Boo and I are moving soon. In preparation for the move, we're doing a whole lot of nothing. No packing, no consolidating, no throwing out. Nothing.
Oh yeah. I forgot. We have watched a bunch of DVDs. And we've chased lots of balls.
It's not that we don't want to move.....it's just that we want to stay.
Staying is so much easier.
Especially for Boo.
Boo has all of his favorite spots well identified. Luckily, they're just identified and not marked in that wonderful cat way.
Boo's favorite chair is well placed. Right next to my favorite spot on the sofa. When we nap, our heads almost touch. That's my favorite part. For Boo, though, his favorite chair is probably favorite for other reasons.
From his chair, Boo can step directly onto the living room table or onto the sofa or onto me. You don't know heaven until you've been stepped on by Boo while sleeping. Nothing like waking up because a paw is piercing your rib cage.
Boo can also turn around on the chair and face the window to watch the birds. One of his fav activities.
It's a good chair. In a good location.
And Boo's got his routine streamlined. He knows when to sprawl out in the hallway, when to sleep in the stairwell, when to sit by the window and when to run around in circles. He also knows all of the best corners for playing "BOO!!" Yes, I have a cat who loves hide and seek. And he's really good, too. Especially at the JUMPING OUT part.
Yeah. Boo's got this house down.
But we're definitely leaving.
And I'm starting to be a little nervous for Boo.
The new house has one adult and one five year old dog named Emma. Both the adult and Emma are pretty cool. Laid back. Relaxed. Fun. Your basic cool.
But oh god. Poor Boo.
Boo won't be the only child anymore. Not the spoiled only child he's been his whole life.
In the new house, I'm sure it will be a long time before Boo is confident enough and comfortable enough to move about freely. I just know Boo will run and hide everytime Emma goes nuts when she hears a car pull into the driveway. Hopefully Boo won't take forever to figure out that Emma's bark is way bigger than her bite.
Luckily, though, Boo is an extraordinarily curious cat. He just loves to check out things. Actually, he loves to check out everything. I think he'll run away when Emma barks but come around to check Emma out when she's quiet.
Years ago, I took Boo to Madeline's house for a weekend. Maddy has a great black lab type mutty mix named Lucy. I was going to name my first female child Lucy until Maddy used the name for her dog. Now my number two name - which I cannot divulge for fear of theft - has moved up to number one. I'm sure I'll be using that name and the other seven names I've chosen any day now....
Anyway, Lucy wasn't very impressed with Boo. She ignored him.
But damn if Boo wasn't hell bent on getting Lucy to play. Or at least acknowledge him and treat him like the imposing figure he thinks he is.
Boo would sneak around Lucy waiting for some movement or response. And, of course, Lucy wasn't even registering Boo on her radar screen.
Finally, Boo began going right up to Lucy's face to lay down the "play with me" challenge.
Ever seen Fatal Attraction? Boo could play the Glenn Close character. If Boo could talk, he'd say things like "I WILL NOT BE IGNORED." Boo's got the attitude down. And he's got the threatening look. It's just that little lack of English language skills he's stuck on.
I'm hoping Boo will be able to go up to Emma's face and dare her to play with him. That would be great.
As for the adult, I'm thinking I should teach Boo some better manners.
Like not to swat at someone else's food. That's Boo's worst habit. And it's totally funny when he does it.
Ever seen a cat swat? Funnier than fart jokes. Swear.
Boo gets really intent on grabbing the food. But he has to keep switching paws since he's leaning on one at all times. Grabbing food would probably be easier if Boo could stand up. Or at least sit like a normal person. He really needs to be hands free to more effectively disrupt everyone else's meal. We're working on that.
And Boo needs to learn that kitchen counters are for tall people, not little feline people.
So, today I bought a squirt gun.
The training mission will probably be short-lived.
Boo thinks the squirt gun is fun. So now, of course, he's doing stuff just to get me to shoot at him.
Boo was named after Boo Radley. From To Kill a Mockingbird. Boo Radley, my Boo's namesake, was a gentle, caring soul who lived in isolation. He only appeared when it was necessary to help Atticus' children or provide them with mysterious joy. He would hide little toys for the children. Or save them from mean dogs as they ran home at night after a long, hot summer day. Boo Radley was close to invisible. But he watched over the children and protected them.
My Boo is not living up to his namesake.
Boo has spent the whole day trying to get me to shoot him with a squirt gun by destroying things in plain view.
It's very sad.
But it's actually funnier than the usual Boo antics.
When Emma's mom and I wrote up the lease, we included an out just in case there are Emma/Boo issues.
I haven't told Boo exactly when we're moving, but I can already feel him digging in his little spoiled feline heels.
Luckily, his little Jimmy Choo Boo Shoes are not only strong enough to withstand heel-digging, but they also happen to match the decor of our new digs.
Now all we need to do is teach Emma to use a squirt gun.