That Sudden Moment

A number of readers have asked how I am feeling. I am better; the worst aspects of whatever I had lasted only a day and a bit. A dry cough continues; I have found that a cough tends to linger after the more troubling symptoms of an illness disappear. I went back to work the day subsequent to staying home, and am recovered to a great extent.

More importantly, Coda has emerged from hiding.

I have been spending time lying on the floor in the back parlour, talking to him. Last night, he came out, bit by bit. He was still wary, but he was purring the whole time; this may have been, though, a nervous purr, used to reassure himself. In any case, he took the dare and showed himself. There always seems to be that one moment when a cat decides, suddenly, to risk the chance.

He even sniffed my fingers. I don’t think he liked the smell. He knows there are other cats in his new home, but knowing their presence and smelling it are two different things to a feline. That will be dealt with. In the meantime, he is becoming braver, more confident; he is playing, and looking out windows. He still has a week remaining in his quarantine; I will use the time to let him become more accustomed to me. I then intend to let him meet his fellow kittens, and perhaps Moxy.

Yes, Coda is a kitten. I mentioned that previously, but not his age, until yesterday. The veterinary explained to me that a cat’s adult molars, incisors and fangs (it’s silly to call them canines…) come in at different stages. I think she stated that the incisors grow in first; then the fangs, and lastly the molars. Coda does not have his molars, which places him at about five months of age. That makes him approximately two weeks older than the Tempos. Just the right age for making new friends.