy would handle all the alone time.  She's used to spending some time alone, but not every day for most of the week. I also had a couple commitments in the evening, so she would be spending considerable time alone.
She usually greeted me at the door when I came home, but still has her independent spirit.  She sleeps when she wants where she wants which means I usually have the bed to myself.  She begins her morning wake up calls around 5:00, but has figured out that no matter how hard she tries, I'll get up when I'm ready.  Because I've needed to leave early a couple days during the week, I've actually gotten up while she's asleep.
 Last weekend two of my sisters and two of nieces stayed overnight.I have one sister who likes to hold her which if you've been following the blog, Tommy doesn't like. Somehow my sister got Tommy to stay in her arms for a few minutes by petting her chin and neck.  Even though this is the sister that "pesters" her the most, Tommy spent much of her time sitting near that sister.
Tommy loves the study and wasn't very happy that my nieces were staying in that room.  One of my nieces is allergic to cats, so I did a thorough job of cleaning vacuuming and preparing the room before her visit. It seemed that the girls didn't shut the door completely and Tommy found that by butting her head and pushing her paws against the door she could get in during the night. Fortunately Tommy didn't chase around and the girls were able to pick her up and move her back out of the room every time it happened. The girls now know how to secure the door.
Tommy spent the weekend recuperating from the visit. She didn't play much just eat and sleep.  By Monday, she was finally ready to spent some quality time with me. We had a nice play session in the morning and later when I was working on the computer, Tommy came and joined me.  We had a very long "pet and purr" session including a time when she turned on her back so I could pet her chest and tummy before she left for her morning nap time.
Although she's still doesn't sit on my lap or sleep on the bed with me, I know that she loves me. She's always showing me how much she trusts me and depends on me. The times when she follows me around, puts her paw on my arm, or just comes to find me, reminds me that I'm her human.
I'm so glad that we've had these last ten months together and look forward to he many months and years we'll have together in the future.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015: An Update and a New Hiding Place

Things have been going well for us. Tommy is now back to sleeping on the bed and doesn’t wake me up until almost 7:00. With any luck this is a pattern that will continue. We still have our morning routine of breakfast and chores followed by a play session.

I’ve moved Tommy’s dishes to her rug in the main room. It’s a bit more open and she seems to be eating more of her food. She has taken to eating some of her wet meals with her paw.  It’s quite the feat to see her swipe her food with her paw and then bring the paw to her mouth to lick off the food. She does tend to occasionally drop some of the food but she’s pretty good about cleaning up her eating area.

I’ve also moved some tables and plants around. Tommy checked everything out when it was moved, but only smells the plants. She hasn’t shown any interest in eating them as long as she has her grass for lunch.

She started playing with her toys again when I’ve been busy working on the computer or watching television and she usually ends up next to me on the sofa while I’m watching T.V. She also still does her run around the condo to burn off some energy.

I’ve added full length drapes in the study. Tommy didn’t climb up the sheets that I temporarily precariously taped to the windows as a trial run. Step two was adding the drapes in the study. The drapes for the main room will arrive in early May, and I’m pretty confident that she will continue her good behavior and not climb on them.

After the news I went to find Tommy for her last play session before bed. I looked everywhere, but couldn’t find her.  During the second circuit through the condo I saw that the drapes were billowed out at one point. Sure enough, there was Tommy when I pulled back the curtains.

We had our play session and then headed for the bedroom. Tommy has gotten so used to the routine that the minute she hears me open the drawer, she jumps up on the bed and looks for her nighttime snack. She doesn’t always stay on the bed, but she takes her place on the bed sometime during the night when I’m asleep and she’s ready to settle down.

Thursday, March 12, 2015: The End of the Daily Blog

Now that we’ve been together over eight months, I find that I am writing about many of the same activities every day.  Because I don’t want to post just for the sake of posting, I have decided to stop writing a daily blog.

I will instead write occasionally when there is some major news, some photos to share or just a periodic update when we reach a milestone.  Until you hear from me again, take care and be well.

