Adapting Well

The weekend seems to have been good to Hobbes. When Les and I picked him up from his previous owners he started howling just at the sight of people (and not in a good "come pet me way," either). If you read the first blog post about him you'll see that he began adapting to his new home almost immediately. Well, I think some of that initial calmness may just have been fear of a new environment, as later that evening he lashed out at me or Feo or Boogs or the air or something. Regardless, my hand was the nearest target and took the brunt of his freak out. That was the least of my worries. I just wanted Hobbes to be ok, so I took him back to the room (my office) that I have set up for him as a safe haven (kid gate to keep him separated from the other pets while still allowing them to see each other if they are curious) and let him crawl under the covers of his bed. He was very happy to do so. We checked on him off and on the rest of the evening and he seemed to be ok. I think he just got over stimulated.

Day two went very well. I woke early and went in to greet him. He immediately perked up and came out to say hello. I sat on the floor and he crawled into my lap and sat there for an hour while I read the news online, drank some coffee and scratched his chin, head, ears, back... everything but his belly (he does NOT like to have his belly scratched – just like Boogs... must be a tabby thing). Les and I spent the early afternoon running errands (including getting some pate, a new bed, and a scratching pad for Hobbes), and when we got back to my place ended up hanging out with Hobbes for another hour (lots of scratching of the chin, head, ears, back... lots of shifting from one lap to the next... LOTS of meowing). After that, Hobbes mostly hung out in his covered bed and would talk to us as we walked by, but seemed content with that. He still hadn't had any water that I could tell, and had not yet used the litter box, so I was getting a little concerned at that point.

That night as I slept I could hear him trying to get into the closet in the office every now and then (the noise from which was foreign to Feo so it would send her into a barking frenzy. Nice way to wake up in the middle of the night – twice. ;) I wasn't all that upset, though, because it meant he was becoming more comfortable with his surroundings.

Apparently, there is a switch in Hobbes's brain that works on the same wavelength as the sound my alarm makes as when it went off this morning, so did Hobbes. Meow. Meow. Me-OW. Me-OW. ME-OW! ME-OW!!! (Translation: "Come see me. I'm here. Come see me. I'm here. Come see me. I'm HERE! COME SEE ME NOW!!!!!") So I went and saw him. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw this:

He was up at the door! Since he came home he would only come out with coaxing, but this morning, he was waiting right there for me when I opened up the door. :D So I spent another half-hour this morning with him on the floor, drinking coffee and reading the news online. Lots more scratching of the chin, head, ears, back... everything but... actually he even rolled over at one point and gave me his belly! (I knew better than to scratch it, but what a sign of trust!)

So, I have a call in with the vet to find out how to handle his mats and when to bring him in for a check-up and his shots. Seems like the only issues right now are of the physical nature and he really is adjusting well to his new home.