I'm a therapy cat!

Of course, I've always known that, and my human has always known that. I mean, she tells me constantly that she wouldn't have survived this past year without me. And I've always known that I have a large and extended fan club. :)

But now, I've got outside confirmation!

My auntie called my human yesterday, and told my human that she gave a picture of me (7th one from the top on my Catster page) to a woman in my auntie's mother's retirement home, and that I've been making the woman feel much, much happier. Of course, we've never met, but my auntie reports that the woman and her mother talk about me like they know me. :)

Of course, my auntie gave the women pics of Trooper as well, but I think he's just a pinch hitter...my auntie specifically said that they talked about ME, but she didn't mention that they talked about Trooper.

Speaking of Trooper, poor guy. That friend's visit, crashing at our place, really didn't go over too well with him. As it turned out, the human's friend was delayed, so he only needed to crash for one evening, after the human had returned. But Trooper hid under the bed all day, and then when it came to go to sleep, he fled into the closet, whose door the human had fortunately forgotten to close that day. Usually it's the one place that's off-limits to us because of shedding--although I ask you, doesn't cat hair accessorizing make human clothes look sooo much better??. And Trooper then stayed there all night. He didn't come out of hiding until the human's friend left.

We hope he gets somewhat less timid as the years go by. I mean, the human thinks that for at least the medium term she's going to be mostly a homebody who rarely has any visitors who come over for more than a few hours, but it's probably not always going to be like this.

As for myself, I personally don't mind change or any of the human's friends. So long as, of course, everybody understands what an honor and privilege it is that I'm letting them into my domain. :)

New Year

The human has gone to New York for New Year. Something about family tradition and obligations, which didn't apply to Christmas. Which thankfully she spent with us. It's really quiet here without her, unless you count Trooper's occasional crazy bouts of racing up and down the hall or chasing his tail while balancing on the sofa arm. Well, it's always been quiet anyway, as the human has always been something of a homebody who doesn't have friends visiting here very much. But recently it's been quieter since the human's gotten hooked on some sort of online multiplayer game called World of Warcraft. That thing is evil! All the time she spends playing it, she should be playing with US.

She's only been gone less than 24 hours, but I really miss her. She told me how much she would miss us, even though she's only going to be away for a few days. And that she would have so much preferred to stay at home in DC rather than go to NY.

She told us a friend of hers would be crashing in the apartment tomorrow. She won't be back until the day after. Nobody's ever crashed here since we moved. I'm not so happy about someone intruding on my territory. As for Trooper, I'm betting he's going to cower under the bed for most of the time. Although the human says that he's a cat person. I dunno. I guess we'll see.

Oh, and by the way, the vet called some weeks ago with my second blood test results. OF COURSE they were fine. But then the warning, I need to lose weight. The human has since drastically cut down on my kibble! She gives me only ONE QUARTER OF A CUP of kibble! She's trying to make me eat WET FOOD! I'm not happy about that.

I suppose the one good thing about her time away is that for once, she's left a full bowl of kibble for me to munch on...

Happy New Year to all of you in Catster.

Snowfalling

It's the first snow day of winter here in DC. It was snowing at dawn, snowed throughout the morning, and now we're approaching late afternoon. Now it's getting dark, and the snow has carpeted all the roofs and top branches of the trees just outside our building...

You know all those descriptions about indoor cats staring out the window, fascinated by all those white flakes fluttering down? Something to do with our instinct to follow with our eyes anything that moves?

Well, it's not true. I know most of the description about the snow from my HUMAN, who's been more fascinated by the snow than either Trooper or me.

Over the past several months, I'd shifted from hanging out at the very bottom upside down basket of my kitty condo to the very top basket that's about 6 feet from the ground, with the best view of the window. I'd spend much of the day there, first surveying my indoor and outdoor realms, and then curling up to sleep. Or bounding up to the top basket to declare victory after one of my tag games with Trooper, and then surveying the realm before bouncing back down for a snack.

