Sophie's World

A big M-E-O-W to you! Nice to see you again!

Don’t even think about it. Just do it. Celebrate Hug Your Cat Day by giving your cat a big hug.

Celebrate the joy she brings into your life, the unconditional love, the trust. Celebrate those bizarre moments when she chases pixies in your living room. Celebrate those days when she won’t leave your side and demands to be held.

Celebrate her wackiness, her quiet, her poise. Celebrate those days when she just seems to know that you need a hug.

Celebrate those days when she won’t stop talking or those days when you have to search for her. Celebrate when she dogs your every move or sleeps on your computer keyboard. Cherish and love your cat for all the joy she brings into your life.

Photo by Hob

Tweet This Post

It seemed like Sophie and I both were having one of those days. Nothing is worse than a bad hair day. With Sophie, it was excessive shedding, probably because she lays right in front of our direct heat furnace. Yes, we’ve still had to run the heat on occasion.

For me, nothing looked right. I tried styling my hair. Yuck. I put it up. It won’t lay straight. I brushed it out, and it got frizzy. It is days like that I just want to cut it all off and start from scratch. What I needed was some serious Hair Care.

Well, it actually worked out. As part of my weekly to-do list, I have a task called “Spa Monday”. That’s the time I’ll indulge myself in something nice. I figure it is a good way to set the tone for the week. Even Sophie gets her own spa day. I’ll give her a good brushing to keep her coat nice and shiny—and to keep the shedding down.

For me, it was a deep conditioning treatment. Besides feeling good, it perked up my mood. There’s nothing better than taking care of yourself once in awhile, especially when stress or other worries brings you down.

I learned a valuable lesson from Sophie. Before we switched her to her present food, her coat was dull and flaky. So, I tried her approach. I started taking biotin and fish oil supplements. As good quality nutrition did for her, my hair improved.

I’ll have to believe her next time Sophie looks at me with those eyes that say she knows it all. Maybe she should get fed whenever she wants.

Tweet This Post

One of the issues that I discussed with Sophie’s vet was her tendency to go into an unoccupied room and cry. All she wanted was attention, yes, but why go where there are no people?

It usually happens after my husband gets home from work. During the day while I’m writing, Sophie is sound asleep. Naturally, my husband and I talk a bit at first. Sophie gets noticed, but I’ve missed the hubby too.

Dr. Bob suggested that I try a spray bottle when she uses inappropriate behavior as one way to deter her. I remember that we used a spray bottle on my last cat, Ruby (RIP), when she started clawing the furniture.

Ruby was a smart cat. She only was disciplined twice by the Disciplinarian. After that, I only had to shake it to get her to stop.

So, I thought I’d give it a try with Sophie. Earlier this week, she started up right after I fed her. WTF, I thought. C’mon on. I’ve been her all day. So, I squirted her.

Never will I squirt her again. Good-bye, Disciplinarian. I felt so guilty. Here she was, with unconditional trust in me and I let her have it.

Lesson learned: I’ll put up with her yowling and find other ways to distract her. I can’t really fault her for wanting attention.

Photo by gokoroko

Tweet This Post

I have to say, Sophie is an intelligent cat. We’ve taught her to get fed only when an alarm goes off. She likes mental stimulation. She also gets bored easily.

As I’ve written elsewhere, I recently purchased a new laptop. I was troubled by the fact that I was wasting so much time at night. I wanted to be able to work anywhere. I also desperately needed an upgrade. Sophie’s reaction surprised me.

I thought that having a laptop on my lap as I watched TV would be just fine with her. She’d appreciate the extra warmth. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The first night I brought out the laptop, she stared. WTF, I’m sure is what she was thinking. Rather than jump up on the couch as was her usual practice, she sat near the couch. She wouldn’t jump up. She’d whine a bit, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

My husband figured it out. It was that black thing on the couch with me. Sophie was jealous of a laptop. At first, I laughed. How silly! Then, I was missing our nightly cuddles. To get her back on the couch, I set the laptop aside until she took her place. Only then would I dare bring it out. Eventually, she came to accept the black thing. Now, it’s not an issue. Maybe she does even enjoy its warmth.

Cats are funny animals. A cat that has claimed you as their own is a force not to be trifled with. To keep peace in the home, make sure your cat gets her time.

Tweet This Post

I made a decision for this holiday season: I am only shopping online. I don’t want to deal with the crowds, the traffic, and pushy salespeople. I want to shop on my time, my way.

For Sophie, the cat who has everything, a gift will be a challenge. I’m looking forward to finding something unique for her. I’ll read the blogs and cat sites for some ideas. Twitter is also a good place for ideas. As I find ideas, I’ll share them too.

The hubby is another story. We’ve been spending more evenings at home, much to Sophie’s delight. It was nice because when we were in Illinois, anyway, we were part of a Wine of the month club.  Unfortunately, Minnesota law prevents us from joining a wine club, but given the opportunity, I’d do it again in a heart beat. It was always an adventure, getting a new wine, more often than not, a wine that we wouldn’t have picked up normally. The club we were a part of also included a recipe to accompany the wine. What a great experience it was! We had a great dinner at home, Sophie was happy, it was a good time.

That is the key. I want to get something for my husband and Sophie that will encourage our bonding time. Life is just too short not to be sharing it with the ones that matter most to you. Today, I was playing one of the many little games with Sophie as dinner cooked. She was so happy, purring away, so glad just for the opportunity to be with us. I think as I consider Christmas gifts this year, I’ll give her the one gift she wants most–all of us together.

Tweet This Post