For my Honey...

Rufus and I made this card for Joan...

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Wearing him out last night kinda worked - it was a little after 5:00 am when he woke up.  He head-butts like something out of a Duane "The Rock" Johnson movie... the boy is strong.  I got up, trying to be quiet, and gave him a small portion of food.  Ever notice when you're trying to be quiet, every sound is magnified?  From there, he went to his litter box... yep, now we're all up.  When Joan put "the big stink" outside, we all went back to bed for a while.

You think I'm cute?

In spite of the nocturnal acrobatics, Rufus is a good boy.  Lovey.  He seems grateful to have a family, and we are happy to have him.

Joan picked up some new fabric in the past week and is looking to start on another quilt.  There is also some laundry to do, so she said, "How about you take me to Steph's and I'll do the laundry and have a place to start cutting some fabric for a quilt?"

"Sure.  You're not just trying to get some peace and quiet away from Rufus and me, are you?"

"Umm... no."

We left Rufus on his own in the coach, and I took Joan to Steph's.  We have to find out if we can trust him to be alone and not tear things up in the coach.  I try to make it a short time alone, for now.  When I came back to the coach, he was right where I left him.

"How about you and I go for a walk?" I said to him.  We are in the very early stages of learning each other's language.  I held up the leash and he came to me.  I put his walking harness on - right way facing forward this time - and clipped on the leash.  When I opened the door, he did not bound right out.  While he was sitting there, I got out my DSLR to take something besides a grab shot of him - most of what I have taken in the past few days has been with my phone.

"You think I'm cute?" he asked.

"Yes, I think you are a very handsome boy.  So does your Momma.  In fact, so does everyone who sees you."

I carried him outside for a walk.  He did a fine job with the first run.  Same with the second, a little further.  On the third try, I took him quite a ways from the coach... he wasn't sure about the way home.  But, being out there didn't scare him.  When I tried to encourage him to go a certain direction, he did the same "moon-walk" Izzy did when she was first learning... moving backwards from the way we needed to go.  "That's OK, little man - this is a long ways."

I carried him back to where he could see the door of the coach, and he headed that direction; a comfortable slow walk, not a panic-stricken, scared move.  He was curious, looking around as we walked.

Back on the patio mat, he was content to sit out for a while.  While still holding the leash, I let out enough line to step inside the coach to get my camera again.  He was fine with me not being right beside him.

"Let me take a few more photos," I said to him.

"Get my profile," he said.  "It really shows off my cool stripes!"

"Yes, Rufus, those are some good-looking markings."

The session wouldn't be complete without a classy head-shot...

"Yep, you are a fine-looking boy!"

I brushed him before we went inside.  Pretty sure I didn't do it as good as his Momma does.

Time for a nap...

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On edit: Supper with Steph and Dan at their place.  Joan made Steph's favorite au gratin potatoes that she didn't get to have at Christmas time, Steph made pork chops - a good combo.

Rufus got to stay by himself while we were at Steph's; yes, he did fine.  We did a little more walking when we got back (trying to get him tuckered out so he'll sleep tonight), and I got this sunset image with my phone while we were out...

Going to the dark side...

Rufus slept during the evening.  A little snooze to give him energy through the night.  The ruckus started around 2:00.

We have an orange cat toy that was Izzy's favorite - it is a ball that is captive in a round container.  When Iz would play with it (knocking the ball around the track), the activity would last for a minute at most and Joan would always say, "That sound makes me smile."  Knowing Joan was happy made me smile.

We tried to get Rufus to play with that toy the first day, but he wasn't sure about it.  Yesterday, he played with it a couple times, but being a strong boy, he hit it hard enough that it slid under one of the seats.  Joan put some non-skid under it to keep it in place.

It worked.  It stayed perfectly in place while Rufus whacked the heck out of it.  For about 15 minutes.  At 2:00 in the morning.  As in: AM.  This morning in our lack of sleep stupor, Joan said, "That sound still makes me smile."

"Me, too; for about the first few minutes."

Alas, that was the beginning of the night's activities.  Rufus is not a big cat, but he is solid.  When jumping down from something, it sounds a bit like a soft cotton ball dropping to the floor... and being smashed by a bowling ball.  As near as I can tell, he jumped from the dash to the floor... ran to the bed, climbed over me to get Joan to pet him... made sure she was awake so she could keep the petting going... then, would jump to the floor again, sounding like the aforementioned bowling ball.

This routine went on for what seemed like hours, but I'm sure it was only hours.

Then, it was time for a potty break.  In the relative quiet of the night, he arranged every pellet in the litter box for the fung shui that pleased him.  I mentioned that he is not a big cat.  I would put him well into medium cat size.  He eats like there will never be another meal.  He shits the size of a Great Dane.  TMI?  Yeah, I would have thought so, too... since I do the "front end" and Joan does the "back end."  After his first solid bowel movement, Joan said, "You need to see this!"  She was wrong - I most certainly did not need to see that.  It was huge.  Startlingly so.  To get back to last night, I heard "the plop" that sounded much like one of the Three Stooges being hit in the face with a large fish.  Even more TMI?

