Still low

I had a terrible night, just could not get to sleep. Around two I got up again and made myself a cup of Chamomile tea. That seems to have helped, but I continued to keep waking up for no apparent reason. As a result it was very, very late when I finally did wake up. It was Lady Jane biting my calf that finally woke me.

I kept the Mips indoors at first, as I meant to get some groceries – but the headache I woke up with, and the low energy levels changed my mind. It’s overcast and cool, but the sun is promising to clear the skies and blast down after noon.

Tensions between Ziva and the Mips continue – I just had to shout at Ziva to let Mewthos come in! She hissed and clawing at him. After that he needed an extensive cuddle session.

To ‘get rid of’ him, I went outside – and he gladly ran downstairs! I saw Lady Jane exploring round the back – with Rose’s tom guarding her way back! She carefully stalked in a wide circle around him, and when she was back on the grass, he chased her! Ha ha! Just chased, he didn’t attack her – just made sure she knew she wasn’t welcome there! As he stalked proudly back home, Shadow appeared. She’s been staying with the neighbours on my side, rather than with Rose – who misses her!

I suppose it must have been very confusing for poor Shadow! She first ‘stayed’ with the neighbours on my side, who were feeding her. When they went away, she visited Rose, who took her to be spayed – after which she very happily claimed her new home! Which was a bit difficult, since she would attack Rose’s geriatrics. A week later, Ziva made her disappearance and Shadow was placed with the kittens! Though Rose visited daily, she may have thought it punishment? Then, when the kittens were old enough, she was denied sleeping upstairs and loved downstairs. This time she did not attack her cats. Instead, she went out all day but came home every evening, staying the night. And then Rose went away for a week – Shadow just looked at me the first night, and turned around. The next evening she saw again that it’s just me - and turned around again. Rose’s cats were also confused that I would keep coming into their home, filling their food and water bowls. They were very good about it – on days I was home, I let them out all day with the door hooked ajar, and on days I worked I could only let them out for a few hours in the evening. But they always either were or came inside, when I came to feed then and lock up. I would pet them, and give them what attention they let me, without pushing. Her tom did not take to the change, though, and by the time Rose came back he had lost a lot of weight – and even her home-coming didn’t simply alleviate his stress. She had to take him to the vet, since after her return, he didn’t keep food down. He’s fine now and put on a bit of weight again. Back to normal. Both Rose and I told her cats what would happen – that she’d go away – and when she would be coming home. So much for cats being ‘aloof’, eh? When Rose came home, it took a few days before Shadow would visit – and then, after a few nights, she didn’t come home to Rose at all anymore. She is – once again – at the neighbours next to me. I see her every now and then, sitting in the driveway by the fence.

Sigh, and now Ziva attacked Lady Jane! Ziva is lying in the doorway like a guard dog – denying entrance to all cats! Even shouting did not deter her from clawing at Lady Jane, I had to get up and pick her up (which she does not like!) just so Lady Jane could come in! I give her as much attention as I can – but she insists on staying on the floor, so I have to bend to rub her tummy! If I settle down on the floor next to her, to give her attention, she walks off.

Romeo came for a feeding session again – I got a closer look today, and he’s actually quite thin. His fur is quite fluffy, which is why he seemed well-fed. I’m really not keen of feeding another cat – my finances have nowhere near recovered from the first couple of months of the kitties, all that special food and all those vaccinations! And all prices are going up tomorrow – courtesy of the VAT increase. As I said before, a lot of prices have gone up already – some way more than the 1% VAT increase. My salary stays the same, though.

The weather stayed overcast all day, with breaks in the clouds letting the sun through on occasion, but now it’s looking dark enough for rain, again. At least it’s nice and cool – neither hot nor cold. And I didn’t feel immobilized by the heat. I got a few things done, just basics, though. Nothing worth mentioning.

When it got too dark, I lured the Mips inside and played with them for a while. It was a bit unusual, Mewthos selected the glove, but showed very little enthusiasm for play. I got a toy for each, this time – Lady Jane selected her favourite: the purple fluff thing. She threw herself into play with her usual abandon – but Mewthos was not very enthusiastic. He also came for more cuddle sessions throughout the day, than he normally does.

Eventually Ziva showed up – with a Gecko! Lady Jane went nuts – I tried to hold her back, to give Ziva a chance to examine her prey, but I could only hold her for a minute or so. She went absolutely ballistic, needing to examine the moving thing. Mewthos also went for it – poor Ziva stood no chance!

Lady Jane, although the tiniest of my Mips, is undeniably the Alpha! She explores furthest in the garden, spends loads of time in the tree, loves to walk on my shoulder, and is when she wants attention, does not take no for an answer. She is also the most curious – she wants to see everything I do, understand what I’m doing, and tries to help. Ziva and Mewthos are very alike, though. Both cry for attention, both prefer to be on the ground with me bending down to rub their tummies, and they both like to sleep by my feet on top of the duvet – whereas Lady Jane burrows under the duvet just because it’s what I do. She doesn’t like being under the duvet, so she only burrows from the feet to my face, gets some attention, burrows back to my feet, stays there for a while and then climbs out. Ziva, however, stalks off if either the Mips or I get too close for comfort. It’s quite discouraging seeing her get up and stalk off just because I’m stroking her lovely soft fur!

Relationships are still dynamic, with the Mips still growing and finding themselves, finding their place. Add to that Ziva’s role changing, from mother to … what? And she’s on her own now, she no longer has Shadow showing her or being there for her. The Mips are still quite selfishly demanding, still try to nurse, and very rarely do I see either Mip grooming Ziva. I also rarely see them grooming each other, lately – and instead of giving each other attention, they each come to me, one after the other. Sigh, I somehow need to find a way to direct them to each other. I sometimes wonder whether integration would have been smoother, if they weren’t one family! I hope they find their places and settle down soon – I truly dread having to move them! I am going to have one heck of a time, trying to keep Ziva indoors in the new place for three weeks! And that’s an understatement.