Not All Disarrangements Are Bad

I slept better last night, since Moxy was quiet. He started yelling when I had to get up in the middle of the night - a severe cramp in the calf of a leg - but he reverted to silence soon after. He continues to show himself a very friendly fellow, with enough force behind his desire to rub up against a person to knock the person over. He is eating well, though he has pooped only once since the weekend. That may not be cause for worry yet, as he is consuming only soft food. He has a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Tuesday; there appears to be nothing wrong with him - no old scars or injuries from being outside, a chipped tooth but no bad breath, moderate softness to his fur - so the veterinary visit will be a general examination.

The closing of the door to the library has wrought some unexpected changes among the residents, especially Indigo, who is the most affected. Bereft of her usual haunt, she is checking out what the rest of the apartment has to offer, though its space is itself limited with filled boxes. She is curling up on a cushioned dining room chair, and resting in the hall near the front door. I have still been able to deliver her insulin injections, which previously required her to be lying next to me.

She is marginally less annoyed with the proximity of other cats, and has found a new spot in the cylinder-house cat-tree, which she has never visited priorly. This led to a startling episode when Imogen, who likes to jump up to the top of the cylinder, realised that her rival was within, and bounced off the tree as fast as she had arrived on it. No cat was injured in the making of the stunt, however.

Because Indigo sometimes picks on Neville, I have put him in the bedroom with Imo when I leave for work (Imogen and Brazil still go at it from time to time). The Nevsky is more affected by altercations with Indie than is Brazil, so incarceration in the bedroom relaxes him.

On the subject of Shimmer, he is more agile than Nev and, though made more cautious by Indigo’s animosity, is not overly bothered by it, so he stays out with the masked one. His agility may have served him well yesterday, since I came home to this scene.

One other change that Indie probably felt strongly is in the matter of litter-boxes. She had been aware of other boxes in the apartment, but has not before used them. I came home to find a puddle of urine in a shallow box - fortunately, not one that I needed for moving (I’d hate to waste a good box) - and I suspect it was Indigo. I watched her last evening, sniffing out the various boxes to which she had access; I have placed for now a triangular extra box in the bathroom. She eventually used two different boxes, for both wetting and pooping. After being used to your own washroom, it’s tough to have to resort to the general lavatory that everyone else uses.

I think Indie misses the times when I would sit on the library couch and she would join me for some snuggles. But to compensate, she spent almost the whole night on the bed with me - on the opposite side from a disgruntled Imogen. Even when I had to get out of bed at about 2.30, Indigo remained where she was, waiting for my return. She purred while next to me, which was nice to hear. I hope this becomes a habit with her.

So far, Moxy’s influence has actually been of benefit. We’ll see if that continues when he meets everyone…