It's been wonderful, watching the slow metamorphosis of the outside, manmade and seasonal. There's a construction site to our left where I've been watching a brand new condo building slowly develop. Over the tops of the line of houses across the street from us, behind the houses' long back alley, the apartment complex on the left side is undergoing renovations, with workers in movable scaffolding-type contraptions going up and down the side, knocking out old stained grey material from underneath the balconies and replacing it with spanking white. On the right side, there's a large office building. When it gets dark I can see the office employees under their fluorescent lights, photocopying, working at computers, making calls or holding conferences.

The line of trees across the street were slow in changing color. And they didn't change all at once, with each tree on its own timetable. The trees on the left side of the row were the first to turn, amber, yellow, different shades of brown. There was a tree on the right that had green leaves for the longest time. And then two days ago, there was a huge windy span of time that lasted the entire evening and night. The next day, there were almost no leaves left on any of the trees.

Yep, there's always something new to watch, and Trooper and I usually find the show to be fascinating.

But not today. Neither Trooper nor I like the snow.

For me, it's just a question of the weather. It's COLD. The apartment is nice and warm, but you can feel that the winds still get through when you stand too close to the window. Not too pleasant a place to snooze by right now.

As for Trooper...safely further back in the apartment, he waits for the human to return from the window so he can get back to sleeping on her lap. Snow does not bring back good memories to Trooper. He remembers having to live outside and walk in the snow. All day. For months. He wants nothing to do with it anymore.

The human is freaking out

So the vet called today about Trooper and my annual blood/urine panel results. Trooper unsurprisingly passed with flying colors, normal in everything, etc etc blahblahblah. But apparently my white blood cell count was "a little" low and the vet said something about "atypical" lymphocytes. He said it's probable it's an aberration, but for me to come back in a week for a recheck of my white blood cells. So I'm going back next Tuesday. Crap. So much for no-vet-visits-for-another-year.

The human, of course, promptly freaked out. She thought maybe I had cancer or leukemia or something like that. She immediately called her old college roommate, who happens to be a vet who practices out in San Francisco. The ex-roommate vet told her that it was good that I'm getting a pathologist to look at my results again. But not to jump to any conclusions. And that usually when there's leukemia, white blood cell count actually goes UP. She said low count "just might mean the white blood cells were off fighting an infection somewhere else."

Me? I'm just pissed I have to go back to the vet. I mean, I still eat the same amount I've always eaten and drink the same amount I've always drunk. I don't have any problems with vomiting or poop. I've always been more of a couch potato type, but like always I'm up for games of tag and wrestling when Trooper feels like playing. In short, I'm my normal self.

Equally naturally, none of this is making the human feel any better...

The dreaded V-day

I'd forgotten that celebrating my first year anniversary home also meant my yearly vet check-up was due. This time I went to the vet with Trooper, who was having his first vet visit since he arrived.

Small consolation.

My human wanted to be on the safe side, so she slated both Trooper and me to have the whole shebang. Rabies shots, distemper shots (for Trooper only, thank God), and full urine and blood samples. You'd think the human would be deterred by the $600 she had to pay for the both of us, but noooo.

...Actually, only Trooper wound up getting the whole shebang. Luckily I'd peed right before the human scooped us up into our carriers, so my bladder was completely empty! So, the vet couldn't poke a needle into me for my urine, haha. But the blood drawing was bad enough. For some reason my blood vessels weren't feeling too generous, so it took twice as long for the vet to get enough blood from me as from Trooper. So in the end I suppose everything cancelled out.

Then there was the bad news.

Somehow I'd turned into a 15-pounder! The vet pronounced me as being "rather robust" and recommended I go back to being my old 13.5 pounds. That means a D-I-E-T!!! The human is going to cut down on my favorite high calorie Innova Evo kibble. :((

Of course, the vet had to say that Trooper in comparison "looks great!" Hiss.

At least he complimented me as well as Trooper for being "incredibly nice, well-behaved cats."

And at least, no more of this torture for another year.

Happy turkey day! And my first anniversary!

...although I don't know why they call it that, 'cause turkey's disgusting. Trooper begs to disagree, though, and hopes the human will bring him back some when she returns from her out-of-town trip. Fortunately, it's just an overnight stay. We have her for a few more hours, and then she gets back tomorrow. She's cutting her trip short for us. As she obviously should in any case, meow!