Don & Tommy

Wednesday, March 11, 2015: New Toys

Tommy jumped up on the bed a little after 6:30 A.M. to see if I was ready to get out of bed. While I was glad to see her, after a quick acknowledgement of her presence I tried to fall back asleep. She was pretty god about only quietly disturbing me a couple more times before 7:00. For the most part she either left the room, or just sat next to my head waiting for the next time that she thought would be the optimum time to get me to wake up.

At 7:00 I got up and got out her breakfast. I went to the study as always to work on posts and Tommy showed up later to get some attention. She again didn’t want to play, but only wanted petting and attention.  Her purring told me that I had chosen the right areas to pet.

She left for a while but returned to look out the window. Unfortunately I hadn’t opened the blinds yet, but that didn’t stop her. She just stuck her head in between the slats, but also let me know that I was shirking my duties.  I went over to open and rise the blinds. After a cursory glance outside, Tommy left to play in the main room with her box since her job was done.

When I finished I went to join her in the main room and work on the daily puzzles. I came out and found her curled up in her box with one of her toy mice.  I hadn’t been able to figure out why she had made so much noise playing in her box and now it made sense.  After some quick attention and petting I worked on the puzzles while Tommy went and napped in the sun by the balcony door.

I was meeting a friend for lunch, so I went to get ready and when I returned found Tommy sitting in her box waiting for me. I gave Tommy a couple new toys that were dental chews. The first one was a mint chew which she proceeded to sit on to guard.  I didn’t actually see her chewing it, so I’m not sure if it will help her breath.

The other chew had catnip in it and Tommy started licking that one right away.  Again, I didn’t see her chewing on it, so I’m not sure how much it will help. I had put the catnip treats on the table and the counter and Tommy went exploring the scents.  She ended up sitting on the table trying to find the source. Unfortunately for her I had already put away the other treats.

We spent a quiet afternoon and evening. We played a little and Tommy amused herself with her new toys while I read.  I worked on the postings and Tommy again amused herself in the main room while I worked.

When it was time for bed I got out Tommy’s snack. I went and picked her up, and gave her a big hug before I put her down on the bed.  She ate her snack, looked up at the television and then at me in the bed. I think she was surprised to see the T.V. wasn’t on.  Since there was nothing else for her in the bedroom she jumped down and went back to the main room. I turned out the lights and went to sleep.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015: Back on Schedule

It seemed that Tommy had quickly figured out Daylight Savings Time and the warmer weather because right at 7:02 A.M. She was in my face for the morning wake up call. I had hoped that with the warmer weather and time change I might be able to sleep until 7:30, but Tommy had a different idea.

I knew that I’d never fall back to sleep at that time, so I got up. When we were in the kitchen, Tommy seemed to want some attention, so I picked her up and gave her a good morning hug.  She didn’t try to jump down right away, but sat in my arms for a moment and purred.  We were making some advancements.

I put her down and then got out her breakfast.  I decided that since I was up I might as well accomplish something, so I went into the study to work on the blogs. I was coming to the end of my grandfather’s diary project, so I could use all the time I could get to clean up some of the earlier posts fixing the formats and titles.

Tommy came in and wanted some attention. When she didn’t want to play, but still hung around I decided to pick her up. I tried to get her to sit on my lap while I petted her, but she wasn’t having any of that. I let her down and I guess that was all the attention she wanted because she went out to the main room and took a nap on the sofa while I worked.

After I finished working I went out to the sofa where we ate our breakfast. It was my first breakfast but her second.  I’ve really come to enjoy our mutual dining time. Once Tommy was finished she went to the balcony door and looked over at me. I guess that was my cue to open the door so she could explore the sights and scents of the city.

She observed for a while and then I went over and picked her up. At first she wanted to get down, but once she saw the heightened view she stayed for a few moments. She gave out a sudden growl and since I saw that she wasn’t squirming I knew that it wasn’t because I was holding her. I wasn’t sure if it was toward the lone jogger or something else.  About a minute later, she was ready to get down.

