Midnight

Midnight has been an only pet for a week and one day. I have been striving to keep extremely busy, and I've had many "fires" to put out in the office world, so he has been left to his own devices for a while. I'm not a cat person by nature. I have a weakness for small furry things who look pitiful, which is how he ended up in my world to begin with. Let's face it, if I had run across him all grown up and fat, no way would he be living with me right now. But as a 3 pound 13 week old kitten, I couldn't help becoming attached.

Anyway, I'm not sure how much I've written about Midnight over the last 3 years. But he is a cat with multiple personalities. I blame this on being raised by a dog and a dog person. He can be antisocial and hide. He can be sweet and affectionate. He can be cute and playful. And he can be vicious and aggressive. The more bored he gets, the more he tends to be "Attack Ninja Cat". As Tyler started getting worse, I began to try to find new toys for Midnight for when his brother would no longer be here to chase him around. The problem is, most of the stuff I buy him is of no interest to him. He still prefers milk rings and chewing on my arms and legs.

He had fun tonight. He slinked into my lap as I was creating a power point for my class tomorrow. He was just laying there, purring. I made the mistake of petting him as I reached for my book. Thank goodness I am wearing long sleeves, because he clamped onto my arm like he was trying to bite it off. I don't enjoy my cat when he does this.

But one of the toys I got was a spinny ball with a feather on it. It twirls the feather around and around. He seems to be enjoying it right now. Last night I was completely exhausted but knew I'd better play with him before bed or I'd never get any sleep (he does get the "night crazies") so I pulled out the laser toy I got him. It's basically a laser pointer that I point on the floor and he tries to catch the spot on the floor. Boy does he go after that thing. I have to be careful with that one though, because I don't want him to become obsessed or frustrated with it, since he can't actually catch the light. But it sure is handy for when I am way too tired to find a wand toy and play.

When I first got Midnight it was during a period where I had a few Orientations in a row, so Tyler was on vacation with the Jacksons for almost two weeks. I had that time to bond with him without the dog, which is how I ended up deciding to keep him. I'm hoping that I can re-develop that bond. But he hadn't developed his fondness of biting when I first got him. This could be quite interesting. I found some cat behavior modification techniques on the Best Friends website that seem like they may work with him. I just need to be able to come home at a decent time and practice them. But it just sort of is funny, because nowhere in my life plans did I think I'd be living in a dorm training a cat when I grew up....