Bilbo's progress

I've read there's a general 3-3-3 rule of cat adoption--3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months--each with its general expectations of settling in. I never really paid much attention to time frames with our other cats. Bilbo is ahead of the stages.

He's speeding along in his acclimatization to our household. Only a week after his vet visit, he started playing with toys and scratching on the cat scratchers. It's now been ten days and he's already much less skittish about new sounds and activities and has chosen my husband as his person above all others. Part of that could be due to my encouraging my husband to take Bilbo into his home office at times to avoid potential trouble from our oldest kitty, who still doesn't like him.

Oldest two kitties from months ago, before Bilbo was
ever a visitor, much less a part of the household. I hope
one day Bilbo gets to sleep this close to them.

What's not to like? Alas, I can't make my old momma's boy see reason. He's threatened by a new cat in the house. We do our best to not allow unsupervised freedom. The old cat growls and hisses when Bilbo looks at him but gets up to sniff when Bilbo is looking away.

Bilbo isn't quite familiar with the house rules yet, but he is learning. Today, he jumped into a chair next to hubby, who was eating at the table, and tried to get onto the table. He got scolded and pushed off the table back to the chair, then sat patiently and watched. Then he was rewarded with a little petting for staying down.

Later, he tried scratching on the dining chair's fabric seat. I scolded him and he stopped and didn't return to it. Then I rewarded him with a pet and a "good boy".

Cats can be trained. We've done it at least three times successfully. Bilbo will learn, but since he's still a bit timid in the new environment, we have to be a little milder in our correction than we were with the others. As long as he stops the undesirable activity, the least amount of correction necessary will be used (a harsh "No!" or "Stop!" is generally enough to startle him into stopping the undesired behavior, like clawing furniture, or a "Get down!" like we do with our tortie when she gets on the countertops). Just like with horses, start with light pressure and increase until you get the response you desire; eventually, they learn to respond to the lightest pressure, because they anticipate it getting worse. If a light scold is all it takes to make him quit, that's doing well. Then reward the right behavior.

He's also already eating close enough to the others to learn not to attempt to eat their food. He's tried it, but we push him away and he goes and sits and watches. Our resident cat that was a barn cat wasn't nearly as polite as Bilbo when he first started eating with the others.

It really is that simple. Bilbo is a smart boy. After taking right to the litterbox we provided in his initial confinement, when he was let out into the rest of the house, he found and used the other litterboxes we have. I don't doubt he'll quickly learn the rules.

Since the neuter is healing (no problems there and swelling gone), his eyes are brighter and he's begun cleaning himself like a normal cat again. He's having to decompress from the newness and fear of strange sounds and activities less. He even ventured out to explore the catio with the youngest of our other cats today since the weather was nice enough for them to go out.

In fact, the only thing that's not yet progressing is the relationship between him and our oldest cat.

That will take more time, but with his easy-going personality, I'm sure they'll get along some day.

That'll be an update I'll be excited to share. I wish I knew Bilbo's background, but at least his future looks good.

God bless!

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Update 12/8/24: Bilbo doesn't even freak out from hubby's snoring. 😴 

He knows he's home. 🥰

writing progress

My dry spell is over. I just found the key to Book 21 that had been missing! It was quite a lightbulb moment in writing tonight. The events of this epiphany won't happen until near the end. A lot of other stuff has to come in between, but it will be worthwhile for readers to see exactly how the pieces of the plan come together in the ultimate trick.

A lot of that other stuff I have felt, or did feel, inadequate to write, which gave me some hangups. This book, ARMOR, is a complexity of L'Ni's intelligence and planning. It's not like SOUL SHADOW, which was Nya searching for the key to his entrapment by the creature in his mind. I didn't have that completely planned out but pantsed a lot of it, unlike I thought I had with this. Trying to write a story to reveal the extraordinary psychological understanding of a character of L'Ni's caliber is like playing chess against a master when you can't win as an amateur. It's intimidating.

No, I'm not that bad. Okay, yes, I am bad at chess. I'm actually very sensitive to reading people's body language, tone of voice, and specific word usage, picking up on subtle cues that most people miss, much like L'Ni, which is how I developed that aspect of his character. However, he's incredibly intelligent and I've been able to get by without having to go too far out of my comfort zone without breaking that.

