Chapter Six – Family at Last
Sep 23, 2005
5:03 PM
Phantom is so funny. Now that he’s finally figuring out that the Bad Boy Mouseketeers aren’t really trying to kill him, he’s making rapid progress exploring the other parts of the house. I mentioned that he’s been peeking around the office and guest bedroom recently and that day before yesterday was the first time he’d come into the office while I was in there.
Well, today he not only came into the office, but he actually jumped into the cat chair and onto my desk while I was working on the computer! He only stayed a minute, but that was a minute longer than he’d ever been here before. This is an important milestone since I keep a bowl of cat food on my desk for the kids. That’s the first household feeding station that Phantom has found. That means that once I open the basement door on his graduation day, I can take his food out of the master bathroom and let him eat with the masses. Now if he would just locate and use one of the community litter boxes, I could look forward to removing his litterbox from the bathroom on graduation day, as well.
Phantom enjoyed another “first” today, too. I found him sleeping on the bed for the first time ever during daylight hours. In fact, I found him napping on the bed several times today, once with Footsie!!! Not actually touching Footsie, mind you, but within a few feet of him. In his typically cautious fashion, Phantom remained in a sphinx position (ready to leap away) on one corner of the end of the bed. I predict that within the next few days, my little skitterbug will be lying flat on his side in the middle of the bed, soaking up rays with Footsie.
Under the heading, REALLY BAD IDEA, Phantom also decided to try his luck leaping on top of Lamie this afternoon. Had she seen him coming, she would surely have nailed his impudent black butt to the wall. Phantom is quite good at hit-and-run, though, so the best Lamie could manage was an after-the-fact hiss and growl.
OH, one other thing I’ve most certainly never seen before – Phantom actually smacked Footsie today and made him retreat a few steps and lie down! I think it surprised Footsie as much as it did me!
It might be time for me to start setting a few behavioral boundaries for that boy. Help me, I think my Frankenstein has awoken and is ready to take on the villagers! LOL!
Oct 12, 2005
12:43 PM
Phantom has now decided that he wants to buddy up with Footsie, so he is gradually developing a more comfortable relationship with him. He will approach Footsie, and they will exchange greetings and occasionally lie near each other, but Phantom is still distrustful enough of both Footsie and Feather that he will not engage in play with them. Phantom is, however, still testing the “play waters” with the other cats, none of whom have shown any interest whatsoever in playing with him. Of course, Phantom’s style of play involves pouncing on the other cat with claws fully extended, then immediately leaping away in a cloud of pulled-out hair. Doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out why Phantom hasn’t managed to cultivate any play buddies yet. I’m hoping he’ll adopt a more socially acceptable form of kitty play as he continues to relax and acclimate to family life.
Phantom seems to enjoy sleeping near Raggie, our ancient, oblivious Cocker mix, but he generally tries to avoid the bothersome Wookie who has now decided that his favorite chew toys are kitty heads. Dogs don’t rattle Phantom at all as long as they don’t stomp on him or try to chew off his body parts. When the Bossy Aussies and Wookie get “the stupids” and start tearing around the house, Phantom and most of the other cats tuck themselves into inaccessible spaces until the ruckus subsides or I kick the dogs outside to exhaust themselves.
Feather has, for the most part, mellowed his attitude toward Phantom and only rarely chases him anymore … probably because Feather has been courting the lovely Annabelle. It is such a joy to watch Feather and Annabelle bouncing after one another around the house. Not exactly the pair I would have expected to team up with, but I’m very glad to see Annabelle coming out of her oh-so-haughty shell and acting silly. It’s also nice to see that Feather can make friends. He’s still downright nasty and aggressive with Mew (which really hurts my heart for Mew), but he seems to be trying to forge some sort of playful relationship with Noddy. Feather will often maneuver himself into a position to be able to casually play with Noddy’s tail, which Noddy doesn’t particularly appreciate. Occasionally, I have even seen Feather gently bop Noddy on the head, which Noddy also does not appreciate. Fortunately for Feather, Noddy doesn’t take him seriously and is willing to disregard his insolence. Feather seems, at least, to have the good sense not to push his luck with a cat twice his size like Noddy.
Footsie continues to be … well … Footsie. He’s just an all-around well-adjusted family man. He loves a good, rowdy game of chase and wrestles with Feather, and he’s not above antagonizing the other animals if he thinks he can get away with it. On the other paw, he can be so demanding of affection that he’ll glue himself to me and drool all over me in blissful delight. Of course, he’ll reject any advances he does not initiate personally. Footsie subscribes to the typically feline philosophy of “life on my own terms”. He has an exceptionally centered soul.