After evacuating his bowels, he gets frisky.  Worse than the ball whacking and the bowling ball impersonation?  Yes.  We have a hamper-bag that fits neatly under Joan's side of the bed - it is out of the way, but handy.  Joan is planning on doing laundry today, so she had moved that bag to one of the front seats.  That left a solid open area under that side of the bed, enclosed on three sides.  I am not sure if he was playing hand ball or doing a Jackie Chan jumping around impersonation.

Joan clapped at him (that scares him... and me) and hollered, "No!"  He stopped.  He was very quick in learning you don't piss off the Momma.  Well, it apparently took her way more time to get pissed off than it took me.  I was still pissed about the loud ball whacking.

Fortunately, it was beginning to be daylight, so there wasn't going to be any getting back to sleep.  I got up to feed him and get our morning starters ready.  He thanked me... going for volume and duration.  It is hard to stay mad at that quirky face.

After he ate, he went to the dash of the coach to settle in for his morning nap... no doubt he was worn out after all the middle-of-the-night activities.  We have a windshield cover that has a front flap you can open so you can see out the windshield.  I pulled that down yesterday so he could see out, and he seemed to enjoy the view.  We also have inside sun shields that we put up in that area, but Joan had moved the passenger side over so Rufus could see out.  We closed up the outside flap when it got dark last night.  This morning, the inside sun shield was still over on the driver's side, so it left a light area on the passenger side of the dash and a dark area on the driver's side of the dash.

When Rufus went up to the dash to get some rest, he first went to the driver's side.  Joan said, "Look, he went to the dark side."  Through the laughter, I said, "No shit!"

We really need to keep him awake all evening so he will sleep through the night.  Looking at him lying peacefully, sleeping on the dash this morning (on the light side, because it is more comfortable), I just want to... go up and honk the horn!  One of us thinks that would be vindictive.  Vindictive... justice... it's a fine line.

;-)

And a good day...

Little man Rufus is doing great.  More new experiences today: we went for a short car ride (to the Post Office), with Rufus on Joan's lap.  He was alert and looking all around; I believe he is going to be a good traveler.  We plan to take this small trips regularly, letting him get used to it.

Back home, I hooked the leash to him so he could walk back to the coach on his own.  He wanted to look around a bit before going inside.

Next step: leaving him in the motorhome by himself for a short time.  We went to Petsmart and Fry's.  Rufus now has a name tag, with his name and our phone number on it.

Back home again, I asked him if he wanted to go outside.  There was a reply from the vocal guy - I can't say it was "Sure, let's go!" but that is what I'm leaning towards.  I hooked his leash onto his properly positioned walking harness and we went outside for a bit.

Notice there is no pulling on the leash, and neither of us appear to be in a state of panic.  ;-)

The people across the street have a big dog, but he looks pretty old - pretty sure he won't be a problem.  The folks behind us have a dog kennel in their yard, but no sign of the dog.  We are good to go...

Almost back to the door, we took a couple laps around the patio...

He stood at the door for a bit, not sure if he was ready to go inside.  Decision made, back to the dash in the coach.  He is a happy boy.

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Steph and Dan joined us at the coach after work.  Steph said her kids asked why we weren't there today... she explained that we were originally supposed to do one day a week, even though we did 3 days last week.  I think that they are just surprised that their teacher has parents.  ;-)

After supper (Joan picked up Dickie's BBQ), Rufus spread the love around with Steph and Dan.  There was some joking from Steph about "So, are you sure you want to keep this boy?"  She is quite fond of his snuggling.  Aren't we all.

A good night...

After getting back from Steph and Dan's last night, Rufus had a good night.  He was full of snuggles through the evening.  He has found a place where he feels secure on the dash of the motorhome - a high vantage point and out of the "traffic aisle."

I checked on him in the middle of the night - he was happy and content there.  It also made for a good night's sleep for the people in the coach.  ;-)

This morning, after breakfast (his), he wandered around the coach, checking things out.  In time, he settled in on the dash again.  Joan asked me to go out and open the windshield cover so he could see out.  He is enjoying the view...

Friend MJ said he looks like he is wearing a bikini in this photo from yesterday...

Joan looked at the photo and said, "You have his harness on backwards!"

"Are you sure?"  This harness is way different from the one Joan made for Izzy.  Looking on-line... yep, I had it on backwards.  No wonder he looks pissed in that photo... "Dude - you make me look like I'm wearing a man-thong!"


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On edit:

It's official.  Well, it was official when we filled out the adoption paperwork, but his ID chip is now registered in our name and has his name listed as Rufus. 

