Koko and JC Share Space
Koko appears to be adjusting to life with CCL and Jean Claude. Apparently Koko has a thing for butter. Recently, at CCL’s house she dragged a stick off the counter and across the floor a bit. She and JC also appear to be getting closer as he at least let’s her nestle near him as he sleeps.
It’s day four after the vicious dog attack that left our precious Japanese bobtail Roxie dead. The sanitation department asked us to put her body in a trash bag or box beside the trash can last Friday. We did so before the vicious storms that attacked the D.C. area. But today- day four after her death – Roxie’s remains remain in the back alley behind the yard. Sunday I arrived home from a family trip I took the day of Roxie’s demise to find Jean Claude calling for Roxie, looking under the bed, running to the basement to announce my arrival from the trip. He hollered most of the night. It had been suggested I take Jean Claude to the bag with her remains and let him know that she has moved on- but some said not to do so because it would make him sad and protective of her space. Calls to the sanitation department so far have not resulted in no action. I realize the storm clean up is taking up a lot of time but hopefully the matter will be resolved today. Tomorrow is a holiday and I’m certain Roxie would like everyone to have a good time.
Many of you have been following this blog for awhile and so you know the behaviors of the two cats. But one of the things that is interesting is when their behavior goes too far. We all have limits. There are limits between parents and children, work colleagues and limits placed on us by society. With animals, you have to set the limits early and keep reinforcing them. One of the days to do it this is through consistent reward and punishment. You reward behaviors you want and punish those you don’t want. The trick is that if you are punishing a behavior, you have to catch the animal doing it in the act. Unlike humans, cats and dogs have no real memory from an action and a consequence. If your cat jumps on the furniture, you can’t punish her an hour after the fact. Pavlov proved this and it is has been repeated.
So the reason for my long-winded story is that there are certain limits the cats have at each of our houses. For example, Roxie has very rarely peed at Azeena’s house, but she does so at my house with impunity. Window blinds are literally purchased by the multiples at Azeena’s because Jean-Claude breaks them at his grandmothers, but leaves mine alone.
In life the one thing you can control is your behavior. You cannot control others, but you can control yourself. There are times when we all feel like we want to push our limits. Test the waters and see how far we can go. In some cases, this is a good thing – Can I go back to school full-time while working full-time and other times, it’s best left alone.
As a Libra, I spend my life looking for balance between stretching my mind, my self-examination and trying to stay grounded. Like Jean-Claude walking along the fence railing it is a hard act and requires constant attention. But I’m up for the challenge.
Most of you know that Roxie and Jean Claude no longer reside with me on a permanent basis. At first when I would visit CCL’s house there were clear signs Roxie, the Japanese bobtail missed me – if I took a nap on CCL’s sofa, she would sleep on top of me. She came to greet me as does Jean Claude, the black Bombay who thinks he a dog, as soon as I opened the door to CCL’s house. Once situated she started to come around after I had been in my daughter’s house for awhile, a low herself to be petted and rubbed and then proceed to prowl and walk around as if she were queen of the manor. At some point Roxie was not herself for a couple of days, she refiused to come downstairs and was tender when picked up, perhaps a set back following her surgery last fall but the last few days I went to visit her she seemed to be her old self – Queen of the Manor.
CCL and I recently went to the Sachal Vasandani , – A Chicago-born jazz singer of Indian descent – amazing. Sachal’s “Eyes Wide Open-Naked As We Came” truly fits the “Rhythm of Roxie.”
There’s a lot of Christmas this year. My neightbors have outdone themselves with decor including moving Reindeer, lights, talking Santas and the like Roxie and Jean Claude for the time being remain at grandma’s house. Currently Roxie is sitting on my bed enjoying the sounds of Christmas music blasting from the television. She is also fascinated by the Christmas tree. Jean Claude, well yes, but he really liked playing with his cat Christmas toys as well as the foiled wrapped candies and admiring the neighborhood Christmas lights.
Listen here to Dave Francis’s “Auld Lang Syne”
Cats & All That ™ 