Thanksgiving has a different importance for me than turkey. It's the first anniversary of my coming home to my human! She decided to take me in right before Thanksgiving last year, and then I officially arrived a few days later.

I will never forget that day. My "auntie" from the Humane Society came to the shelter in the evening to pick me up and take me home. At that time, of course, I had no idea what was happening.

A few days previously, the human had visited me at the HS, after she found out about me and said she'd take me in. She just wanted to say hello. She held me a bit. But I didn't really register that visit at the time. I had just been so sad, so depressed, that I was catatonic. I lay like dead weight in her arms. After some moments, I shifted a little, indicating I wanted to be returned to my cage. So she obliged, and went away. I thought she was just yet another typical visitor to the shelter.

I'd been returned by my previous human after under a month because she "decided she wanted a kitten instead." Then I spent the next several weeks watching one kitten after another come in and then quickly get adopted. I'd listen to the oohs and aahs from the visiting people about the "cute little kittens." I'd watch them get all the cuddles and hugs and kisses. And then these people would all walk past my cage like I didn't exist, simply because I was a few years as opposed to a few weeks old. The only person who paid any attention to me was my "auntie" who was volunteering at the shelter. But she couldn't take me home either, because her house was already filled to the max with her own cats and fosters.

My cage neighbor Marble was in the same situation, although he was only a year old. We came into the shelter at roughly the same time. His "family" had moved and had decided not to take him with them. He didn't understand what had happened, why he had lost his home. He thought it was all his fault, that he must have done something to make them discard him like this. It didn't matter how many times we other cats told him it wasn't his fault.

At first, he tried to keep his hopes up. He put up a brave face, and tried to be merry and interactive, even when he wasn't feeling like it. But after the days stretched into weeks, and he kept waiting and waiting for a home, he grew quieter and quieter.

That last week I was in the shelter, he wouldn't eat or drink, and he had even stopped grooming himself. The shelter vet couldn't find a single thing wrong with him, but he was visibly fading just a bit more every day. To me it was pretty clear he was dying of a broken heart.

Marble died the day the human came to visit me. I later found out that the human had told the shelter that she would take in Marble, because they told her he was the cat that most urgently needed a home. And then that same day, they had to tell her that he was put down. I was next on their "urgent" list, and this time the human was determined to see me and take me home ASAP. (Although it turned out she couldn't for the next few days though because they mistakenly thought I wasn't neutered.)

I had given up too. All I did was eat the shelter's kibble, because there was nothing else to do. I let my body go to waste, gaining weight to the point of obesity as I spent every day in a stupor. My breathing got constricted, and every breath I took sounded like a wheeze. My fur turned coarse, dull, and brittle. Of course I knew this was making me even less attractive, but what did that matter? I was never getting adopted anyway. I was pretty much waiting to die.

I finally "woke up" a bit when my HS auntie came by and put me in a carrier. Hey, what was happening? This wasn't what she usually did. It was a cardboard carrier. I chewed my way out of it. She had to drive home to get me another carrier, this time a hard plastic one that I couldn't chew up. Then she drove me to my human's apartment.

Looking back now in our new ritzy apartment in a highrise with a nice view of the surrounding neighborhood, I can tell you now that that apartment, which was in the basement of a house, was dark and just a bit dank. The one window looked out from under the front porch, with a view mostly of passing human (and the occasional dog) legs. But to me, getting out of that carrier, that apartment was a piece of heaven.

My auntie had contributed a HUGE scratching post because she was so happy I got a home. My human had made a little bed for me by the window for me to perch on, and another on her own bed. She had bought me toys. And, hearing that I loved running water, she had gotten me a water fountain. My first few minutes at home, I went straight from carrier to water fountain. And stayed there.

And yes, I HAVE made myself home since then. Completely.

The human has been thanking ME over and over about coming to her. She tells me she would never have made it through this year, the toughest she's had in about 15 years, without me. But I tell her, I would have never made it either without her. I thought my dream of having a home again would never come true. But you made it come true. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart, my beloved human.

I never would have said this when he first came home, but thanks for sticking around, Trooper. My furbrother. You've kept me in shape by insisting on all those wrestling and tag sessions, and then kept me company by sleeping next to me. And thanks for eating all the wet food I don't want to touch, and NOT eating the food that I like.

