I’m writing this between Canada Day (this past Saturday) and Independence Day (tomorrow). Happy belated and future celebrations, y’all, you guys, youse, you’uns, and however you pronounce that direct address in Canada.
A brief update on Perry today. Since he was on his own for whoever-knows-how-long, he doesn’t like me to touch his head or his back, and he spends some of his time under the bed (and the rest on the bed or in his cat tree), but he is certainly learning his lessons well because I taught him a trick.
He’s pretty sweet, isn’t he?!
Here he is on the bed (that has lots of layers of covers on because of the deworming). By the way, today is dose #2.
So is Perry feral or not? My guess is that a lot of people would have automatically classified him as feral, but that he was somewhere on the continuum between socialized and feral–and that with some effort he is moving over toward the socialized side. It’s nice that he likes to lie on the bed with me to watch TV, likes to play with me, and taps my hand with his paw every time I ask.
I am reading the 2nd set of galleys for Kin Types. With an uptick in work lately and spending time with Perry, I stopped writing again. Ugh. I need to find a routine that works. Maybe writing in the bedroom with Perry? But that would be ignoring him!
Enjoyed the Perry report. He’s really adorable, Luanne, and I can see why you’re so patiently helping him progress. My Chapman kitty approves! Happy proofreading, and have a terrific Fourth of July.
I love that Mr. Chapman approves! Thank you so much, Elaine. You too have a wonderful 4th!
Happy Fourth to you! So delighted to see Perry out and about and making friends.
Thanks, Maggie. I am delighted with how he’s doing, too! Happy 4th!!!
He reminds me so much of my tom, Pete (gray and white, instead of the black). We got him from the humane society when he was six months old and it took about 4 weeks to coax him out from under the bed. He’d been living outside on his own. Even now, I have to make blanket caves for him to hide in, but he turned out to be a very sweet, very mellow cat. Thanks for sharing Perry.
Michelle, Perry is gray and white, too. Such a mellow man. I hope he will turn out like your Pete! Blanket caves are a great idea. I expect I will be doing that for Perry once he gets to be with the other cats.
He is so sweet and seems to be doing very well, I’m glad to see him.
He is such a sweetie pie. Thanks, Andrea. Beautiful sea post.
Thanks Luanne.
He is beautiful. Thanks for the Perry report.
You’re welcome :)! He is beautiful! Hope Scotland was all you could wish for!
What a sweetheart Perry is! I like the idea of a feral to domesticated continuum, and not just for cats..our dots might be all over the place…
Haha. Yes, there is no doubt that there is a continuum. I mean, there are cats that are absolutely never going to tolerate humans, but so many others that people just assume are feral and are not. I knew when Perry was blinking at me when I read to him in the shelter that he needed a chance.
Aww…love that. Just read an article about a local effort to calm shy cats and help reluctant readers…the kids (grades 1-6) get to spend thirty minutes a day in the shy cat room at the human society, reading aloud to the cats. I guess it’s a great win-win success!
We were just discussing if we could do something like that. So many shelter people don’t seem to understand the value of the reading, but WOW I think it helps a LOT.
I’m a believer!
Perry is a good fella, really pretty sweet, a playful character. Time is all he needs now to find his home routine =^:^=
Ciao
Sid
Sid, yes, he just needs time. Time to get used to things and then time to get used to the other cats. I will use a gate and sheet for awhile so they can sniff and see each other.
=^_^=
That is just the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen! Happy 4th to you, Luanne.
Aw, thanks, Anneli. He is so darling! Thank you, Anneli!
Aw…you’re the cat whisperer, Luanne!
That’s nice of you to say, Jill! Perry just needed a chance is all. Happy 4th to you!
Reminds me of my Hazel. She’s been here 12 years and doesn’t always like to be petted or touched. Sometimes…maybe, but it’s on her terms. However, she loves the other cats and in other ways is a good cat. Just not a lap cat. Sweet Perry!
