Tuxedo Lost #27

I lost Tuxedo for several hours today.

With energy I got from somewhere, I decided to de-clutter the house. I went around picking up things, wondering why I had them, throwing things away or putting items I knew I would never use in a donation box.

After a while I noticed Tuxedo wasn’t following me from room to room. That was very unusual for her. She usually laid down wherever I was to watch me work.

I looked for her and couldn’t find her anywhere. She wasn’t in the bedroom closet, where she usually sleeps. She wasn’t in the front or back porch, even though I left both doors open for air. Once I checked them, I closed the doors. I opened every room door and couldn’t find her. I called out to her. Nothing.

I was a little upset. No matter where she went, she’d always came back to make sure I was still in the house before disappearing again. I went downstairs and opened the front doors to the outside. Maybe she was able to get past the barrier I put across the stairs, and slipped outside. I called out. She didn’t meow or show up.

I called around the house to see if she had visited them. No one had seen her. I began to panic. I thought all the worst scenarios. My poor Tuxedo was gone. I didn’t know what to do.

I sat down and tried to calm myself. What did I do today? I went through everything in my head, retracing the past few hours. I then walked around and did what I had done during the day.

I eventually opened the hallway door next to my bedroom and called, “Tuxedo”. She walked quietly and slowly out from under the suitcases, blinking and looking like she had been on an all night drunk. I couldn’t believe it. She had gone in there while I was hanging my kente cloth over the door earlier in the day.

She appeared not to be concerned as she walked around. No meowing or any indication she had been in distress. It was just another closet she slept in. What a nightmare for me.

This is the second time she has slipped away from me. She’s very fast on her feet. A lesson learned. If I’m not fast enough, she can and will go places she finds interesting. I now try hard to see where my cat is before I close a door.

Tuxedo and Angel Again - #26

They sit on opposite sides of an open barrier, staring at each other. They get along because each of them is staying in her lane. They do not feel like the other is in her territory.

I went downstairs to visit for a while. On the way back up I met Angel in the hallway. She hissed at me. When I said “Hello Angel”, she looked at me and came forward a little bit. I put my hand out for her to smell, which she did. But when I went to pet her, she backed up and hissed at me.

You would think she would know me by now. But I allowed her space and went inside my house. I thought about Tuxedo, and about what she does when a stranger approaches her. She runs and hides!

Tuxedo still runs out the front door when I open it. Now she zooms out and runs upstairs to stare at Angel. Like a toddler, she still comes inside to make sure I’m still in the house. Then she runs out again to explore the house.

Early this morning Tuxedo sat right next to my ear and screamed until I got up. Then she ran to the back door. When I opened it, it was the last time I saw her for the day. She ran upstairs, jumped the gate, and spent the day with Angel.

I felt a little abandoned. Still, I guess the companionship of another cat is better than with a human. I sucked up my pride, and managed to feel happy that she is happy.

Tuxedo's Theme Music - Part 25A

I wanted to add music to Tuxedo’s blog. I think she would want music.

I am trying the Amazon MP3 Pop Music. I’m not sure if this is her kind of jam. Hopefully you guys out there will let me know how you feel about Tuxedo’s Pop Jams. It was this or R&B cuts.

Let me say that it was difficult to find songs without swearing in it. Tuxedo is too young to swear or hear people swearing. The Pop songs seem so far not to have excessive swearing.

Unless I hear a ground swell of negative comments, Tuxedo is a Pop music fan!

Tuxedo is Affectionate - #25

People keep telling me that cats are aloof. I haven’t found that to be the case with Tuxedo. She likes affection and gives it freely and often. She follows me everywhere. From room to room, up and down stairs. When I call her she will come to me.

During the day while I am working, Tuxedo will come over, get close to me so I can kiss her on the head. After getting her kisses, she’ll either leave the room, or lay down next to me. When I am at my desk, she insists on sitting right in front of me and the computer keyboard. That was cute when she was younger. But she’s coming up on her one year anniversary, and she’s almost three feet when she stretches out.

