Introducing Miss A, the opera bat cat in her Tuxedo (actually bat cape not full tux).
I love the above description… and it was written by Miss A’s parent. Doing her due diligence over the person she was entrusting her pet to, my series of articles came to her attention and she sent me a note. Yay!
I also need to explain my picture. Some pics are hard to resist. As I was prepping for this article, however, I noticed that family pics and personal books were in the background. Thank goodness for Microsoft’s editing tools.
Back to Miss A. This was a 5-week sit. I like longer sits because you can relax into a place, remember where you’re going when you’re driving ‘home’, and actually buy groceries. Miss A was of full voice, thus the operatic reference. Her operatic range was probably a necessity as she was a tripod. Her voice allowed her to make her needs known whenever and wherever she needed them. That sounds worse than it was – one night she had been sick and she made sure I woke up to deal with things… that’s fair and it was the only time she called for me in the night.
Miss A watched me from her perch on a sofa for several days until she decided to assert her home ownership. The floral chair in the picture was one I had settled into – it was comfy and had an ottoman. When Miss A left her sofa position, she moved into and onto the chair. Not wanting to disturb her or offend her, I moved onto the sofa. After a few more days, she allowed me the chair again, and she found several spots on which to settle. I took that as a sign that I was accepted. Phewff!
The first week with Miss A was a little concerning as she refused her canned food and when she ate her kibble, she was sick. A change of food was in her future so I opened a can of the tasty new food and mixed a bit of it in with her old food. Bingo! She enjoyed that so she had the combo choice the whole time I was there.
As a tripod, Miss A never wandered far from home. This meant I could leave doors open, she could enjoy the passers-by, and curl up in the long grass just outside the door. Unfortunately, my generous spirit ended quickly one afternoon when I found a raccoon in the kitchen. They can be nasty and I worried that Miss A might not survive a battle of borders. Fortunately, the raccoon didn’t question my authority and left by the closest door.
My sit with Miss A was pretty settled. She learned to trust me and, while she never wanted to cuddle in, she did spend time on the ottoman when I was sitting, and she always welcomed nose and head scratches. Well, almost always.
Miss A’s parent returned very late one evening. I had agreed to stay over to make sure Miss A’s needs were met and I chuckled after breakfast as Miss A settled just outside her parent’s bedroom with a look that said “you’ve done your job, but all’s right with the world again, you may go.”
