Boo and Sam keep keep watch in our biggest picture window on a fall afternoon.
Tag: cat
Rear-ended
Objects in lap are closer than they appear.
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.
One of My Favorite Pictures of Em
It pains me to think of all the old blog posts that are offline because I love going back and reading the stories, especially of the pets. I have thought of a way I could bring them back, probably should have done it a year ago, but it would cost a little bit of money and time, not sure if I’ll do it. In the meantime I was re-editing this picture of Emma after she knocked over the Christmas tree so that I could put the original post back online and laughed out loud when I read the story, I remembered most of it but had forgotten that as I was trying to get the tree upright, she jumped back into it.
The picture seems to suggest a pride in her handiwork, but that wasn’t Emma, she was walking over to greet me as she often did when I tried to take her picture. She wasn’t a mischievous cat, she just loved that tree. Sometimes too much.
Miss you Em.
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.
At Last, Some Rest
I started off the year pretty worn out after Emma’s long decline, and it only got worse after she died and then Sam got sick. Then it was Boo’s turn and even Ellie gave us a scare when a test suggested she had an infection but it turned out to be a false positive. Then we adopted little Trixie and started her slow introduction to the household and even she got sick. And just when it seemed everyone was over all their health issues big and small, one night Ellie wanted to cut her walk short, so we came home early and she walked straight into my office and barfed all over the place. Turned out not be serious, but let’s just say after a few months of chaos we’re exhausted.
There is some good news however as we head towards our new normal. The other cats have accepted Trixie and she’s spent the last two weeks with free run of the house. Though it will be a while before they are truly comfortable with one another, there is progress as shown by Trixie and Sam sleeping on my legs. We’ve gone an entire week without anyone getting sick in big or small ways, and we’re finally getting a good night’s sleep.
Or mostly anyways. Thursday night all three cats joined me in bed but Trixie was in the mood to play so we didn’t get much sleep until she was ready to snuggle up. I love it when she snuggles up to my face, usually she just rubs her face on mine in the most adorable way, but occasionally she can’t resist nipping at your nose. You just never know what you’re going to get, though thankfully the nose bites are getting further and farther between.
We also replaced both mattresses a week ago. We got our mattress when we got married so it was over sixteen years old and due for a replacement. We tested out a bunch, unfortunately the one I liked best was on the expensive side, but so far I’ve slept well on it. We discovered how tortuous the mattress in the guest bedroom was when we stayed with Trixie when she was isolated in there, so we replaced it as well, although with a more basic model.
All of which means that, better rested, I no longer feel as though I’m about to lose my mind. And I shouldn’t fall asleep immediately after dinner, so blogging should return to normal too.
Trixie Wins Her Freedom
This weekend we finally gave Trixie free reign of the house. She joined me in bed last night and is asleep in my lap at the moment. This picture is from a week ago when we were giving her limited time outside the guest room, you can see in her wide eyes that she was a little too hopped up to be let loose on the other cats full time. That’s Sam beside me on the stairs, trying to decide just what to make of his new little sister.
Trixie Gets Comfortable
Trixie’s introduction to the rest of the family is proceeding apace but she’s not yet been given free reign of the house, we’re still keeping her in the guest bedroom at night and while we’re away. Boo is still rather uneasy around her but he is making progress and in the past couple of days has been willing to play when she’s around. Trixie, for her part, seems quite comfortable in her new home, as you can see when she stretched out on my legs a few days ago. You can see where they shaved her belly for the surgery when she was spayed.
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.”
Accomplishing Much By Doing Nothing
Despite being off work for two days, when looking at my task list I didn’t get much done, although it feels like I’ve accomplished a lot, helping the pets work through the stress of Trixie’s arrival.
I was most concerned about Boo given his recent stress reaction so I was pleasantly surprised yesterday morning when he climbed into my lap while I was having breakfast. He settled in for a long nap which concerned me as I still had to get up to walk Ellie, so I waited as long as I could then gently placed him back on the couch when I got up. Perhaps he’s been learning from Sam, as he got up and took my nicely warmed spot.
He was still there when I got back from our walk so I sat down and put him in my lap and he fell back asleep. Later when I had to get up I came back to find him right back in my spot, so this time I let him be and sat next to him. Sam came in and curled up in my lap and that’s how the three of us spent the morning, until I at last got up for some lunch and came back to see Sam had taken my new spot.
I left the brothers curled up beside each other and Ellie and I went up to join Trixie for some quiet time in her room. She curled up in my lap and that’s how we spent the afternoon. A lazy day, but a good one.
Boolie 