February 16-19

I am out of town again, at home in Germantown, TN and then off to Arlington, VA. But first, let me share what happened when I returned to home to Ann Arbor on February 16 and then until February 19 when I was off again.

Monday. Dusty did seem happy to see me! Lately when I come home she'll roll over on her back and show her tummy. It seems to me that she was lonely during my trip; she was in a super playful mood when I came back and I played with her for a long while. I was happy to be home too!

Over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, we settled into our routine again. I'd be away during the day and she's 'hold down the fort' while I was away, and then evening time we'd hang out. I've noticed that she's really become very playful lately. She's even started to pounce on a green ball that she's ignored until now; she also really likes her flashing-light ball.

She's still very talkative, especially when I'm at my desk. I don't know if it's that my attention is clearly focused elsewhere, that my back is to her, or what, but she'll come by and start meowing quite a bit. I've figured out that she wants attention. What's new--she'll jump up and place her front paws on the chair so I can pet her head, and one time she even jumped into my lap where I petted her for about 10 minutes before she jumped off. I tried once to pick her up and sit down with her at my desk chair but that was a no-go; she jumped down instantly.

She's still loving looking out the window. I'm so thankful she likes her cat tree; I can't believe that I even thought she wouldn't like it! It is by far her most favorite place in the apartment. I've noticed that she's jumps down differently from the top perch--instead of jumping down right to the floor, instead she'll break her jump by stopping at the second perch with her front paws where she pauses momentarily on her way down. Of course that is cute as well.

She's definitely a picky eater. I tried to feed her some chicken on Wednesday, Feb 18 but she wouldn't have it. And this is CHICKEN! The only two foods I know this cat likes is the "Good Life/Wholesome Delights" treats and her Iams Cat food. Not even canned cat food attracts her!

I tried moving her wall-corner scratcher but she's still not going for it. I wonder if she even really gets what it's for? It seems she would go for it--she's always rubbing up against protruding objects. We'll see if she gets it eventually...

One night I tried an experiment: since once she had pushed open the bathrooom door that was slightly ajar, and I got such a kick out of it, I thought I would try it with the bedroom door. Frankly, I was extremely tired and was getting a little tired of her keeping me up with her intermittent 'pet-me-now' demands. So I left the bedroom door slightly ajar when I went to bed. She definitely followed about 10 minutes later; I was definitely amused and certainly glad that she is feeling so comfortable. Another instance of this new confidence--she had no hesitation climbing up on my side to perch out briefly as I slept . Usually she likes me to be on my back so she can climb right on my chest. But I'm trying to be less accomodating now since I do really like to sleep on my side; nevertheless I'm glad she's feeling comfortable!

Health update: it seems Dusty's eye thing might be back. I noticed it a little on Wednesday night and put in drops on Thursday evening before I left again. I hope it clears up or else I'll have to take her to vet when I come back. (And this may be gross but I feel compelled to mention it since I'm trying to document as much as I can--when scooping her litter box I noticed that she hadn't buried her deposits like she usually does. What gives? I thought cats always bury their stuff?)

I'm also going to have to work on grooming her more; I'll try to sneak in some brush strokes when I can, but she definitely loses patience after about 5-6 strokes. I thought she would like being brushed?

Pictures: the top is one I took before I left for this second trip; the ones below were taken while I was away in DC from Feb. 13-16.