It's time to make her annual vet appointment, and as of this date I've still not successfully picked up Miss SquirmyBody. She's a big girl. Her inner core is 100% muscle hardwired to a highly tuned feral flight instinct; the outer layer is a mass of squishy fat that is hard to grab.

My attempts at picking her up, which have not been many, have been dismal and weak. Usually I'm at an awkward angle...I grab and encounter squishy fat; by this time Honey's defensive moves have already gone into motion, and she kicks with her inner muscle and squirms out of my grasp. The emotional fallout involves suspicion, distance, a sense of loss, and insecurity. And that's just me.

Yes, I'm a pitiful excuse as a cat taskmaster; Honey knows it and takes every advantage. Yet the time draws near so it's time I grew a backbone and get this done.

Anyone out there got any cat-catching techniques?

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Honey remains my little pooters. She was all kitten-like the other night playing with a new mousie toy, one with a little tinkly bell. Brave girl! She has previously been afraid of anything with a tinkly bell.

Here are some recent pictures:

Sunday, July 18, 2004

A little at a time I've been getting back to the ordinary things of life and my interests. My family is doing well, and we thank you for your expressions of sympathy, warm thoughts and prayers. They have all added to the sense of support and caring that we've known through the past weeks.

The pictures here were taken during a recent petting session with me sitting on the bed and sometimes petting her while aiming the camera as best I could for the shot.

Thursday, June 3, 2004







Honey and I are getting along just fine.

Muy casa es su casa
After my week away at the end of April she became bold enough to be in the open living room/computer room area while I recreated at my computer work area.  She discovered both the short cat tree with the saddle top and the carpeted window seat attached to the front window. She now enjoys both the front and back windows at her pleasure.

Mama's plan for her baby
So, we have accomplished full apartment range at the 5-month mark in our relationship. This leaves the following: getting on the bed with me for petting, getting on my lap, relocating her food dishes to the kitchen, and [the big one] getting picked up.

Behind closed doors
Honey is very affectionate despite not yet being a lap cat type kitty. She and I have our affection routines throughout the day; she will now let me pet her in her cat bed or on the cat window seat. Just recently she has given me a few nips of affection on my leg during our morning bathroom pet time together.

Doctor, I'm a wreck....
She is still insecure about Swiffer Saturdays and terrified of thunderstorms, but she's getting a little better about the bi-monthly clean-ups. She is pretty much out from under the bed, except during storms, but she is insecure if I do anything that disturbs the current position of her cat feeding area or the little mat under the bed.

Urgency - Moderate, Critical Level - High
I can wait on Honey's decision to be a bed and then lap cat, but it is important to be able to pick her up, at least by December when she is due for her annual vet visit. I've tried, believe me, I've tried to pick her up. Honey is composed of a very squishy outer body wrapped around a powerhouse of muscle driven by a sharply honed, agile street-cat instinct. While I'm trying to find a grab-hold beneath the body squish she squirms and kicks her way from my grasp.

Let the Game begin!
So, in between the incidents of thunderstorm and Swiffer Saturday trauma, and in the spirit ofoverg's game of gitchu, I've begun a game of Kitty Pick-Up.All is normal, then I do a pick-up move and Honey squirms away; she does not go far, and always looks back at me with a wary eye. I then just go about things as usual, like the pick-up attempt never happened.  Hopefully this little game will instill some 'normalcy' into the action and I can get more serious about it as time goes on.

Little Princess!
Finicky, that's the word. She likes 2 flavors of Fancy Feast and that's pretty much it. I think I've run through all the flavors at least twice and tried a little sampling of other brands. Sometimes she eats these, but mostly not. She is highly opposed to any flavor that is grilled or marinated, or in an aspic (don't blame her here); she does not like chicken, beef, trout, ocean whitefish, or turkey. She sometimes, but rarely, likes veal, tuna or salmon. She does not like kitty snacks.

Play with yourself
She becomes timid when I try to play with her by doing the following: rolling a cat ball in her direction, dangling a toy on a pole, dangling and moving string. She backs off when I do these things. Ohhh, how I wish to have a playmate! On her own she will play with cat balls, toy mice, and bows. She also gets the cat crazies from time to time in the morning, running back and forth through the apartment before I get up. She also does not get into things like younger, more curious kittens, or like Katjam's legendary cat, Dom.

Sunday, May 9, 2004

Well, it's about time!

As Honey and I near our 5-month anniversary she takes a new step into new territory by joining me in our living area.

Of course she has ruled this territory by night from her early days in the house but only after I've swapped spaces with her by going to bed. If I dilly-dally too far into the night she always gives me a 'last call' cry to inform me that I'm holding her up from her nightly routine. Dutifully I usually heed her cry and retire.

Now, finally, it is woman and cat, together, sort of. She strides quickly past me on the computer, looking straight ahead so as to 'not see' any forbidding look that might restrict her access. I keep silent, not even giving her encouraging tones. She jumps up on the cat saddle and then for a short time up on the carpeted window seat then back down to the cat saddle. I see the little white nose pointed in my direction as she keeps a vigilant eye on me across the room on the computer.

For many minutes I remain hushed and moving slowly so as not to alarm her. We give each other little guarded glances. Things seem to be a-ok. This is good. Finally I can't resist and get this photo from across the room. The date: Swiffer Saturday, May 8, 2004.

Saturday, May 8, 2004

Honey is in her bedroom cat bed watching the birds at the feeder. I've finished another Swiffer Saturday and made a quick trip to the grocery store for a rotissarie chicken and Powerball ticket (280 million). It's the first weekend home after my trip and I finally feel fine.  

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Yesterday I did the cat-care run-through with Kind Co-Worker during lunch, making special note of all the places she can obtain hidden back-up keys. Honey remained under the bed and was all wide-eyed and limp, but was fine later. KCW will drop in once per day and being a cat lover she's the best person I could find.

Yesterday's thunderstorm had Honey hiding under the bed and very frightened; she needed a great deal of attention to comfort and relax her. Since then she's wanted more attention and she did not want me to leave this morning. Perhaps being an outdoor cat for some time, these storms were very traumatic for her.