Orange is the New Normal

First let me state that Cammie is much improved; she is eating well again and playing her favourite game, which I take for a very good sign. Now that this is the case, and even though my previous article mentioned how routines are routinely upset when one has several cats, life is settling into a pattern as much as possible, now that Parker has joined the household.

One blessing is that, though he is yet another mouth to feed - I write literally, not financially - he loves his food and there is no time spent coaxing, re-arranging, pleading, in order to have him empty a dish. As well, he is very regular in his litter-box habits, using it once, rarely twice, a day. So the physical chores that he requires have not added as much to my work-load as may have been the case.

He is growing accustomed to my method of giving him his insulin, and lies down for his injection, which I give in his sides, as I do with Tucker. I always worry that I am not getting the medicine into him, but I’m sure I am. One of the first attempts with a syringe missed the fold I’d made in Parker’s skin and spilled the insulin on his fur. If it is not going into him, then I would notice it, and I haven’t noticed it lately. And if he hadn’t been receiving his insulin in the last three weeks, I’d be visiting him in hospital, so my aim must be pretty good.

He spends my work-days in the library, and I think is grateful for the window out of which to look. He spreads himself on the shorter bookcase and views the world from there. Once I am home, he wants out. I feed everyone - including myself - first, and then, once the others are settled down for a post-prandial snooze, I release the new boy. He doesn’t sit still, having been cooped up all day, but explores, to see all that may be new since he was last out. Our apartment must be very boring to him.

Parker likes to play. He will entertain himself, which is why I like to leave the toys lying all over the floor for me to step on. I will be writing at the dining table and see the new fellow rumble across my vision, chasing something or other. I also try to play with him before bed-time, though he seems to like cuddling-time just as much. He is a very friendly cat, and will follow me about much of the time. He is social, and enjoys attention.

The other cats are still a stumbling block. They tend not to move about too much when Parker is out. They are wary. Renn and Josie seem the least trouble now; Parker will try to get close to them periodically, but I think this is curiosity more than provocation. Josie does not like it at all, and crabs in her old-lady scratchy voice, while Renn gives his low warning. But I don’t separate anyone right away; I tell each that he or she is a good cat and that no harm is meant. I try to encourage each to accept the other, rather than immediately dividing them. Cammie and Tucker have some distance to go before acceptance will be considered.

And so, while I wrote formerly that normalcy does not exist in my home, we try to come close. And right now, orange is the new normal.