Yes, I still have the three cats.
Yes, they are still alive, at least as of this morning.
I admit, I opened the door with some trepidation today.
I have not been in there since... I think it was Saturday afternoon.
Maybe it was Sunday afternoon...
no, it was on Saturday.
I'd been at Armstrong that morning to read for the GA Regional High School Science Bowl.
When I was done there, I'd brought my reward -
three slices of Domino's pepperoni pizza -
home with me, to consume with Lactaid milk (to offset the ill effects of mozzarella).
After I dined, I had entered my Ocean Room,
currently known as Cat Haven,
scooping the litter box, giving them more water, and refreshing the food.
Then I had let them alone - no petting - and they had been fine with that.
I went off to wash clothes, then to dine at Bonefish with Barbara and Sandy -
you know, my regular life, B.C.
Notice the black plastic dish on the white paper, upper left?
That was the third water container I had tried for them.
The large, shiny metal bowl that matched their food bowls?
No, that absolutely did not work and they did not use it.
My square, glass casserole dish?
Nope, they did not like that, either, going so far as to put dirty feet in it and to splash out the water onto the carpet.
No, that did not work for them or for me.
The winner was the three-compartment take-home dish from Cracker Barrel.
They can hardly wait for me to pour the water in before they start lapping it up.
Champ, in particular, really likes water.
That's him, in the back, still lapping it up.
Elton, on the other hand, was ready for some food.
He was at the bowl while I was pouring in the 9-Lives.
That was the bowl closest to the filing cabinet.
He had moved on to sample the middle bowl by the time Annie came over.
That's the photo I sent to Ed. He has been noticeably absent since last Wednesday.
He has only come by three times in the two weeks they have been here.
Three times - and that was all during the first week.
I am so disappointed with him.
Sure, he had called on Friday to say he was sick...
but he hasn't even called to check on the cats since then.
If not for my sending the photo to him today to elicit a call, I doubt I would have heard anything at all from him.
Sigh.
The cats are doing much better at staying away from the door.
I didn't even have to squirt any of them today.
That's good.
Hopefully, we can continue like this for another week.
That first week, I had been going in there twice a day. In the afternoon, I would turn on the overhead light. Before I went to bed, I would turn off the light. Each time, I would pet them and take care of their needs.
However, every time I came in, it was a battle to keep them in when I entered and another battle to keep them in when I exited.
That was far too stressful for me.
I'm sure it was stressful for them, too.
I leave the overhead light on all the time now and never go in to pet them.
I leave them alone...
and they leave me alone...
and we are all much more relaxed.
Hopefully, they will soon be going home in a couple of weeks.
If not, they'll be going to the animal shelter.
As I've told everyone, these are not my cats -
and they will not become mine, either.
When I do decide to get an animal companion, I will choose a dog.
I will not choose a cat... unless I can find one like the 'Tess.
I think she was one of a kind, though.
I miss that girl.
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