Boo – Page 24

Face Time

I got up from the couch and had to move Sam, who had been sleeping on my lap. When I came back I sat down beside him as I planned to go to bed soon. But then Boo jumped up and curled up beside me, and given how stressed he had been about Trixie’s arrival, I decided to stay up longer and give him some attention. He was showing signs of accepting her but he was still pretty stressed out about her.

Later as he slept curled up in a ball beside my legs, Trixie jumped up onto my lap. This woke Boo and I thought he’d get up and leave, but instead he stayed, trying to determine what to do, so I stroked his back and he fell back asleep. I got Trixie to lay down on my stomach but then she eased over so that her feet were up against his body, and I was surprised to see that not only did he not hiss at her, he tolerated it without incident.

So she moved a little closer. And then a little closer. She was now partially sitting on top of him, but still Boo showed no reaction. Trixie then eased completely off of me so that she was sitting on top of him, and I was stunned to see that this too he tolerated.

A little too emboldened, she leaned over and smushed her face directly into his. This I knew would be a bridge too far, yet Boo didn’t budge. Given the landmark moment I decided to forgo sleep for a while longer and let them bond, though I kept falling asleep sitting up. Hours later, with Trixie still atop Boo, I relented and went to bed for a little sleep.

They’ve been getting along ever since.

Boo Turns a Corner

Our sensitive little Boo turned out to be the biggest obstacle to Trixie’s introduction. He didn’t stalk her the way Emma stalked him, but he did hiss at her if she came close and was just generally out of sorts. He’d follow Sam at times to try and engage him to play, and even when Sam made it clear he didn’t want to, Boo wouldn’t relent and a quarrel would follow. He’s made a lot of progress the past couple of weeks and no longer hisses at Trixie and at times is quite tolerant of her.

He’s not ready to play with Trixie yet, but hopefully that will change with time. I’ve been able to get him to play at the same time as her, so that’s a start. He’s a sweet little fellow, I’m not too worried, it’s just the stresses of the past few months have been a bit hard on him and Sam.

Philosophy

“Do you ever wonder if life is an illusion and we’re all really just sitting in a paper bag?”
“Not really, Boo, but I bet it kept Descartes up at night.”
“Nihil enim somni ergo sum.”
“What?”
“I can’t sleep, therefore I am.”
“Maybe it’s time you came out of that paper bag.”

The Best of Times

Boo is clearly on the mend, he’s eating his normal meals and was pretty playful tonight, Sam even got in on the action for a bit. They’re both still a little high strung, especially Boo, so when we start their introduction to Trixie we’ll take it slowly. Our dog Ellie met her tonight for a few minutes but we didn’t push it, Ellie was a little wound up.

This picture is from September 2013, when all the pets were cuddled up around me. Boo, having been accepted by the older cats, was sprawled out in my lap with his arms around me. Emma slept down by my feet with Sam using her as a pillow. Ellie was curled up beside me, you can see a couple of her paws at the edge of the frame. Laying quietly covered in pets, these are my happiest times.

Sam is curled up in my lap at the moment while Ellie is snoring in her dog bed. My wife is upstairs with Trixie, Boo I think is in one of the cat beds just around the corner. What joy these little creatures bring into our lives.

Boo Gives Us a Scare

After Emma died early in January after a lengthy illness, and after Sam stopped eating a few weeks ago and after treatment only started eating just before we were going to have to start force feeding him, on Sunday Boo stopped eating. Normally he is food obsessed, and much like with Sam, had eaten normally in the morning but wouldn’t touch his food in the evening.

I walked down to the grocery store and got him some baby food as we did with the other cats, and thankfully knew from prior experience that Boo wouldn’t eat the beef variety that the other cats did, so got him turkey and chicken instead. He ate a jar later that night, and some baby food and cat food in the morning, but I was going to call the vet before I left for work to see what we should do, when he was able to eat another jar of baby food. If he was feeling stressed out, I didn’t want to add to that stress, so as long as he was eating enough and not showing other symptoms, we decided to just give him some time.

My wife thinks the the trigger may have been that I spent most of that afternoon with the new kitten, as I’ve been spending most of the time with the other pets while my wife hangs out with Trixie. Boo is a sensitive little fellow for sure and he’s had a rough month, but he had seemed like he was coping rather well.

Thankfully he’s back to eating his regular meals and while he’s not back to normal, this morning his energy levels were improving, although he’s still very unsure of himself. In another day or two I think he’ll be back to normal.

This picture is from the day after we adopted him in July of 2013 when he was in isolation in my wife’s office. He was terrified so I didn’t try for any pictures on the first day, but my new quieter camera arrived the next day and he was finally willing to come out of hiding at times, so I took a picture not long after unboxing the camera.

Trixie is still isolated in the guest bedroom and is doing great, we’ll start introducing her to our dog Ellie pretty soon, and then take it slow with the cats. We’ll keep a close eye on Sam and Boo given what they’ve just gone through, but I think they’ll be fine.

Boo vs. Emma

I thought that when we adopted our dog Ellie in 2009 it would be our most difficult introduction, as our three cats were not used to dogs, but it turned out to be our easiest. Our toughest would be in July of 2013 when we adopted a shy little kitten we named Boo. When we met he was so terrified he literally shook so we took his introduction to the other pets even slower than normal, keeping him isolated for a couple of weeks, then slowly allowing him more and more time in the house at large.

With the slow introduction Boo gained confidence each day, which was fortunate, as we fell in love with the little black-and-white cat rather quickly. But one hurdle remained: Emma.

I spent most of that first month with Emma while my wife was with Boo, as Em was not happy with the arrival of the little fellow. Em had become my little buddy after Scout died early in the year and that bond helped when we started giving Boo short stints in the house at large. She’d follow him around everywhere he went, staring him down, and hissing if he got too close. You can see her in the background of the picture above, watching Boo from the base of the cat tree, while he plays with one of her beloved strings.

We’d let Boo out until you could see on his face that he was getting a little overwhelmed, and then we’d take him back into his secluded room where he felt safe and then Emma (and to a lesser extent Sam) could feel comfortable in their space too. A few days later and she was still staring him down, while he was mostly trying to avoid eye contact, but desperate too to fit in. When it was time for Boo to go back to his room, I’d shower Emma with as much attention as she could tolerate, and she relaxed a bit more each day.

A few days after the above staredown Boo and Emma were sleeping on my couch when Boo came in and nestled in between them, and I was delighted to see Emma not get up. By the end of August, a few weeks after Boo was given full run of the house, I came into my office and saw Boo using Emma as a pillow. She had long let Sam do this but it was a first for the brave little Boo (I apologize for cutting off her foot at the edge of the frame, but I was shooting quickly while trying not to wake her).

But my favorite moment of their introduction was in October when Emma had been sleeping beside my legs as she so often did. Boo came in and at first just curled up beside her, then he got a little more bold and put his head on her. But I was startled when he suddenly put his arms around her and just buried his head in her stomach. This woke her up and I was sure she was going to get up and go into the other room, but instead she stretched her arms down his back and cradled him. He turned his head for a little air and she spooned him and they fell asleep together.

That was our Em.

Sam & Boo Demonstrate the Proper Use of a Cat Bed

In two years Sam has gone from being the youngest of three cats to the oldest of two. He was happiest when he had Scout looking out for him and it took him over a year to adjust to her death. I don’t expect Emma’s death to hit him as hard but they were friends and grew up together and it is having an impact. We’ve found him snuggling with Boo in the cat bed several times, which he hasn’t done before.

Tag: Boo