The big thing about planning a story like this is that it requires careful plotting to make sure nothing is overlooked. I wouldn't be able to write myself out of a corner in a story like this. I can't pants anything like I've done with so many of the other stories. I have to think ten steps or more in advance like L'Ni would do in this very serious plotting he's devised in Book 21, or it would all fall apart. To use an appropriate metaphor, he's playing the series game Trellix but on a life or death level. What he's doing is not a game, but the metaphor fits. He's moved all the pieces into place for a far greater trick or manipulation than even Zaer could devise.

I never imagined how that fictional game was going to relate to so many aspects of this series.

Anyway, that's all I can reveal without giving anything away. Book 21 is the result of something discovered by a character in Book 20. Like all the books in the series, this builds on what's come before and is something hinted that must now be resolved. That stress of trying to keep a growing history of events in mind contributes to some of the issues I might have in writing, but I love the epiphanies that make this so much fun!

Thanks for reading!

New cat... and other updates

The new cat, Bilbo, has been taking up some of my attention, but he's settling in nicely now that he's feeling a bit better and getting used to our household. Tomorrow marks one week since his vet visit and having his tomhood taken away. He has never growled, hissed, bitten, or scratched at us or the resident cats. He uses the litterboxes and has never sprayed, despite being neutered as an adult. He's only ever clawed on the cat towers with sisal rope. It's like he's been an indoor much-loved cat most of his life, except for one barncat behavior I recognized--he rubbed on the youngest cat, who has been the most accepting of him (no hissing or growling), probably because he was a barncat in a barn full of other cats when we adopted him as a kitten.

We have worked out a way to adapt him to the household. Only one cat, the oldest, is strongly objecting (growling and hissing) to Bilbo's presence yet after we had him out for a couple of days. Since putting Bilbo in the bedroom of our oldest kid, she let Jack (youngest of our three resident cats) in with him, since Jack usually likes her room. I think the fact that Jack is so laid back with other cats has helped Bilbo, although the normal house noises still spook him at times.

We're allowing supervised daytime house outings only and keeping Bilbo in daughter's room at night yet to avoid any unsupervised trouble. It could get really dicey since he prefers to be in our bed, where the oldest two kitties who least accept him usually sleep. How long this process takes until Bilbo fully acclimates to the household and is accepted by all the resident cats is anyone's guess, but I'd bet by Christmas that he'll have the run of the house 24/7; I'm not going to push him, however. He's pretty laid back and adapting well but does get overwhelmed by all the commotion and newness of it, then he retreats to our bathroom/walk-in closet or under our bed to decompress. I don't want him in our room so much until the other cats all accept him.

Bilbo is also starting to play with toys. He was shy about that just a couple of days ago. He's a lazy boy, though, like Jack. I'm sure he could hunt in the wild, or maybe that's the problem--toys move and make sounds but aren't as satisfying as catching a meal. But he gets fed regularly and good food that's really shining up his coat and helping him fill out and gain some weight. He wasn't underweight, but I like a little bit more bulge when looking down my cats than his flat-sidedness.

As for myself, I hadn't been able to write for the last week. I got stuck worse and worse and had anxiety attacks complicated by bringing in a stray cat. I put the symptoms pieces together, however, especially since they eased up as I tapered off the Synthroid... and was right. I went into the walk-in clinic to check into what was going on--my thyroid had become normal or even hyper. (update: I heard back from my regular clinic on this and was told that illness can cause the thyroid to do some things like this. I also just learned that I had been possibly exposed to salmonella from cucumbers at the grocery store; the fever and gut symptoms I'd been having matched that. I suppose that would explain the thyroid issue and the anxiety caused from it. A Hashimoto's flare indeed.)

My creativity and focus have come back now that I've figured things out and am getting over the illness. That was quite a rough ordeal, though. As we say in this part of the country... uff da! I can sympathize with what people with Graves disease must suffer. After a whole day without thyroid meds, I was having major hypo symptoms, however. It's good to not be hyper, but being constantly cold and tired isn't fun either. One more lesson learned.

Now to get past that scene that was blocking me in Book 21. It's finally getting somewhere again. 🥳

Back to writing.

Thanks for reading!

New kitty gets a furever home

He's ours!