My human and furbrother aren't the only ones I want to thank.

Heartfelt thanks to my auntie for holding my paw throughout all those horrible weeks and months in the shelter. She never gave up hope for me, even when I had.

Thanks to ALL cat social workers in the shelter and rescue world, for doing what they do. I know it takes so much work, time, and both emotional and physical energy. I know you feel heartbreak and despair with all of us cats in dire need. I know it feels awful when there are so many of us out there, and you can't save us all. But for those of us you save, you've made all the difference in the world. And made this world just a little better.

...I've also been thinking about Marble a lot these last few days. I just KNOW in heaven he nudged God to make sure I got the home he wasn't well enough to go to. Thank you, thank you Marble. I will make sure I will make the best of each day, to honor your memory.

It's been a wonderful, wonderful first year.

*********

My human gave daily email updates about me to my HS auntie during those first days. She let me copy a somewhat edited/abbreviated version of her first emails here:

NOVEMBER 27, 2006 (the day of my arrival)

Simba seems to be settling in fine. When I saw him grooming himself on top of my bed, I went over and we had an extended petting/scratching session. He even asked for some tummy rubs while purring like a little engine and kneading the blankets. I think we will make each other very happy. :) (He's presently back on my bed, continuing to groom himself as I type this.)

Simba's also still loving his water fountain. But I think unless he spends his time 24/7 there, I'll keep it on. He watched me as I made myself dinner--I got the impression maybe he wanted some of my food? Which I didn't give him. But, do you ever give him human food? I gave in and decided to give him some wet food, but he only politely sniffed at it. Not sure if he doesn't like this particular brand, or just doesn't feel like having wet food yet. However, he definitely seems to like the Pet Promise dry food. He hasn't touched the Wellness Salmon dry food, though. If he keeps on ignoring it, I guess the next time you come visit, I can give you the bag to donate to the shelter...

He likes to press his paw against my palm--right front paw alternating with left front paw. He went to sleep a bit with his paw in my hand, it was funny, his front half was on his side, and his bottom half was tummy up with hind legs spread far apart....Then after about 10 minutes he shifted his pose, and laid both paws against my arm. He is SO adorable... I really will have a hard time letting him go. [Note: the human had never been owned by cats before, so technically at that time she was telling herself she would start as a "foster human." Hah.]

Just one more question--do some cats snore? Because I think he sometimes does. Which isn't a problem on my side, but if this indicates sinus problems I thought I should know. [Note: I DON'T snore. Well, not really anymore...]

NOVEMBER 28, 2006

You are right, Simba IS sleeping like a log on my bed, now that I guess he's made his initial check of my apartment and pronounced it satisfactory. He's a really good boy, or he must be very well trained, because he doesn't attempt to climb up on counters, or my table, or even the chair next to mine where I've placed a pillow for him to sit on. Seems he prefers hanging out by my feet. :)

I also woke up to find most of his plate empty. So it looks like Simba WILL eat the Wellness salmon dry food, maybe he just doesn't like it as much as PP. Since he's drinking enough from his fountain, what I think I'll do is just give him dry food (both Wellness and PP) over the next couple of days while he gets adjusted, the idea being I want to keep him on some variety of dry food to cut down on his pickiness. Hope that's OK.

I'm trying to figure out the various sounds he makes. He really does sound like he's wheezing sometimes, except otherwise he seems perfectly fine--has an appetite, no runny nose or eyes, and no sneezing. Apart from the Simba wheeze, he also seems to make snorting sounds, chirping sounds (though that's rarer) as well as, of course, his classic snore, among others. At this point I'm guessing he doesn't have an upper respiratory infection.

Apart from that, I think Simba is doing well. When I returned home in between classes around noon to check on him, he was still on the bed. (Although now he's to be prowling around, surveying his territory. :))

I don't think he's been doing any window watching at all yet--in fact, I'm wondering if he just doesn't want to bother jumping up too much... on the other hand, I've found out he DOES like playing with my hair, treating it like string(s). So we played "catch my hair" for a while. He also met Edna [the human's landlady at the time] for the first time today, although he was still a bit aloof from her.

