5.20.2004
Uncontrollable exuberance
Watch out. I'm going to become one of those annoying people who talk about their pets as if they're their children.
Since bringing home our little sweetie Celia on Tuesday evening, we've mostly left her in the guest bathroom so she could get used to a small space, but we've gradually let her venture out into the rest of the house. Her ventures started with small periods of time in the living room with Patti locked up elsewhere in the house, and then after we did that a few times, we tried having Patti and Celia meet face to face. A book we read suggested that we keep Celia in a carrier and let Patti hiss at her so she could get used to her on her terms (kittens are fairly resilient, but "resident" cats tend to be territorial and offended when little pipsqueaks enter the scene). The only thing that happened when we tried is that Patti hid behind furniture and refused to look at Celia, so this morning, I thought I'd try putting them a few feet apart. I reassured and petted Patti the whole time and was careful not to show Celia any affection in front of her (this according to popular suggestion), but Patti remained rather sheepish and nonconfrontational and tended to slink away. There were a few times that Celia got a little too close, then Patti hissed and Celia backed off, so that gives me some hope about Celia's social skills, at least. =) I've been letting Celia basically roam free this afternoon (except in the guest bedroom, since there are places she might get stuck), and Patti has remained under our bed the whole time, trying her best to keep a safe distance. I figure she has to come out for food at some point, and maybe then, she'll start to get used to this little mewing thing that seems to have invaded her house.
Celia's a climber. She's not big enough to jump up on furniture, so she scales it until she reaches the top. She's also grown quite fond of climbing her traffic-cone-shaped scratching post and perching on the 4 x 4 square of carpet on top. It's hilarious to watch her sitting up there as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Her balance is astounding. =) She has resorted to some negative behavior, however, especially playing with the curtains and scratching furniture, so she's been met each time with a strong "no!" and a quick squirt of water from the spray bottle. She learns fast, but she's tried so many different bad things that she now has a very wet head. Somehow, she hasn't figured out that the sprays are coming from me, so that's good. =) Basically, she's a rambunctious nut. (Incidentally, Merriam-Webster defines "rambunctious" as "marked by uncontrollable exuberance," which I found to be an amusingly-worded definition. I enjoy the dictionary.) I wish that I lived closer to most of you so that you could meet her while she's still a kitten. This is one of those times when having a video camera would be terrific! I'm glad Jeannette came by yesterday and got a chance to meet her; Celia put on her best silly kitten mood and entertained us both the whole time. I have to say that my favorite thing to watch her do is pounce. She gets low to the ground and twitches her butt back and forth like grown cats do, but when she gets to the point of "springing to action," it's less like a long, graceful leap and more like a discombobulated scamper.
In other news, it's getting very hot here, and our A/C is starting to demonstrate its inadequacy. We knew when we bought the house that the unit was too small for the house (one of the few things that wasn't the fault of the contractors who sold it to us), so we've been considering taking out a loan to buy a new unit. Ugh, right? We don't want more debt (since we already have my car, our house, and Jack's student loans), but I think that since the A/C is basically useless at regulating the temperature during the day, we need a change. Ceiling fans do much to circulate the air, but it's just so hot, with promises to get hotter as we move closer to August! Yuck.
Since bringing home our little sweetie Celia on Tuesday evening, we've mostly left her in the guest bathroom so she could get used to a small space, but we've gradually let her venture out into the rest of the house. Her ventures started with small periods of time in the living room with Patti locked up elsewhere in the house, and then after we did that a few times, we tried having Patti and Celia meet face to face. A book we read suggested that we keep Celia in a carrier and let Patti hiss at her so she could get used to her on her terms (kittens are fairly resilient, but "resident" cats tend to be territorial and offended when little pipsqueaks enter the scene). The only thing that happened when we tried is that Patti hid behind furniture and refused to look at Celia, so this morning, I thought I'd try putting them a few feet apart. I reassured and petted Patti the whole time and was careful not to show Celia any affection in front of her (this according to popular suggestion), but Patti remained rather sheepish and nonconfrontational and tended to slink away. There were a few times that Celia got a little too close, then Patti hissed and Celia backed off, so that gives me some hope about Celia's social skills, at least. =) I've been letting Celia basically roam free this afternoon (except in the guest bedroom, since there are places she might get stuck), and Patti has remained under our bed the whole time, trying her best to keep a safe distance. I figure she has to come out for food at some point, and maybe then, she'll start to get used to this little mewing thing that seems to have invaded her house.
Celia's a climber. She's not big enough to jump up on furniture, so she scales it until she reaches the top. She's also grown quite fond of climbing her traffic-cone-shaped scratching post and perching on the 4 x 4 square of carpet on top. It's hilarious to watch her sitting up there as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Her balance is astounding. =) She has resorted to some negative behavior, however, especially playing with the curtains and scratching furniture, so she's been met each time with a strong "no!" and a quick squirt of water from the spray bottle. She learns fast, but she's tried so many different bad things that she now has a very wet head. Somehow, she hasn't figured out that the sprays are coming from me, so that's good. =) Basically, she's a rambunctious nut. (Incidentally, Merriam-Webster defines "rambunctious" as "marked by uncontrollable exuberance," which I found to be an amusingly-worded definition. I enjoy the dictionary.) I wish that I lived closer to most of you so that you could meet her while she's still a kitten. This is one of those times when having a video camera would be terrific! I'm glad Jeannette came by yesterday and got a chance to meet her; Celia put on her best silly kitten mood and entertained us both the whole time. I have to say that my favorite thing to watch her do is pounce. She gets low to the ground and twitches her butt back and forth like grown cats do, but when she gets to the point of "springing to action," it's less like a long, graceful leap and more like a discombobulated scamper.
In other news, it's getting very hot here, and our A/C is starting to demonstrate its inadequacy. We knew when we bought the house that the unit was too small for the house (one of the few things that wasn't the fault of the contractors who sold it to us), so we've been considering taking out a loan to buy a new unit. Ugh, right? We don't want more debt (since we already have my car, our house, and Jack's student loans), but I think that since the A/C is basically useless at regulating the temperature during the day, we need a change. Ceiling fans do much to circulate the air, but it's just so hot, with promises to get hotter as we move closer to August! Yuck.
Labels: felines, house, language
- posted by erica 5/20/2004 06:00:00 PM
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