No chip. No FIV or FeLV. No fleas. (All as expected)

All vaxxed, neutered, dewormed, and now he does have a chip registered to us and a collar like our other kitties.

New boy is all ours. 🥳

Rodney also got a new name... Bilbo. And he is estimated to be about 2 years old.

Now we have cats named after characters in Farscape, Avatar the Last Airbender, Stargate/Danny Phantom/Pirates of the Caribbean, and (at last) Lord of the Rings. Five years ago, we had one named after a character in Star Wars, but she passed away at the age of 16+.

I brought Bilbo home from the vet this afternoon and he was dying for attention, besides being hungry since he had to have his food taken away by 8 pm last night. I thought he'd hate me for being the one to shove him into the carrier this morning, but I got licks and headbutts. Edit: he's also giving love nips and finally sleeping peacefully now that everything is settled.

Hubby and I got his scent all over us, and since he's clear, no more changing clothes or having to wash hands between him and the other cats. That's... not going too well, but it's only been a couple of days of having him in the house. Youngest boy sniffs and doesn't care. Middle girl is just staying away. The old man, however, is skulking around and hissing at us. He wants to be close to us but doesn't like the smell of a strange cat.

This will take some time. Once they get used to scent mixing, we'll consider face-to-face introductions.

This is going to be a long process, but with patience, we'll get through it.

Officially the newest member of our household

I can't believe we have another cat. It's surreal. I wanted to wait until our old boys and girl had passed away. God had other plans.

new kitty update... T-1 day

Rodney goes into the vet tomorrow for all that he needs done to be our new indoor cat. We will find out then whether we can keep him or have to give him up. We're pretty sure he's healthy, but if he's not, it's going to be heartbreaking, just as it would be if he's chipped. He adopted us.

Getting him into the house yesterday had a couple climactic moments when he freaked out a bit, but he settled down with scratches. Using that, we took our time to lure him into the bathroom we had prepared for him. The other kitties were locked up at the time so there could be no interaction.

Taking in a stray is no small endeavor. He's not feral, however, and prefers human companionship to being alone. In fact, we discovered that, after just a few hours in the bathroom by himself with food, water, a litterbox, and a folded blanket for a bed that he is a completely clingy lap-cat.

When I returned to him after he'd had a few hours to settle down, he had been hiding behind the washing machine and came out with some coaxing. I sat down with my bathrobe on and he climbed into my lap and laid down with front claws kneading gently. I knew he would be a lap-cat but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

This morning, I went down to feed him, being the first one up in the morning, and he came out almost instantly and made a fuss for attention. In fact, he then started to eat while meowing. When I stood up, however, he quit eating. It was like he was saying, "Don't leave! Please, please don't leave me! I want scratches and love. I love you so much!"

Once we get a clean bill of health from FIV/FeLV testing (and if he has no microchip), we can then say he's ours. Unfortunately, if he's positive, he would put the health of the rest of our kitties in danger. He won't go back to the wild, however. I won't do that to him. My youngest kid volunteers at the local humane society, so we'd check with them on other options. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, at least not when interacting with us.

How could anyone have given him up or not be searching for a lost pet? Could you abandon this big snuggly lovebug?

I'm praying for confirmation of a healthy stray boy who gets to stay with us.

As hubby said... The cat distribution system is working.

Not just a new book idea... a new series!

My post from two weeks ago about a single new story idea just took a new turn.

The idea has been lurking in the back of my mind, even while Book 21 of Forgotten Worlds has reached 12K words. I haven't started any writing on the new idea but, after writing out a full synopsis for it when it exploded in my mind two weeks ago, I have put it aside.

However, while I focus on finishing the FW series (and much thinking and planning out the final books to culminate in that exciting series finale I'm promising), the new idea has been stewing in the back of my mind. It will seem to be urban fantasy but will have strongly religious undertones of truth. It will be be like nothing else, a Catholic urban fantasy. However, even something like the Exorcist is at the core Catholic UF, but dramatized and lacking the proper catechism. This won't be horror like exorcist movies, however, or full of sexual tension or faith lies like most UF. It won't be preachy but will come from what I've been gleaning from listening to exorcists and learning about the saints and mystics in a modern setting.

And while this has been stewing in the back of my mind, the new idea comes to the surface once in a while, as it did just a short time ago to spur me to share this... I have an idea for a book 2, turning the idea into a series!