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

Today has been a pretty uneventful day, Simba-wise. He slept next to me yesterday night, but today he's pretty much hung out in his carrier, sleeping. Maybe he's decided he prefers the carrier to my bed. :(

His routine has basically been snoozing in carrier-then-scratching post-then-food-then-water-then-litterbox-watch me a bit-then back to the carrier for another snooze/grooming session. He was interested in only a couple of brief petting/playing breaks today.

I think I'm starting to agree with your assessment--he's pretty lazy :) I'm still hoping that he might become a lap kitty, but I'm thinking it may not happen. Because, oh yeah, he would actually have to JUMP to get into my lap...He still shows no interest in jumping up on anything--chair, sofa, or window post. I can leave my breakfast/lunch/dinner out on the table and he will completely ignore it. I guess he just can't be bothered. :)

In general, Simba's been a completely exemplary cat who understands the word NO. I've never had to use the squirt bottle. He seems to know his boundaries--I only had to tell him NO once each, and he no longer approaches the entrance door or the steps leading upstairs. He did try to scratch the wood paneling by my bed, but after I removed his paws from the wall and said NO, he stopped, and went back into his carrier. Actually, maybe that's why today he hasn't been sleeping on the bed either, jumping up there only when I specifically invite him. :(

NOVEMBER 30, 2006

I'm going to go through some more high-quality brands--apart from the other Wellness/Petguard flavors I'm planning on Innova, Merrick, Nature's Logic stuff. Hopefully he'll love at lease one of those; if not, I guess I'll just have to go back to those brands he "tolerates." I am thinking, though, that maybe he doesn't eat that much wet food because he gets enough water. In which case he's probably OK.

Hopefully his brush will arrive within the week. In any case, I'm sure that Simba would love to see you again, and of course I'd appreciate any extra input on how to make him happier. ! It's been a few days, I wouldn't say his fur is shiny, but I think it's gotten a lot softer already. :)

Yes, he's perky at times--yesterday, he made a few mad dashes down the kitchen, even hung upside down from his scratching post once. But now, he's back to snoozing on my bed. We've just spent some hours lying side by side, with me doing my reading in bed. Now I'm typing from the table, and he's still curled up on the bed. Although, again, I had to invite him. I've been making sure to give him lots of pets and scratches under the chin to make him associate bed=good things. I have noticed that if I'm stretched across the bed, he won't jump over me to get on the bed. Or when my books and notebooks are in the path between the bed and the carrier, he will not jump over/on them either to get on the bed. I have to have a clear path for him, and sound welcoming. Hopefully soon he will feel more comfortable making himself at home....

****

Past identity

See, I think we adopted-as-adult cats should be allowed to keep at least some of our past a secret. It's a reminder to our humans about our specialness as non-kitten adoptees (although of course my view is that WE, the cats, are the ones who adopt our humans). It levels the playing field. Our humans cannot really form US. WE are the ones who've already done that, and so can have a relationship with them more on OUR terms as opposed to if our particular human was the only one we've ever known. The fun for both of us here is the human discovering a bit more of who we are as our relationship develops, at the same time knowing that he/she will never know everything about us.

I guess my human agrees with parts of my philosophy. It's certainly one of the reasons why she decided to adopt me and my brother Trooper. We were both adults when we came to her, and she wasn't interested in ever adopting kittens.

But, she gets sad sometimes about it, too. She's sad that she doesn't have any baby pictures of us. And that she doesn't entirely know why either of us turned out to have the personalities we have today.

My human did try to find out more about me after she "adopted" me. Where was I born? Who were my family or families before her? What were they like? Why was I given up?

But WHS wasn't able to get back to her about what my initial intake form said. (Although, how reliable are those things, anyway? I mean, people who give up their cats--HISSSS!!--wouldn't be the type to be up front about anything, I would imagine.) She only knows about the woman who "adopted" me from WHS and then returned me to WHS after less than a month because she wanted a kitten instead. (Good riddance to that woman, too.)

The WHS lady who directed my human to me is now my "auntie." I was one of her favorites at the shelter, and she still visits me once a month or so. _I_ think that's more than good enough. I love my "auntie."

