Miss Chatty

It's 10pm. I just put the cats in their room. At Athena's request.

I'm sure I've described how that works. First, I clean their box. Then I make sure that they have fresh water and a little food. Then I give Alma, Henry and Orpheus treats. I flick Athena's treats across the floor, so that she can run and pounce. She prefers it that way, and she gets some much needed exercise. Finally, I turn out the lights and close the door on the family Cat. Orpheus gets to sleep with us.

Unfortunately, this past month I've been gone quite a bit. First I was gone the 16th and 17th, then the 20th through the 23rd. When I got home on the 17th, Athena was pretty happy to see me. So much that, when I started the bedtime routine, she actually forgot herself enough to strop my legs. She's very soft.

As a matter of fact, she's the most physically attractive of my cats. She's compact and well put-together with a round face. When she moves and sits, she makes a series of curliques. Her tail is always gently rounded in a pattern of graceful curves and her body seems to follow that lead. Unless she's skittering across the floor like some sort of abused feral.

The feral act is what I was treated to on the evening of the 23rd. Until about 9:45pm. At which point, Athena thought it was time for bed and became very adamant that the routine had to be followed exactly and immediately. I had a couple of more days of wild kitty in the morning and princess at night, until she got over my absence.

She will sniff my balled fist, touching it with her tiny nose, though she remains terrified of my extended hand. I've started requesting her to sniff it several times a day, though it's no big deal if she won't. I had a mini-breakthrough on Saturday - I was cleaning the box in preparation for bed. Athena was excited and was rolling around on her cardboard scratching box. I gave her my fist, and she grabbed it with her paws and pulled it toward her. When she realized what she'd done, she considered scrambling away, but I pulled back my hand and ignored her. She calmed back down quickly. Hopefully, that will go to build the idea that she is really safe. I'm also trying to hold things for her that she seems interested in: the banana that I'm eating, the box of treats, my book, etc. She'll sniff about half the time, which might get across the point that everything's generally ok.

The yearly vet appointment is fast approaching, but I think that Athena will skip it this year. It's just too important that she be socialized.

One interesting point: Athena is a talker. I say "Athena-mina," and she says "meow." I say "Don't be a silly kitty," and she says "meau." I say "Is it time for treats?" And she says "mewp." For a cat that "doesn't like" people, she's quite the conversationalist. She will half-way follow me around the house when there's not another cat to hang out with too.

She's got a little pattern that she needs to follow in order to come up on the sofa with me and her family, but she's getting a lot more comfortable with that. And, if she were allowed in the bedroom or on the bed, she'd get up there with me alone. I was actually playing with her under a piece of paper until she realized that it was my hand and ran away. Or at least I would have been were she allowed on the bed.

And she'll play with the feather on the string if I'll wiggle it for her.

I just wish that we could bring her the rest of the way home.