I've showered so my hair will look good after it dries. I can skip a day like yesterday but after that, my hair needs to be washed.
I'm pretty sure by this point that Ginza has never learned to meow. I've seen her sometimes move her mouth like she's going to make a tiny meow, but only the tiniest sound emerges.
Which is interesting to me because Binker Bonkers didn't learn to meow until he was almost 14 years old. When he and his bonded pair cat Sanouk came into my life in 2015, only Sanouk
did the talking for the two of them. Binker Bonkers had a pathetic squeak as quiet as a kitten first learning to meow.
But maybe Ginza can learn to meow if I continue to spend time talking with her. I should probably start making more mewing noises that she might recognize as being like the little tiny peeps she has made and that might encourage her to learn to give them more volume.
@IzabelaKaramia Don't cats meow only to communicate with humans? 🤔 I think I read somewhere that they meow because we don't understand their usual forms of communication.
That seems to be the common wisdom that adult cats only meow with people and not between each other. So it almost seems like that cats realize they need a vocal form of communication with us to communicate their needs.
It seems that Ginza never learned that but it may be possible to encourage her to start vocalizing. I'm going to try to see if I can encourage that and help her feel like she's talking to me and it's not just me talking to her.
@IzabelaKaramia I hope that soon she will feel so comfortable and safe with you that she'll be able to communicate in the best way for her and her needs 😊 She is a very good and cute kitty!
One thing I've been thinking about and now set up this morning is that I've pulled a box out of the storage closet. I've stood it up on its side and put a soft bath towel in it and sprinkled some catnip on it.
That's been put near the door with the idea if Ginza does do her thing of putting her head in past the inner doorway, she'll see the box and its towel nearby. She may see that as something to explore and it will reward her with catnip stimulation.
I was thinking about that some last night and wondering what Ginza thinks about us tall two legged creatures that emerge from the buildings she's only really seen the outsides of. She's showing curiosity about my apartment but it has to be almost like an alien landscape compared to what she has known in this world where she has lived outside all her life except the times when she was TNRed and the time she got treated for wounds she had suffered.
I'm of course very happy that I had time to sit and chat with Ginza before I started work from home today. This is now 3 days in a row that she and I have had at least one sit and chat where I will feed her treats or wet food.
She's becoming more and more comfortable with me and she very much enjoys being petted and having the sides of her head get scratches.
It's also apparent that she's almost always on guard about things around her. She will often startle from noises or other sounds
Other positive notes from today's sit and chat with Ginza...
There was one time when she bolted because a neighbor went walking by on the sidewalk. She instinctively ran off and then went under a small tree nearby in the courtyard.
But after the neighbor was gone, I called to her and shook the bag of treats and she came back to finish eating the breakfast in the dish.
So she has a sense of differentiation between me and another person causing her distress that made her flee.
And once that distress had vacated the area, she was willing and happy to come back for more food and petting.
There are times when I can see her thinking about things and what I might mean, because I'm quite different in how much I talk to her and pet her. She's realizing there is something different about me.
Ginza has smarts about things and I hope the trust continues to build.
Do feel sleepy some. Obviously I love seeing Ginza showing trust in me, but even good excitement can eat spoons. And I'm doing a lot of intense thinking about many things connected to what's going on. Especially the thinking about how trauma and insecurity damages living beings like us, like cats, like autistics. Reducing traumatic systems and events in the world is important
She seems to be taking a liking to that flowerpot and if I have given her some catnip, she likes to go to that flowerpot and rub her head in amongst the flowers. It doesn't bother me at all that she might be doing some damage to the flowers. It's beautiful to see her blossoming.
Ginza's even prettier than what the photos show. It's a real pleasure now that I can see her much closer.
Of course when she and I chat I spend much of the time telling her how pretty she is and what a good girl she is. It's amazing to see her relaxing some and not be such a tense ball of wary regard of everything.
Some point later this week I will go through a good analysis of the latest tfg indictment and get a better understanding of the legal arguments and evidence it lays out for the charges being brought to trial.
Just seems absolutely bonkers that such a horrible person attained the office of potus. And that fact shows that the American democracy is in some peril.
Ran errands after finishing work and that's about the last of useful energy I had left in me. Don't know why there's been so much sleepy tired this week, but I'm not going to fight it and just relax.
Soon eat an early dinner. I probably will go to bed about 6 tonight.
I remember saying to people back December 2020 and early January 2021 that tfg was going to try something. It was always obvious even before he was elected the man had no concept of democratic norms and processes. But what's important to understand is that it's not just him alone, but his base of voters that have rejected the principles of democracy. In their minds, they are the only voices that matter.
Meows are mostly for communicating with us (post kitten years).
I'd read about it somewhere else but Wikipedia's woke cat agenda is good enough.
Black cat knows the word no for sure and I suppose she does have her own mow version for when we argue (when she tries for grey cat's food that's a no).
It probably takes time to recognize that human=mommy once cats aren't kittens. Both of mine were kittens still so they were never weened in that sense.
It seems wild to think how cats have a special language for us and it grows out of the way they used to communicate with their mothers.
Cats are such intelligent creatures and there are times when I can almost see Ginza doing deep thinking about me and the ways that I'm behaving quite differently from what she's known in her life.
I do feel at least to some extent Ginza is traumatized by her life which has so much insecurity and needs for her to always be vigilant.
But it may be possible to get her to where she will be able to adapt to a life where she can have greater security and a chance to show her more social instincts.
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