BREAD BASKET: Monster Cat (aka Jet) just jumped into her bread basket that lives on the counter beside my computer. She jumps in, sharpens her claws a bit on the bottom, then walks over to play with, or try to chew on, my headphones cord, then walks over my keyboard, then back again, pausing in case I want to pet her before she returns to the basket.
BIG TEST: This is ‘the big test,’ a trial to see if I will AGAIN give her a spritz from the cosmetic bottle of water on the counter on my right. She does – I do – rinse, repeat.
REACHING OUT: Yesterday she did something she hasn’t done before. She jumps up on my recliner whenever I’m in it, saying ‘hello’ quickly and then settles beside my left leg to sleep until I get up, dumping her on the floor in the process. Yesterday, she said, ‘hello,’ went to the foot rest, but instead of settling, she turned and walked up my body, settling on my stomach! This is a first. She only stayed a minute or two, but she ‘allowed me to pet her’ -without biting me – and THEN went down to her regular spot, settling beside my leg.
BOX GAME: We’re playing a game with the open box we now keep in the living room for her. I’m moving it each day to see what she does. Yesterday it was on the couch. There was no hesitation. She jumped up into the box and settled for a bit. When I put it on the hearth later, she jumped right into it. She seems to enjoy the movement of her ‘toy.’ When it’s in the middle of the room, she gets in and crouches down, hoping you’ll forget she’s there. When any of us pass by (including our dog, Amber) she leaps out, acting like she’s attacking. At first I was a bit worried how Amber would react, but she just looked at me with a pained expression as she continued to go to get a drink of water. We’re all adapting to live with Monster Cat, who shows a new side of her burgeoning personality on almost a daily basis.
CATNIP ON CAT TOWER: I keep 2 catnip ‘mice’ on the top part of the cat tower in the corner of the living room. The tower also has a ball on a string hanging from one of the top levels and another toward the bottom, each swaying in the air a bit to attract her attention. She doesn’t play on the tower often, but it’s quite the show when she does, Olympic-style hanging from one level to reach and play tether ball with one of the hanging balls, while managing not to fall on her head. She reaches the top, finds the two catnip mice, and the race begins, with her batting the mice from level to level til they all finally reach the floor.
PING PONG BALL BATTING: I find a ball in a corner somewhere and take it where I can let it bounce on the floor. Wherever she is, Monster Cat comes bounding to catch or bat the ball. She recognizes the sound now and LOVES to chase it. Woe betide anyone who gets in her way in this game. She has no interest in playing or sharing with anyone else. That ball belongs to HER!
CRAZY CAT: We’re quietly reading, watching TV, or napping in the living room. Suddenly, ‘Crazy Cat’ appears, running at full speed across the living room, stopping on a dime, turning and running the other way as fast as she can, eyes wild, leaping, pouncing, jumping on the furniture, bouncing off the walls. We just look at her in amazement. Yesterday she landed beside Amber’s large bed next to the Entertainment Center. She just stopped. She looked at Amber. Motionless. Then she jumped at Amber. My heart was in my throat. Amber jumped up, then calmly went into the office, leaving the bed for Monster Cat, who calmly walked across it and plopped down in the exact middle, regally surveying her domain…
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