Felinities

I love the way that my cat, upon being lifted off the laptop, gradually moves off in such a way that I can admire her receding butt and tail for an extended period. Truly awesome.

I Would Have Posted Sooner, But....

Abbicat

Cat's going crazy. Hyperspeed between rooms, freezing in place and staring intently at .... nothing. Batting furiously at what might be a bug....or a ghost. Jumping straight up, then bolting away... and stopping to lick herself. Mewling for no apparent reason.

Perhaps the overlords of Zorn are sending her the final attack codes? Whatever, she keeps this up, I'm going to run a drug screen on her.

Clipt

Five of the cats claws are now clipped....and I'm beginning to think we don't have to clip the others before putting those nail guards on. Okay, I know we do, but I'm hoping.... The cat doesn't seem to mind, though she was intensely curious about the clipper. At one point, she bared her teeth, and I thought uh oh.... but then she bent down and started gnawing furiously on the clipper handle. I figured what the heck - she can't hurt it, and if she gets comfortable with seeing it around, that's goodness.

First vet appointment tomorrow.

Declawing

We'd planned to have the cat declawed, but now we find that this is being actively discouraged. Instead, people are pushing products like SoftPaws, which are plastic sheaths that get glued to the cat's nails. You have to trim the nail, then put a small amount of glue in the sheath and press it on. I guess after a while it becomes a no-big-deal thing, but as for me, I'm not looking forward to doing it the first time!

Observation

A little bit ago, I visited the cat in her seclusion chamber, aka the downstairs bathroom. After a few minutes, she stretched slowly and padded over to where I was sitting. She looked up at me, leapt up, and sat on my lap for about ten minutes, letting me pet and stroke her. Every so ofen, she would put out a leg, and I could just barely feel the tips of her claws as she pressed against me. Then she'd close her eyes some more while I stroked her side and under her chin. My hand fits comfortably over two thirds of her head, but it didn't seem to concern her. The most she would do is turn her head, giving me access to the underside.

We let her into the family room for a while. It's still chock-a-block with Christmas stuff, including a pile of Christmas lights to be put away. I assumed that she would gravitate to them, but instead, she walked slowly around the whole room, checking it all out. She didn't mess with anything, just looked. I suspect she thinks that this place is the biggest cat toy in the world.

I'm thinking we'll keep her. Of course, she's got to keep us, too. I do know who the master is, in this relationship.

Feline Finances

My wife and daughter came back from Buying Things For The Cat.

SoftPaws, so that we don't have to declaw her.

A 'scratching pad', with toy, so that we don't have to declaw her.

Catnip to attract her to the scratching pad, so that....

A collar to which we attached the little metal 'microchip installed' flag.

Flea 'spray' (actually, a drip). My wife said they didn't get a flea collar, and I said Thats good, those damn fleas are so small, those collars are hell to button. Whereupon my daughter said This is why I like having Dad around. I was flattered.

I think that's all. We are Stimulating the Economy, and we've barely started. But, you know? It's okay.

Abby

My wife and I, independently, looked at her in the bright light of the laundry room and thought she looks a lot like TC.

She's awfully skinny for an 'adult cat'; they're guessing she's about a year old. Come to think of it, that was what TC looked like when we got her. And quiet, too.

She's warming up to us. Both I and my daughter each went in and brushed her fur while we talked to her. She liked that, even purring for my daughter. And she gets up and walks around us, rubbing her head on us. Marking us with her scent. As hers. This is goodness.

God help me, I'm thinking of the comment the desk clerk made -- that if we wanted a playmate for her, they've got them. And they do: in the summer, that shelter has, she said, about six hundred cats. Hmmm.....

Not yet, though. Let's ease into this.