Other than that, I'm planning to keep all my past secrets. A gentlecat has to keep up his mystique, you know...:)

But my human has had better luck unearthing Trooper's past. Partly because as he came to us as a young adult, he had less of a past for her to find out about. And partly because he didn't go through the larger, more impersonal bureaucracy of the WHS shelter. The lady who delivered Trooper to our place was the same person who trapped and fostered him. Trooper was a cat who was living within the trapper lady's normal trapping region; the trapper lady knew the neighborhood and the other cat-caring people living in it.

The human got the bare outlines of Trooper's story on the online profile put up by the rescue organization affiliated with the trapper lady, and then a bit more the day the trapper lady brought him to us. But recently, the human started to want to know more about Trooper's past. She thought if she knew the exact address of the alley Trooper lived in after he was dumped, and the general location of the house he used to live in, it might fill in some of the gaps. And so she asked the cat trapper lady for more information.

The trapper lady emailed today with the addresses of both Trooper's alley and his old house, along with an update.

The human went to visit Trooper's old neighborhood today. But since it was getting dark, she couldn't get too much of a sense of it. She's thinking of going back next week.

As for the update, it spooked the human.

You see, a few days ago, Trooper's trapper-rescuer found out from one of the catloving people of Trooper's old neighborhood that last month his former "human" came looking for him. Because apparently she now had a place that allowed cats. And she wanted him back. Trooper's former "human" was furious to find out from the catloving neighbor that Trooper had since been rescued and adopted out to somebody else.

Trooper's rescuer for her part was spitting nails after she heard that story, saying what gall Trooper's former "human" had, dumping him outside like some piece of trash, assuming he would fend for himself all by himself through the cold of winter and beyond. And then just expect Trooper to be waiting for her to return. After an entire year. Naturally, no one told Trooper's former "human" where Trooper wound up.

Our present human knows it's next to impossible that Trooper's former "human" would track him down to us. But it's still made her a bit paranoid. Because, as she tells us every day, Trooper and I are the best parts of her life now. She would be devastated if she lost either of us.

As for me I've been telling her again and again that Trooper and I will never leave her. Ever.

Clickety clack

The human finally got around to taking pictures of us in our new place today. It was my first photo shoot since we move here four months ago, and Trooper's first period since he arrived.

You see, the human doesn't have a digital camera or one through her cell, or even just a plain camera. She eventually got one of those disposable plastic digital cameras from the local CVS, which was what she did the last time, too. She keeps on saying that she'll buy one, except then she starts remembering there aren't too many things she's interested in taking pictures of, so why bother.

Except for Trooper and me, of course. Which meant she spent the day with that beeping contraction, following us around. Or me, in any case. With Trooper she didn't have to do anything, HE followed HER, as usual. Which probably explains why the bulk of the photos were of Trooper this time, pfff. But I mean, couldn't she have figured out a better way to do it than giving me a bright flash in the eyes every time I got comfortable?? And is it my fault that she wanted to try (futilely) all these impossible angles which meant she kept on dropping the thing, making huge noises that startled both Trooper and me??

I think I did get a few good poses in there, though. Stay tuned!

Apart from that, there's been a few changes in favorite sleeping spots. I haven't been in my condo's lower level upside down basket for some weeks now, although every now and then I sleep in one of the upper baskets. Instead, I've decided the human's library niche is the coolest, most tranquil place around, and spend most of the day there. Trooper now knows that's MY special place, and stays away from there. Maybe because of that, I've deigned to stop my commandeering of apartment comfy spots. Including the human's bed.

That last was actually a no-brainer for me. I've never been a bed kitty, although the human has tried to get me to sleep there. Instead, I make her lie down next to me by the library bookshelves for hours on end, to pet me and nap by me. Hey, she does it, so who am I to complain??

But Trooper...Trooper I think has always been a wannabe bed kitty. His rescuer told my human that at her place, it seemed that he desperately wanted to sleep on her bed, but since she had so many other higher-ranking cats who claimed it, he was never allowed a spot of his own. So he compromised by sleeping UNDER her bed. She always knew it was him because he would have his legs sticking out from under it, almost as if to say, here I am, look at me! So, when Trooper got here three months ago, true to that history he immediately took refuge underneath the bed. It's since become his den, although nowadays he spends time there only when the human has company.