We played with the fleece teaser and her little box. When a siren started blaring, she froze. I wondered if this was a learned response from her times on the streets of Chicago. Later I hear some birds chirping and so did Tommy. She ran back over to the balcony door and stared out intently looking for those birds.

We continued to alternate between playing and Tommy going to check out the outside world from the balcony door. Before she went for her afternoon nap, I brushed her teeth and gave her the hairball treats and grass that she earned.

When it was time for her afternoon nap, she moved to the study to enjoy the sun and some solitude. I went the car wash and then came back in time to have Tommy trot to meet me when I returned. 

Tommy went back to the study and I went along to work on postings.  At one point I thought that she was going to hack up a hairball but someone it never arrived. I went to her to see if I could soothe her and she purred while I petted her.  Once she had enough petting, she moved to her perch near the balcony door and I went to get ready for choir.  Before I left I got out the rest of her dinner and gave her a good petting and hug.

When I returned Tommy trotted over to greet me. Once my coat and shoes were removed, Tommy flopped down and expected a good petting and quality attention which she received. Since it was late, I was going right to bed, but at least attempted to play with Tommy. She didn’t want to play she just wanted petting and attention.

As I got ready for bed, Tommy watched from the dining area.  When I was ready to go to bed, I went and got Tommy, picked her up, hugged her good night and put her down on the bed for her snack. As always, once she finished her snack she jumped down and left for the main room. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t see or hear her again until it was time to wake up in the morning.

Monday, March 9, 2015: A Middle of the Night Wake Up

Sometime between 12:30 and 12:45 I was awakened by the sound of Tommy’s distress yelp from the main room.  Since I knew that it was never a good sign, I rushed out to find her standing in the middle of the room.

When I got near her, she flopped over on her side.  I petted her and tried to soothe her. I felt around her belly to see if there was any tenderness, but I couldn’t detect any problems.  I also looked around for any puke, but found none. When she moved, Tommy kept low to the ground and then would flop over again.  I again would pet and soothe her and we continued this one more time.

Because I wasn’t sure what the problem was, I decided that she’d be safer and I could keep closer tabs on her if she slept in the bedroom.  I picked her up and she just cuddled. This wasn’t like her at all. 

When we got to the bedroom, I put her on the bed. She did a little investigating and then jumped down and sat near the chair in the room.  She seemed to be okay, so I got into bed and turned out the light.

During the night, Tommy occasionally got up and caused quite a ruckus.  She still scratches around a lithograph, so I put it down on the floor. It appeared that the wall was the problem, not the picture because she continued jumping up and scratching the wall.  Rather than let the scratching continue I put some aluminum foil on the table and that problem was solved.

The next time I woke up it was almost 6:00 and Tommy was sleeping on the top of her bungalow. I rolled over to go back to sleep, but Tommy must have figured out that I was awake because that’s when the noise making started. She chewed her foil ball, crunched on some dry food, jumped up near my head to call me to wake up and also went up on the bureau to make noise with all the objects that were up there.

Occasionally she would stop making noise and settle down. Just when I’d think that the noise making was over, she’d start in again. I finally gave up at 7:15. I called to her and she jumped up near my head. When she realized that I was going to get up she jumped down and ran for the door.

After feeding her, I went to work on postings since I was a day behind. Tommy came in to check up on me, but let me continue working while I’d pet her and she walked near my feet.  Once I was done we had some time together. She was sitting on the sofa, so I brought over the rest of her breakfast and my bowl of cereal. We sat and ate our respective breakfast.

It was such a beautiful day that I thought that I’d open the balcony door just a little ad let in some fresh air.  Tommy went and sat by the opening and enjoyed the breeze and scents that came in through the screen. While she was preoccupied, I went and showered and got ready to leave for school. When I was ready, I went to work on some postings while Tommy raced around the condo occasionally stopping over to check up on me and get some attention. As I finished typing, Tommy was resting in front of her box in the study. I hated to have to move her, but it was time to go and since the toxic plants reside in the study, that room would be closed to her while I was gone.