And to think I expected to stop writing after the Forgotten Worlds series, God has other plans! 🤣 Never underestimate His plans! I've pledged my gift, His gift to me, to serve Him for the last two years and it's really changed the ideas that come to the forefront of my stories and character virtues.

I'll keep making notes of ideas and see what happens in details for the Book 2 concept (all I have so far) and possibly a Book 3 idea.

Stay tuned. I'm eager to see how this develops.

Thanks for reading!

new kitty

He adopted us and is super lovey but no collar, not fixed, and likely not chipped. He's a stray who came to us about a week ago and stuck around after getting food and water and shelter from the winter storm that we had this past week.

The picture is from some time after the snow had started.

We've been calling this one Rodney (as in McKay from Stargate), since we have a brown tuxedo named Jack (O'Neill, Fenton, Sparrow et al) in the house already. However, a new permanent name is being considered. All strays get a name for identification if they stick around, but a housecat gets a permanent name. Rodney is a gray tuxedo with a chin marking.

He stayed around and started not dashing off when we put food out within days after finding us. In fact, he had been with us just a few days when I put food out and he tried to get in the house rather than running off.

He's not feral. We discovered he is super lovey (loves face and shoulder scratches) and is a purr machine, although still a bit jumpy from loud noises or sudden moves, like he had a home but was abandoned, or maybe he was a tamed barn cat. We live in a country area.

We checked all the lost pet listings for our area and didn't see anything like him, so we made a vet appointment and have a plan for bringing him in. If he is FeLV/FIV negative and isn't chipped, he has a furrever home here. Next Wednesday, he'll be neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and possibly washed for fleas/mites (while sleeping off the anesthesia for neutering), then come home and become an indoor kitty. Joining a household with three other cats will be quite an adjustment for everyone.

We've never done this before, but he's so friendly that we can't leave him to the harsh weather or predators. I suspect he'll become a lap kitty, but we won't know until he settles in.

He found us and we're keeping him if everything works out.

status report

I've had feast or famine days of writing, but I've made good progress since starting, in spite of this. Book 21 is progressing well.

The book isn't what I expected. The episodes within this series vary in form and style. They don't follow a set pattern. This isn't one of intense action sequences like I aim for, but it is one of intrigue and plans within plans. It's like the in-series fictional game of Trellix. L'Ni has a mission, and he intends to succeed. He's playing a dangerous game with his life, but it's all part of a broader plan of success, if he gets it right and if his bond with Nya is as effective as he hopes. It's a story of present events with flashbacks to fill in the backstory to reach such a dangerous point.

The word count right now sits at 10,000 words. My goal with each book in this series is 40-50K words. The good writing days generally make up for the bad days. As I said, feast or famine, but that's because I'm still dealing with the crud after being sick in September. I've talked to people who have said this stuff lasts a while. Ugh! I'm past sick of being sick. Unfortunately, it seems to have to run its course. Fortunately, I've figured out how to minimize the problems with it. It's not a cure, but it minimizes my need for meds that make my brain fuzzy to the point of not being able to write.

If I'm careful, maybe I can finish a first draft in early January. That's my goal anyway.

Thanks for reading!

Interview with Exorcist Fr. Carlos Martins

Parenting woes

I was given a few more gray hairs tonight, thanks to our youngest child (17 yo). She's responsible and generally well-behaved, but she has her moments.

She disappeared tonight and I expected she wouldn't be gone long, but as it was getting late and she wasn't home, I started to worry a little. I figured she would answer her phone and tell me where she was. (What did our parents do in the days before cell phones?!)

She didn't answer my text. She didn't answer my calls.

I'm a writer. Consider what my imagination started doing... Yeah. I feared I would never see my daughter alive again.

Hubby was at his gaming place, so I called and told him and asked him to try calling her.

A few minutes later, I received a text that she was home. Thank you, God!

I went out to the garage and her car was back. She had gone to a school play and didn't tell anyone, not even her older sister. The play is fine, but me worrying that she could be in a bad accident or abducted is not fine.

I need my evening prayers, our Lord's and Lady's solace. I'm grateful that my child came home safely, but many parents don't have that comfort. My prayers go out to them and their lost children tonight.

God bless and keep you and your family.