Sad, though, to hear about Kaspar's un-adoption. I wish she'd have given him more time and seen how things sorted out. I assume he's gone to one of the other adoption rooms to give him a chance of starting over in a new setting.
Things were quiet yesterday morning. With only six cats, I was able to give everyone a walk. In some cases this was just a quick out-and-please-let-me-back-in, but even those I held and carried around the store for a bit. We don't have any born walkers like Miss Blackberry, but both Molinni and Tawny are getting better by the week. They've got the rules down and, once they get used to the idea, actually do a little exploring, with lots of petting from me for reassurance. It's the one time I get to work on cleaning the sleep out of little Miss TAWNY's eyes, and also combing her fur with my fingers to get the loose hair out. I snipped off a few clumps but couldn't do much with the matted fur on her left towards the back. Tawny likes the little collection of cat-stands near the middle of the back wall of the store -- not to climb, but to work her way through the bases of. She's also fine with being held and being petted, so long as it's out on a walk -- once back in the cat-room she goes straight into her nice safe hole and swats at anything that tries to intrude on her privacy. But when not poked or prodded she seemed relaxed for once, with her paws hanging out.
I have noticed that while Molinni and Tawny seems nervous during the walks, those mornings that I carry them around and then let them pokearound on their own four feet they're much more relaxed and in a good mood afterwards, back in the room. This was really evident today with Molinni, who I think ought to be called MOLINNI the Panther, given how she prowls about. She went into her basket as usual but then came right back out and spent most of the morning hanging around with Scruffs near the door and under the cat-stands near the front of the room. She let me pet her a little (not much) and also explored a little, seeming very much confident and in-charge.
PHOENIX, by contrast, had a muted sort of day. I put her up high and she stayed on the cagetops all morning, mostly in the box up there, keeping herself to herself. Felt bad for neglecting her; she didn't like my getting her down and then putting her back in her cage straight away. But she'd enjoyed her walk earlier so maybe she'll forgive me.
MR. SCRUFFS was in good form, enjoying that cool breeze that comes under the door, putting those scratching posts to good use, and watching the world go by. He was much admired by visitors, especially when at one point he jumped up and arranged himself decoratively atop the cat-stand by the door. He played with Molinni some but mostly they just hung out together (last week they'd had great fun with games, both taking turns to pounce on string or feathers).
It's sounds silly, but I've noticed he's getting two white spots on his fur. Is this from aging? The hair in my own black cat (Mr. Feanor)'s ear has been turning white as he ages, but I've never seen anything quite like this before. Do cats get premature greying?
BUXTER was more approachable today, from her roost atop the cat-stand by the cabinet. I think she's a naturally grumpy cat who, because of that, misses out on her share of attention (petting, being played with, &c). She and her sister seem to me to get along pretty well -- the only exception being last week when I'd put Buxter in (against her will) and then put Maebe in right next to her immediately afterwards; Buxter hissed at Maebe, who made herself small. After a minute Buxter calmed down and Maebe went past her and into the other cubby. While they're not overly affectionate with each other, I think Maebe may know how to handle Buxter better than anyone else. In any case, the combination of (very) short walk, a safe perch well away from the other cats, and some petting and games all her own seemed to be just what Buxter needed.
MAEBE, for her part, was full of surprises this morning. First off she wouldn't come out of her cube the first two hours or so. Then when I made her move so I could clean things up* she made her way to the top of the cat-stand by the door, where she plopped herself down and looked about with great satisfaction. I let her stay out last of all the cats, and took her out for a short walk of her own at the very end. She Gave Voice with that yowl cats only make when they're very, very unhappy. Though she did calm down quickly she clearly wasn't enjoying herself, so we didn't stay long.
--no health concerns. Looks like Scruffs and Phoenix have lost a little weight, though it's always hard to tell from just looking
--tried a new treat, which Scruffs, Molinni, and Phoenix voted the best thing ever; Maebe also liked them. Tawny and Buxter's response was eh.
--today was focused more on petting than games (whereas last week was just the opposite). A quiet day, but think the cats mostly enjoyed it. Next week I'll try for a more even mix of petting/attention and games/walks.
--John R.
*discovering in the process that someone had messed on the blanket, so I changed them all
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