Regrettably, Footsie is the one who taught Wookie the joys of the cat chasing and head chewing. Footsie would entice Wookie to chase him, and once Wook caught him, Footsie would hold his ground while Wookie tried to grab his ears. Once Footsie tired of the game, he started making himself scarce, leaving Wookie to find another cat to antagonize. Poor Weasel is now the chew toy of choice. Last week I caught Wookie lying on top of Weasel, straddling him, chewing his head. Although I do tend to intervene and drag Wookie off of Weasel when I encounter such scenes, I really needn’t bother. Weasel probably outweighs Wookie by a pound or two, and he’s certainly not shy about implementing both claws and fangs to get his points across. Of course, if Wookie weren’t so well shielded by his increasingly ridiculous mop of hair, Weasel’s retaliations would be far more effective. Oh well.
All in all, things have settled down to a dull roar here at Shadowood … for the moment. Did I mention that Joe has spotted both a black and an orange cat about halfway down the driveway over the last week?
Three of this year’s new additions: Feather, Wookie, and Phantom share a peaceful moment.
Oct 12, 2005
12:48 PM
Phantom with his favorite dog, Raggie.
Oct 12, 2005
12:51 PM
Feather and Footsie overseeing the hayfields from a safe and warm vantage point.
Oct 12, 2005
4:02 PM
I couldn’t resist posting portraits of all Three Mouseketeers. In alphabetical order:
Feather
Oct 12, 2005
4:25 PM
Footsie
Oct 12, 2005
4:27 PM
Phantom
Oct 12, 2005
10:28 PM
I have sprayers in my house, as well. I don’t even know who’s doing it, but I know Weasel is my primary offender. I’ve also caught Mew and Noddy in the act on occasion, and I know that Billy NEVER uses a litterbox (the bathmat, bathtub, and basement floor are his preferred areas for elimination). BooBoo generally uses the bathroom sink and/or tub. When I first brought Footsie into the house this summer (when he was still intact), he sprayed everything he could get near. I haven’t seen him spray since he was neutered, though.
There’s a product called Feliway Comfort Zone that is supposed to do miraculous things to calm marking behavior. It mimics a cat’s natural scent mark (from the facial scent glands, NOT urine), so cats are presumably fooled into believing they have already marked the territory and are discouraged from doing so again. I haven’t tried it, but I have read reports of its effectiveness in diminishing or eliminating territorial marking. It might just help all of our situations.
BTW, although I am clearly still able to type, I make no claims to sanity.
Oct 17, 2005
6:40 AM
Yes, indeed, Phantom is coming into his own. Phantom and I were on the couch, Phantom sleeping at one end, and I sitting at the other. Feather jumped into my lap for a nap. After a while, I needed to get up, so I slid Feather off my lap onto the cushion closer to Phantom. The next time I came into the living room, this was the scene …
Oct 17, 2005
6:42 AM
Lest there be any misunderstanding, Phantom wasn’t actually trying to rip Feather’s ear off. He was, instead, giving him a very tender head bath …
Oct 17, 2005
6:44 AM
after which they continued to nap together in peaceful bliss. 🙂
Oct 18, 2005
7:14 AM
I discovered a very effective “bite deterrent” by accident a month or so ago. Phantom bit me so hard that I gasped, and when I expelled the air, he instantly released. Since then, I’ve been using face-blowing to get him to release whenever he bites hard, and it works like a charm. No more jaw prying.
Of course, he never bites me out of anger or aggression. It’s always when he’s in his most loving, attention-demanding moments when he gets overstimulated and clamps down HARD! At least he’s helping me sharpen up my reaction time. My hands are now almost quicker than his mouth! 😉
Oct 22, 2005
8:40 PM
… and the gates came tumblin’ down! Phantom officially graduated today. He is now a fully integrated member of the family with FULL household access!
After Joe and I spent some time in the basement this morning making sure any and all accesses to the ceiling were repaired, I finally bit the bullet and opened the basement door for Phantom to gain entry to the last forbidden household realm. This must be what it feels like to send one’s child off to college because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t see my boy again until at least Thanksgiving. But he surprised me.
When I opened the door, Phantom was napping on the couch. Within a few minutes, he was at the top of the stairs gazing into the depths beneath. As he started down the stairs, Feather spied him, and I could tell the white demon meant to make trouble on Phantom’s first journey south. I snatched up Mr. Mischief before he could throw Phantom down the stairs and held onto him until Phantom reached the bottom on his own. As soon as I released Feather, he raced down after Phantom and chased him back upstairs. So much for exploring the basement.
I saw Phantom on the basement stairs a couple more times this afternoon, but his interest in exploring the underworld is almost non-existent at this point. I’m guessing that his interest will pique once the rest of us turn in for the night. It will be Phantom’s first night of freedom in the house. No more overnight bedroom restriction for that boy. I won’t be surprised, however, if he spends the night in the bedroom, anyway.
I wonder how many times I’ll be awoken in the middle of the night over the next week to rescue Phantom from whoever decides to smack him around in the basement if he does go exploring.
Happy Graduation Day, Phantom! I knew you could do it!
THE END