Of course, there is a jealous side to Tuxedo. When I am on my laptop she will walk right on it. Sometimes she’ll sit on it and won’t move. That’s my hint that she wants attention. She is also telling me that she hates it when I am on my computer too long.

To get attention, she’ll bring that ratty toy mouse and drop it right in front of me. Then she’ll meow for me to play with her. Even if I move the toy away from me, she’ll get it and drop it in front of me again. She’s a persistent kitty.

Learning the Tuxedo Way #24

Today, this morning, Tuxedo meowed and meowed. I was fast sleep, when I heard Tuxedo. I swear she said “Mama”! I opened my eyes to see Tuxedo about three inches from my face, staring at me. I was startled, but I didn’t know by what. Was it what I heard, or the fact that she was sitting 3 inches from my face and I hadn’t been aware of it?

I got up and we went through our morning routine. The bathroom routine, checked her food, and let her out the back door to the porch. I thought everything was cool. But I noticed that Tuxedo didn’t stay outside like she usually did. She kept coming over to me and meowing.

She kept this up for hours. I had to find out what was making her so disturbed. She didn’t even want to follow me into the bathroom! It was really cold outside. It was over 90 degrees three days ago. Now it was 55 degrees. That’s Boston weather. I saw that she wasn’t interested in going outside, so I closed the doors. She started wrapping herself around my legs. That’s when I saw it.

Last night, I gave her the last of her regular cat food. It wasn’t enough, so I put some of the new cat food in her other plate.  When we first went to the kitchen, I noticed that she had eaten all of the new cat food, and none of the regular cat food. So, I figured she wasn’t hungry. Did she want more of the new cat food? There was only one way to find out.

I put some of the new cat food into her empty dish. She ran to it and started to eat. Wow, it was the new cat food she wanted!  Well, hit me in the head. I didn’t hear from her for a while. She checked to see if I was in the bedroom, and then went on her merry way. I wrote down the name of the new food for future reference.

Hours ago I was out of my mind trying to figure out what was wrong with her. I went through our regular routine, but didn’t notice that she liked the new food. I wasn’t paying attention. So she was going to keep coming to me over and over and meowing until I got up off my behind and followed her reaction to our routine.

New cat food. I didn’t understand her desire. The next time I will try to be more attentive when she does something out of character. She was acting as if she was a baby crying for something. You have to go through your routine until you figure out she wants.

As I write this blog I haven’t heard a peep out of her. She is sleeping next to me, purring softly.  I love my Tuxedo. But when you say there are growing pains with a kitten, I finally got it today. Case solved!

Tuxedo and Me #23

I am working at my desk in my office. Tuxedo jumps on the desk and goes to sleep in front of my keyboard. She stretches out like the desk space is only for her. I can’t believe how fast she goes to sleep. But I can tell it’s because she is happy being near me.

The room is quiet save my keyboard hits and the TV in the room. I barely know what is on television when I am in my office. I use it as background sound to cut the silence. Seeing tuxedo sleeping in front of me gives me peace. She encourages me to keep writing and doing my work because I know where she is. She goes into a deep sleep because she knows where I am. I guess we spoil each other that way.

Tuxedo is in Heat #22

Tuxedo is in heat. She’s crying at the top of her lungs. She hates to be touched in certain places, especially her head for some reason. Usually she likes me to rub her head. While in heat, though, she prefers to rub her head on my hands.

She runs around the house yelling and screaming and caterwauling. My nerves are frayed, but what can I do? She can’t help herself. The one good thing about it is that she gets tired fast, and takes longer naps than usual.

I feel so bad for her. She looks like she’s in pain. She backs herself to my face with her butt, her tail swinging sideways. I am not attracted to that, not am I amused. But I have to give her some latitude because she can’t help it. She is coming of age. All I can do is wait for it to be over in a few days. And look forward to the next episode until I can have her spayed.