Happy August, friends!
It’s the dog days of summer (shhh…don’t tell the cats), and Adam and I hope that you are enjoying these lazy, hazy days.
It may stretch the limits of imagination, but Suite A — Adam’s Suite A — is currently one of the calmest zones at Tabby’s Place. This became apparent when we had to choose a suite for Hank. A previous resident of Suite C, Hank is one of our most aggressive cats. We’d been slowly transitioning Hank to a new behavioral medication, in a suite of his own, but the time finally came to reintegrate him into the general population. Where would he be most likely to keep calm? Suite B had raging Rebel, and Suite C offered surly Sunny. That left Suite A — Adam’s Suite A! — as the calmest, chillest zone.
As of my most recent visit, Hank had just been released into the suite and introduced to the likes of Boom, Adam and their buddies. So far, so good. When I last checked in with these boys, Adam was in the solarium, Boom was in the suite, and I didn’t see Hank anywhere. The visitors to whom I was giving a tour spotted Hank, sitting far back in one of the igloos in the solarium. All I could really see were his eyes! He seemed to be very content in there, and Adam was paying no attention to him at all. I hope when I go back to Tabby’s Place this week, this lovely calm will still be in effect.
Our Adam is having some other new adventures as of late. We have started working with some of our kitties using a technique called clicker training. Our volunteer Feline Behavioral Consultant, Nancy, has been working with some of the “difficult” cats, trying to work on their unwanted behaviors by using a clicker and treat reward system.
A few weeks ago, I was doing my tour duty in the lobby when Nancy came in. She said that she was going to work with Adam on the clicker. She didn’t realize that I was Adam’s correspondent. I told her, and asked if I could watch. She was more than happy to let me see to see what Adam was up to.
Adam was so cute during his clicker session. I was able to easily pick Adam up and put him in a carrier so we could take him to the “training room.” I was actually surprised by this, because I have never tried to pick Adam up before. He was as good as gold.
When we got him in the room, Nancy tried to get Adam interested in a wand toy. As I have witnessed in the past, Adam really doesn’t get interested in toys. He loved spending time just wandering around this new space and sniffing everything. His little eyes lit up, and he seemed really joyful. It was so heartwarming for me to see this, after seeing the restless, agitated Adam that I often observe. Nancy tried the clicker with him, and Adam was able to do the designated behavior and get a treat, twice! Then, in very Adam-like fashion, he became uninterested in the treats, so that was the end of the training session. We did let him have plenty of time to roam around the room, because he was clearly enjoying himself. When someone knocked on the door for Nancy to help them clicker-train a different cat, I scooped Adam up, put him back in the carrier, and returned him to Suite A. He had such a nice little visit to a new space.
After seeing Adam so vibrant during this visit, I am thinking of some ideas to stimulate him more on a regular basis. He loves being in the solarium, so that may be where we go for some enrichment. We’ll have to see how the Hank situation is working out, but I’m excited to try.
Thank you so much, dear friends. It is due to your generous contributions that Adam is able to have all of this joy in his life. He is one lucky cat, and he knows it. He sends you his thanks as well. I’ll update you on Adam’s extracurricular activities next month!