I have a feeling he will be ok with the other cats because he is mellow, but he is a LOT younger than the rest. Sloopy Anne is 6, and she’s the spring chicken of the bunch. Last night he got into the wastebasket and tore up all the papers and even shredded the plastic bag. Like a baby because that is what he is!
Good progress! My feral kitten (I think I mentioned her once before?) would strike out at any sudden movement when she first came, including unexpected head strokes – but eventually learned to trust – maybe Perry will eventually also allow a head rub. I want to tell you that I was playing the video and my puppy came running at the sound of your voice saying ‘Good boy, good boy’ (he’s the good boy around here) and was fascinated by the kitty in the box – so I played it twice more. 🙂
Oh, I love that story about your puppy! Tell him I said HE is a good boy!!! I hope you are right that Perry will let me pet his head eventually. So hoping for that.
Well, Perry certainly enjoyed that paw touch – all manner of things can happen when trust is built and love is present……… <3
I really hope so!
Awwww–he’s a cutie! Thanks for the update, Luanne. Good luck with your work and Happy 4th!
Isn’t he?! He is just adorable. Thank you very much and happy 4th to you, too!
is “Kin Types” a new book, Luanne (of yours, that is)? …. look forward
Yes, it is actually a chapbook, so smaller than my first poetry collection. But it’s very dear to my heart because it based upon some of the genealogy research I’ve done.
I love your love for cats! I’m in a no pet building right now, but I look for the day when I become Catwoman! Perry is sooo cute.
Hah, thanks, Sala! It must be so frustrating, but knowing that you will become Catwoman in the future will sustain you! I agree about Perry–he is so adorable that I want to squeeze him. Unfortunately, that is something he won’t allow!
Oh he is adorable – and I LOVE his name! Clever too. Happy Independence Day!
WordPress gobbled up my comment here! Thank you so much! He is such a doll. Thank you so much, Claire! I read what you wrote in your bio about the porn writer. Hah, what a scare is right. Once confused, always confused.
Haha yep – my poor wee mum hasn’t recovered yet!!
I can’t help but laugh a little at it, though ;).
Ah! Luanne, this is lovely. What a wonderful video! It really makes me feel like I’m there. I love the patter you tell him, “Oh, you want to be closer! C’mon, give me your paw …” He has such a great personality, no wonder you fell for him. 🙂
About the time for writing – here, here! – for some reason, my writing “productivity” (saying the word lightly so as not to make it seem a chore) has also fallen off in the past several days. I’m puzzling it out, too. Is it reluctance to take up the re-visit to a novel in progress? Is it because I’ve started sending out more work and that has a discouraging aspect? It is that I’m missing a connection with other writers as the holidays come around and people seem less available? Not sure. But your lovely video and mention of writing time has helped me connect again with my writer self. Thank you!
p.s. Perhaps Perry might be your muse! I chuckled when I read that .. it reminded me of my little series on Tattoo Girl and her Mr. Mittens cat. Perry might enjoy writing with you? {smile}
Aw, yes, he is such a sweetheart.
It’s such a good idea to try to analyze what is going on with your writing productivity because so often it leads to an important discovery about a project. I hear you on the connection with other writers. For a long time I couldn’t write without being part of a writing group. It was liberating to get away from that, but can’t say I am doing too well on my own right now haha. On the other hand, I am slammed with a lot right now and am looking forward to writing in the future when I can enjoy it, if that makes sense.
Perry is probably the opposite of a muse. He takes away my mind from writing haha. Tattoo Girl and Mr. Mittens cat! I love it.
Yeah, that sense of isolation and (at time for me) the less-structured nature of my time, that I am working from home and could write “anytime” is something I am trying to manage more intentionally. Wishing you good productivity resolving all the tasks on your plate right now!
Right now I need to get through the next couple of weeks before I can set up a writing routine for myself. Good luck to you, Theresa!
Thank you, Luanne! 🙂
I wondered if you had seen this article or had an interest in it: http://www.thereviewreview.net/publishing-tips/prose-writer-want-publish-chapbook
Oh! I had not seen it. Thank you! Your mention of the chapbook and chapbook contests has been really helpful for me. And, I’ve heard about thereviewreview.net, but the site seems overwhelming. Thank you for sharing this with me, Luanne!
