Aurora is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Aurora: staring from a distance
In the mornings and evenings, Aurora has started watching me from a middle distance.
Aurora is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!
Aurora is fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in her!
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Philip and Aurora: very different attitudes
We had a couple of big mornings!
Aurora had energy to spare. Philip was dismayed that I wasn't either giving him affection or filling the food dish.
Head scratches commence. This makes one of them happy.
And then this happened. She was affectionate to him!
On another day...
I had a catnip plant for a long time and neither of them had any response to it, but as soon as it died, suddenly Aurora was all about it. Philip just wanted breakfast.
That night, though, she was more relaxed. Philip was lying on her favorite toy and she tried to play with it for a little bit, but then gave up and settled down to chill with us. She even closed her eyes for a brief moment, that's progress!
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
Aurora had energy to spare. Philip was dismayed that I wasn't either giving him affection or filling the food dish.
Head scratches commence. This makes one of them happy.
And then this happened. She was affectionate to him!
On another day...
I had a catnip plant for a long time and neither of them had any response to it, but as soon as it died, suddenly Aurora was all about it. Philip just wanted breakfast.
That night, though, she was more relaxed. Philip was lying on her favorite toy and she tried to play with it for a little bit, but then gave up and settled down to chill with us. She even closed her eyes for a brief moment, that's progress!
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Philip and Aurora: brush offering
Sometimes when I hang out with the cats, I'll brush Philip. On this particular night, she seemed curious about the brush, so I offered it to her, too. She was skeptical, so I just set it down.
Well, if she's going to be that comfortable, how close to the brush can I get my hand before she gets spooked?
Just a little closer than this, as it turns out. She didn't go hide, though, she got bored and went to get a snack.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
Well, if she's going to be that comfortable, how close to the brush can I get my hand before she gets spooked?
Just a little closer than this, as it turns out. She didn't go hide, though, she got bored and went to get a snack.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Philip and Aurora: More progress!
Aurora is getting much more comfortable with coming out! I still haven't been able to touch her at all, but she'll come out to eat or play when I'm in the room.
I have gotten into the habit of putting kibble in the bowl in the morning for Philip to bury his face in and giving Aurora a separate small offering. At first it was to entice her to come out just a little further, but now there's been a couple times when it's been because she'll come out and try to shoo him away from the dish.
I haven't quite nailed down Aurora's personality yet, but if she were human, she might be a character in the Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies. Something about young people surviving in difficult circumstances and over time learning how to trust and maybe even to love.
Philip is his usual laid-back self. With or without the cone, he spends a lot of time under furniture, then comes out for scritches and kibble then goes back under the furniture.
I think if he were a human, he'd be a philosophy professor. Hangs out in a library, wears round wire-rimmed spectacles and a tweed jacket with elbow patches, drinks tea. He's a large fellow (15 pounds), he can be just a little skittish and is not at all into hugs, but he is generous with purrs and headbutts and sometimes he'll sniff my face and then just press his nose next to mine for a moment. His meow is tiny and sounds just a little bit dusty.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
I have gotten into the habit of putting kibble in the bowl in the morning for Philip to bury his face in and giving Aurora a separate small offering. At first it was to entice her to come out just a little further, but now there's been a couple times when it's been because she'll come out and try to shoo him away from the dish.
I haven't quite nailed down Aurora's personality yet, but if she were human, she might be a character in the Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies. Something about young people surviving in difficult circumstances and over time learning how to trust and maybe even to love.
Philip is his usual laid-back self. With or without the cone, he spends a lot of time under furniture, then comes out for scritches and kibble then goes back under the furniture.
I think if he were a human, he'd be a philosophy professor. Hangs out in a library, wears round wire-rimmed spectacles and a tweed jacket with elbow patches, drinks tea. He's a large fellow (15 pounds), he can be just a little skittish and is not at all into hugs, but he is generous with purrs and headbutts and sometimes he'll sniff my face and then just press his nose next to mine for a moment. His meow is tiny and sounds just a little bit dusty.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of them!
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Philip and Aurora: one emo kid, one brave warrior
Aurora is getting even more brave! She comes out of hiding when Philip gets head scratches and I put down kibble, and she's coming out to play pretty regularly.