A week ago, probably seeing that I never was on the human's bed, he finally gathered up the courage to claim that territory as his own, too. And he's been hanging out there ever since, always next to her when the human goes to sleep, and sleeping there most of the time even if she isn't. I think Trooper's convinced he hit the apartment territory jackpot.

The funny thing is, I don't mind. I'm glad he's happy.

It's a bird!

A sparrow came and perched on the tiny outside terrace of our apartment! Trooper and I were on immediate alert, slowly crouching nearer for a better view. I think the bird realized the glass of the sliding window doors was between us, and so pretty much didn't care that it was on display...and then it flew off after a minute. We're both still lying by the glass doors, hoping that it might come back. That bird came the closest to the apartment we've seen in weeks. Sigh. Urban life.

We can gaze on as many large stiff noisy metallic airplanes and helicopters as we want, but the drawback to living several floors above tree level is that most of our views of birds consist of us looking down at tiny specks below. The best we normally get are the feather-on-the-string games, which is not at ALL like the real living breathing thing. I've always dreamed of catching a bird, but I haven't so far. Trooper insists he's caught tons "back in the day when I was down-and-out in my rough neighborhood alley having to fend for myself," hmmmph. All I can say is, if that's the case, he sure wasn't lucky with the birds he got, they must have been sick or something because he wasn't much more than skin and bones when he came here. And I can always beat him at wrestling. (Except the times I allow him to win, of course.)

On the bright side, we've got more hang-out space by the window as the human has recently bought a huge flat-screen TV with a TV cart to match, and placed it against the window. The human keeps the TV to the side at an angle, placed over a towel edge so we can either hop up on top of the towel-covered cart space next to the TV or underneath it in one of the three lower cart shelves, which resemble cubbyholes.

Now, if only more birds will come. I'm going to ask the human to get a birdfeeder. Maybe that will work.

Odds and ends

It's been a quiet month, although not emotionally too ideal. My human is having another one of her spells. I love that she's at home almost all the time (even if I do have to share that attention with Trooper) but, well, I just wish she was feeling better. So that's what I've been doing all month. Trying to take care of my human. I've taken to sitting right behind her while she works, watching over her. I think she likes that.

As for Trooper, I supposed he's "helping" in his own way...by being exactly his usual attention-begging self. He's appropriated the cushion next to the human, to constantly demand belly rubs. I guess I'm OK with that. I mean, I took over his last favorite perch, a towel covered box. And his favorite place before thet, on the bottom shelf of one of the human's inner bookshelves.... 'Course, there are actually TWO empty bottom shelves, but it seems Trooper doesn't like the other one, although he will sit on the cushion next to the bookcase, if he feels like it. Just about the only place (apart from the cushion next to the human's work place) I haven't commandeered is underneath the human's bed. Trooper still goes under there on occasion, when he wants to have some space. He keeps all his toy mice under there, too. Although now that he's filled out from his old bony self, I imagine it's gotten to be a tight squeeze staying there.

On the other hand, Trooper has commandeered all the play time with my human! I'm a bit annoyed by that, although the fact that, unlike Trooper I'm not terribly athletic means that I don't mind TOO much. But sometimes it's painful to watch him. Example: the old Catdancer/feather wand game. The human, knowing the situation, will purposefully start by wiggling it towards me (Hey, I'm not a charity case! Puh-LEEZE.) But Trooper will cut across and grab it from me. See, Trooper lacks FINESSE. His tiny brain doesn't understand the poetry of just waiting, waiting, watching carefully while the string or feather slowly approaches the end of, say, the scratching post or the edge of the bed...and then pouncing on it just moments before it does so. No, Trooper's all about attack, attack, attack. Pretty simplistic. After a while, I just give up and turn indifferent.

Maybe I should just chalk it up to his immaturity. In the meantime, I will just keep on taking over his favorite spots. And still making Trooper wait for me to eat my fill first, before letting him do so...

I think that's a fair trade.