When I returned I found Tommy relaxing in the sun. I thought that she’d want to play, but she just wanted some attention. After some petting and talking I got down her grass so she could have a snack if she wanted one.

The main room was 75°, so I opened the balcony door. Tommy ran to sit by the screen and takes in the sights and smells.  We had a relatively quiet time. We played a little and then Tommy went for a run around the condo before settling down for a rest on her perch by the balcony.

We had dinner and then settled on the sofa. Tommy ate her dinner on the sofa while I ate my salad.  Then as I watched some programs, Tommy took a nap next to me.  I’m glad that she’s decided to sit next to me on the sofa again.

When it was time for me to go to bed. I got myself and the condo ready for the night.  I picked up Tommy and gave her a big hug as I brought her into the bedroom for her snack. As she ate it I got into bed. When she finished, she left for the main room while I turned off the lights and went to sleep knowing that I’d get my usual wakeup call in the morning.

Sunday, March 8, 2015: I Get to Sleep Later

With the time shift and a warmer morning, the heat didn’t come on and I the first one up at 8:30.  Since it would have been 7:30 without the time change, I took that as a way to get some extra sleep.  Tommy was a bit off trying to figure out why I was awake before she came into the bedroom to wake me up.

I got out her breakfast and started the morning chores. Once coffee was made I started doing some much needed cleaning and started the couple loads of laundry that still needed to be done. I stripped down the bed to launder the sheets and being rather optimistic, I decided to change the sheets from flannels to a heavy cotton set. 

I also decided to change Tommy’s fleece blanket for a lighter one.  Once the bed was made I brought Tommy in and put her on the new blanket. She jumped down and went over to her other blanket which was one the chair. She smelled it, looked at me and then left the room.

I put the old blanket back on her part of the bed. I then went out and found Tommy. I brought her back in and put her on the blanket.  She walked around and inspected it before jumping down and going back out to the main room.

She spent most of the morning near the balcony door either on her perch or in front of the door. I wondered how she’ll enough the fresh are with the warmer temperatures and reopening of the balcony door this week.

Once she woke up and was moving around I brushed her teeth. She was very cooperative and I was able to spend a little extra time on her dental hygiene.  She then had her hairball treats and grass.

After she finished her treat, she left for the quiet of the study while I worked on DVD burning and freeing some space on the DVR. I went into the study occasionally to check up on her. At one point she was sleeping in her box near the window.  Although she likes the box to rub against and sometimes hide behind, she hasn’t actually slept in it for quite a while.

Later she moved out of the box so she could move to where there was optimal sunlight. I was watching the Badgers basketball game and realized that at one point I yelled loudly enough at the television to raise the dead.  I went to apologize to Tommy and saw that she was still sound asleep. I guess she’s gotten used to the noise during the games.

With only a few minutes left in the second half and the Badgers with a comfortable lead, I went to check on Tommy. She was just waking up and was sitting in the shade. She got up and moved to where the sunlight was still available.  I went and gave her a couple quick pets, but could see that she still wanted to extend her nap, so I went out to watch the end of the game.

With the game ended, I did a quick run to the drug store for a few supplies. When I returned Tommy inspected my purchases to make sure that she approved.  After she approved the items, we moved into dinner mode.  Tommy had the early part of her dinner while I had my only part.  We had a play session in the study that extended a bit longer than usual. After I finished doing the dishes we had another play session in the living area using a box and the fleece teaser. It was again a slightly longer session than usual and I appreciated the time and effort that Tommy put into it.

Once we were played out and the news was over, Tommy moved to a dining chair and I started closing up the condo. I hadn’t completed any diary transcriptions, but thought that perhaps I would catch up in the morning.  I was glad that I had chosen some quality time with Tommy over computer work.

After closing everything down, I picked up Tommy and took her into the bedroom for her snack.  She seemed to be less squirmy whenever I picked her up at night. Perhaps she knew that she could tolerate my closeness when there was a snack involved.  While she ate her snack I got into bed. With her snack finished, she had no real reason to stick around so she headed back out to the main room for the night.