Fisters' Journey - Picking up bad habits
Oh no, here we go again!
Miaw miaw miaw, pause, miaw miaw miaw, pause, MIAW!
Every time that Fister returns to us after one of his ordeals at “The House of Cages”, he becomes slightly more domesticated, slightly more appreciative of us, and slightly more CHEEKY! Once, when he came back after a bad experience at “The Incompetent Vet” cat pension, he simply shouted and howled at us for several days, but it rapidly wore off and he soon reverted to his usual quiet, placid self. When he returned from his big operation and a lot of trauma with the cone, he became extremely dependent on us, followed us around for days, hiding under the bed covers with us, and making it quite clear that he couldn’t do without us. This time, we sent him to an expensive luxurious pension, and he seems to have handled it very well. His coat is in lovely condition, he has lost no weight, and it took him no time at all to re-adapt to his favourite home. The lady at the pension even managed to get him back in his box without doping him, but that, it turned out, was not a good idea.
Be careful when near these!
Presumably frustrated at being able to hear us again, but still being locked in his box, he went amuck on the long journey back in the car, and ripped his famous claws till they bled trying to escape and somehow lost a few whiskers as well. He may have been mixing with “a slightly higher class of cat” but he has definitely picked up some BAD HABITS!
I’ve always enjoyed talking to cats, and have had many pleasant chats with Fister, but now we are reaping what we have sown. He has become an incessant chatterer, from the moment he wakes until lights out at midnight. He has a comment on practically everything nowadays, and certainly has perfected the art of answering back. We will be sitting quietly working at our computers when - MIAW! Up we get to see what the problem is. There he sits in the middle of the floor, perhaps a bit bored. I WANT A CUDDLE! OK, OK, he gets his cuddle. Back to work. Five minutes later - MIAW! What now? He’s sitting comfortably in his favourite chair, wanting what? Another cuddle of course! A bit later he miaws again. Where is he now? In the bathroom, studying his favourite drain. What does he want? Pour some water over the floor for me please! The funny thing is that he rarely miaws for food, he just stands next to his plate looking angelic and waiting until our hearts melt. He will also run around just in front of us and then lead us out into the kitchen like a guide dog. The message is clear!
Will you please feed me NOW!
He has also upped the ante again concerning the pecking order in our bed. Most of you will have read the story of his “Battle of the Bed ”, but this had been put on hold lately, and he seemed to have accepted his place. But just recently, he decided that he had to regain some of his lost territory, and launched a determined attack on Randis’ pillow. (Always his favourite). After a week of manoeuvring, and with Randi putting up brave, determined opposition, the attack was finally repulsed, so now it’s back to the Tortillini between our pillows as before. Much more practical for us, and there is nothing better for me than falling asleep to the sound of contented purring in my ear. Better (and healthier) than any sleeping pill, that’s for sure.
Of course this is my pillow!
Another obvious advance is his treatment of me when we lie together in the evenings. He has always loved lying across my stomach, and often used to walk delicately across my chest when moving from one side to the other. How times have changed! Nowadays he seems to regard me as a suitable place to go walkabout on, and wanders backwards and forwards across me constantly. And he’s not so delicate anymore! He seems to regard my body about like a cheetah must regard an ant hill or a boulder, just something that happens to be in the way. 7 1/2 kilos of cat stomping around on me can be quite painful, but he gets very miffed and complains if I have the temerity to point that out to him.
His interest in his old back yard home has also increased considerably. Probably due to his stay among a lot of other cats, and the fact that spring is coming. He still has this habit of suddenly wanting to go out, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, and of course preferably after about 9 o’clock! Randi has been thoughtless enough to let him out twice recently under these circumstances. Once he turned up again at 2.30 in the morning, and the other time at 6.30 in the morning! Not good for our peace of mind, as there are lots of dogs and other potential dangers for him out there.
What’s your problem, this is MY box!
If he’s not allowed to go out, he will sometimes vent his frustration on a big old cardboard box we still have standing in our living room for his entertainment. One day we put two or three extra boxes on top of it, and he spent a large portion of the night frantically trying to get into HIS box, ending up with big boxes lying around all over the place. After that, he will usually take a couple of fast laps of mad galloping around the apartment, then deliver several loud vocal complaints before relaxing and returning to his favourite spot between our pillows.
We’ve certainly come a long way since we first met this nervous, timid little fellow!
john
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