Philip, on the other hand, spends a lot of time lying or sitting around looking dejected. He's still into the head scratches and all the food he's offered, but he is not happy about the cone and I can't really blame him.
When he had a smaller cone, Philip made a halfhearted attempt to play too, but now he just watches.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
Philip, on the other hand, spends a lot of time lying or sitting around looking dejected. He's still into the head scratches and all the food he's offered, but he is not happy about the cone and I can't really blame him.
When he had a smaller cone, Philip made a halfhearted attempt to play too, but now he just watches.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
Friday, September 13, 2019
Philip and Aurora: learning to be around each other
Philip and Aurora are roommates, but they're not buddies. I rarely see them interact. Twice I've seen her growl at him to try to get him to leave the food dishes, twice I've seen her sniff his tail stub, and once or twice the camera caught them sniffing face to face.
But since I'm hanging out with them for a while every morning and Aurora is getting more comfortable with me around, I'm starting to see them be a little closer. Not friendlier to each other, mind you, but both be in frame when I hit the shutter button on the camera.
Still, Philip is clearly a good influence on Aurora. Lately I've been seeing unprecedented amounts of bravery from her. If she's out in the open and too close to me her bravery runs out and she needs to go recharge it, but this is all from one morning and it's not even zoomed in!
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
But since I'm hanging out with them for a while every morning and Aurora is getting more comfortable with me around, I'm starting to see them be a little closer. Not friendlier to each other, mind you, but both be in frame when I hit the shutter button on the camera.
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| This one will be the cover photo of their next album |
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| Also Philip finally discovered laps are for cats |
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Philip and Aurora: Tail followup and socialization progress
Philip wasn't quite himself one day, preferring gentle pettings to the usual enthusiastic head scratches, so we bumped up his next vet visit.
He actually followed a trail of treats right into the carrier, I couldn't believe my luck! It probably won't work again, but it made this one morning that much easier.
In the vet's waiting area, it turns out someone was not as delighted with Dogue magazine as I was.
Philip did great, the vet said he was an angel while they unbandaged his tail, soaked it to get all the hair and debris off, and rebandaged it.
And he's so good in the car, not a single complaint. That said, when we got home he ran and hid in Aurora's favorite hiding spot. She didn't move or try to chase him out, but the way she was sitting told me she was mightily offended by this intrusion.
Meanwhile, Aurora is definitely making a habit of coming out of hiding every morning while Philip is getting all the attention and breakfast kibble.
I've caught her lounging in the middle of the floor during the day even when she knows we're home, that's definitely progress.
Once she even came to see what I was doing while I was brushing my teeth. This one surprised the heck out of me!
And now a couple of times she's come out to play! In this instance, Philip makes a cameo appearance.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
He actually followed a trail of treats right into the carrier, I couldn't believe my luck! It probably won't work again, but it made this one morning that much easier.
In the vet's waiting area, it turns out someone was not as delighted with Dogue magazine as I was.
Philip did great, the vet said he was an angel while they unbandaged his tail, soaked it to get all the hair and debris off, and rebandaged it.
And he's so good in the car, not a single complaint. That said, when we got home he ran and hid in Aurora's favorite hiding spot. She didn't move or try to chase him out, but the way she was sitting told me she was mightily offended by this intrusion.
Meanwhile, Aurora is definitely making a habit of coming out of hiding every morning while Philip is getting all the attention and breakfast kibble.
 |
| This one time, she even closed her eyes for a moment |
Once she even came to see what I was doing while I was brushing my teeth. This one surprised the heck out of me!
And now a couple of times she's come out to play! In this instance, Philip makes a cameo appearance.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Philip and Aurora: the new normal
Philip loves head scratches. They are the best thing ever and there's no convincing him otherwise.
Aurora is either getting curious or jealous, and she'll come out of hiding to hang out, even though she might be pretending that's not what she's doing.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
Aurora is either getting curious or jealous, and she'll come out of hiding to hang out, even though she might be pretending that's not what she's doing.
Philip and Aurora are fostered in Cambridge, MA through the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton. Please contact them if you are interested in either of these cats!
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