The site might seem that way, but sign up for the newsletters or whatever it’s called by email and you can get regular entry into the new articles and reviews.
Happy Independence Day Luanne 🙂 I love the video of Perry (and hearing your voice!) What a smart little guy he is – and certainly not feral in the least xxxx
Thanks, Dianne! He’s so smart! The only way he is now feral is that I still can’t pet him, but he keeps head butting me and rubbing up against me, so we are on track . . . .
Perry probably wouldn’t mind being a writing companion. The question is could you keep your eyes off him 🙂
I feel bad if I ignore him, and he is such a cutie.
Luanne, Perry is adorable, I have a cat that I found on the dairy abandoned by its poor mother. It was covered in fleas and was filthy dirty. Even now she loves being with me but does not sit on my lap unless she is freezing. But if I fall asleep on the couch I find her there at my feet curled up. We say she has feral blood because if she gets cranky she gives no warning and will bite. But the extra joy she brings to our house out-ways the feral part of her. I would be lost without my cats. Love how he plays with your toes.
Haha, that’s my hand ;)! Oh, I’m so glad you gave her a home. Poor little girl. Does she have a temper? Is that why she will bite suddenly? Kana, my black cat has a temper. My cuddlest cat, but suddenly she gets mad . . . .
Just at the bottom of the pecking order and so she needs to be feisty, her parents may have been half feral or wild cats at the dairy we lived on. My husband believes they have the same traits as there kin.
Oh, what a sweetie. She is so lucky to have you.
SO precious! Love him to bits! He really is making progress (and you are too) and I appreciate seeing this video. So cute!
He is such a sweetie. Now he head butts me and rubs against me, so yuppers even more progress!
So glad you took him in. Fills my heart with happiness to him adapting.
🙂
Perry is too cute!
That is a TRUE statement!
Luanne, such a kitty whisperer you are! I may have said this before!
I was very happy to see how Perry Winkle responded to your request to”Give me your paw.” So sweet!
It was goofy and probably not the best place to insert your “Kin Types” chapbook but on July 5, 2017, I had a lot of green (Skyler in the ballpark) spaces, which made me think of you and how you said yearned to have more green spaces. I added a link. I’ll have to see if anyone new showed up here. I definitely will be happy to report in this comment, Mom loved several of your poems, she talked more about her composition doll who she sucked so much on her hands the paint came off and they melted into paws or globs, no hand definition left to recognize hands except stumps coming out of black taffeta sleeves. I wish I had a photograph but her memory is good of the past.
How’s your family? I was thinking about you when I took pictures of the Lake Erie beach and seagulls. 🙂 Hugs, Robin 🐦 🏵
What link did you add? I’m sorry I’m so stupid. Before I sstarted reading blog posts, I’d been working on bookkeeping, which I really detest. I won’t say hate because I’m sure I don’t hate it as much as I hate meanness, etc. But I sure detest it. Tell your mom thank you so much!
Robin, things are moving forward with mom. I’ll be able to give you an update in a couple of weeks! Thank you for asking. The rest of us are great. Ah, I need the beach right now. The heat here is atrocious. 115, 116, 118! xoxoxo
I talked about baseball and the green spaces, then said a shout out to you and mentioned your new chapbook, “Kin Types.” I listed your blog and maybe the other link. I’ll come back and give you a link. While in Cleveland, Randy had the big mural and such fun at the brewery opening, so it all kind of overlapped.
I was wrong, somewhere I told you it was coming up on the July 3, 2017 post. I apologize. Here it is:
http://witlessdatingafterfifty.com/2017/07/03/boys-of-summer-series-two-base-hit-skyler-takes-off/
Shoot, Luanne. I will type this out again. So sorry
http://witlessdatingafterfifty.wordpress.com/2017/07/03/boys-of-summer-series-two-base-hit-skyler-takes-off/
Robin, what a lovely mention of my writing amidst such a sweet blog post! Thank you so much.