A photo record (for us): all stretched out...

Stephanie gave him a couple things that he just loves - his scratcher...

A cat bed that he pretty well fills up...

This angle shows his nice markings.  His fur was a bit course when we first saw him; now, with lots of petting and brushing, it is more shiny and rich looking.

Cat On A Leash...

Yes, that is the name of a book... highly recommended by the author!

Joan went to the store, leaving just us guys at home; a perfect opportunity to try for some leash time.  Yesterday, I had him out on the patio for a short time, just getting him used to his walking harness.  Today, we were try for a very short walk.

Out on the patio...

He was not scared, not making a fuss, but he does tend to be vocal.  We sat out there and looked around for a while.  Cats (with the exception of Molly) tend to not want to just walk along beside you... at first.  I carried him out about 20 feet and let him walk back to the motorhome...

Again, no fuss, no straining on the leash.  I was delighted that he "strolled" back to the coach.  I carried him out again - he walked just fine.  Don't get me wrong, this isn't the same as "Let's go once around the block" kinda walk.

It takes time to get a kitty comfortable with the whole idea of being on a leash.  After the second stroll, we took some time on the patio chairs...

A couple more walks and then back to the motorhome. 

Rather than go in right away, I wanted to give him some time just sitting by the door.  Yes, he let me know that he wanted to go in...

No panic, he just wants what he wants.  A couple staying here in the park came by and asked some questions about our Aspect.  I let Rufus in and visited with them for a while... they are currently in a 5th wheel and are looking for something smaller and easier.  Yep, been there, done that.

When Joan got back from the store, after she put groceries away, she wanted to sit outside with Rufus...

He likes being cuddled by his new Momma.

Later this afternoon, we headed over to Steph and Dan's house for supper; all 3 of us.  Another new experience for Rufus: getting to visit someone at their house.  Steph put her cats away, but thinks it would be nice if they all played together.  Sounds like a fairytale to me.

With her cats in their bedroom, Rufus roamed about - no doubt, this place looks HUGE after being in the motorhome.  Still believing in the fairytale, Steph brought out her boy cat, Alfie... with Rufus in his carrier, he hissed when Alfie got close.  First time we've heard him hiss.  With Alfie in a carrier and Rufus loose, Alfie hissed; something he very rarely does.  So much for the fairytale... not every "play date" works out.

A lot of new stuff for our little furry boy.  I think he will be happy to get back to "his" surroundings.

Comparisons...

I made a comparison early on with Rufus and Bat-Mite.  You don't know what Bat-Mite looks like?

Now, seeing a resemblance to Bill the cat; aka Wild Bill, from the 80s Bloom County comic strips...

That may have something to do with the night we had.  Rufus was on his best behavior when we brought him home... quiet, didn't move around much, waiting to see "What's next?"  The first night, he slept on his blanket at the foot of our bed - only got up to use his litter box and one quiet exploratory trip around the motorhome, then back to his blanket.

Last night, things were a bit different.  I knew to expect a difference when Joan said, "Tonight, you keep an eye on him - if he does anything, you are responsible for him."  I got up several times, retrieved him from the living room, and put him back on his blanket.  He didn't stay.  A couple more times, I got up to see where he was and what he was into, and found him being a quiet boy in his carrier (we took the door off).

Before 6:00, he hopped up on my nightstand, then came to spoon with me.  I heard Joan sleepily say, "Put him on his blanket."  I did.  He slithered up to snuggle with her.  I figured there was no more sleep to be had, so I got up and told him, "Come on, let's get you some chow."  He trotted along behind me.

He rubbed my legs while I washed his dishes, then got his food ready.  He gobbled the soft right up, and ate a few bites of the hard.  He meowed his thanks, and I started getting the human people's morning stuff ready: coffee out, hot chocolate out, cups out, a couple pastry bites, and our pills and vitamins.  Without warning, Rufus jumped onto the counter and sent the pills flying!

From the bedroom, Joan said, "Do I need to come out there?"

"Oh, yeah!"  We take an aspirin every morning, I know those can be lethal to cats.  I was down on my hands and knees, looking under and around stuff for the two missing pills; Joan scooped him up and put him in the carrier and put the door back on it.  Pills found, cat controlled, Joan went back to bed.  Looking at Rufus in the carrier, he had one paw through the door and was trying to figure out the latch.  It takes a thumb and a finger to squeeze the release on the door... if he had an opposable thumb, nothing would contain him!

After using his litter box, he had some "wild time"... darting here and there.  Joan got up, scooped him up, and took him back to the bedroom.  She opened the shade on the window by her nightstand and let him look out the window.  (That was one of Izzy's favorite places in the coach.)  He calmed down.

While we had our coffee and hot chocolate and scones, he snuggled by me, then by Joan.  His little face looked up at us... "I'm still sweet, right?"

He's napping right now - I think we're all going to need that.