We’re just a few short weeks from spring in the middle of what has been a very strange winter here in New Jersey. Fortunately, the weather never changes in the office of our Volunteer Director, so Bacon has no such concerns.
Times have been blissfully quiet for our handsome fella. He’s doing wonderfully on his new medication dosage and has been healthy and happy. As of this month, he and Sally have been roommates and time-share partners for a year and a half! It’s an arrangement that has worked really well for both of them. Sally gets the office (and her beloved Karina) to herself all day, and Bacon gets the office during the quiet of the night, when no bustling staff can make him anxious.
For his part, Bacon seems fascinated with Sally. Whenever I visit, he stops several times in front of her crate to say hello or study her. Sally, however, is a mercurial creature. I’ve seen her give him a quiet sniff, ignore him, or most recently reach out to bop him on the nose. Bacon takes this in stride—and stays just out of Sally’s reach so he can study her out of bopping range.
Those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Bacon know that he is a skeptical cat. He will stare at you with his piercing green eyes as if looking into your soul. If you pet him unexpectedly, he will give a chirp and hop away, then trot off to study you from afar. (He’s an expert at calculating the distance of a companion’s reach, as Sally and I have both learned.) It’s not that Bacon doesn’t like people — just the opposite! — but he’s discerning with his time and attention.
Which is why it was very exciting for me when, a few weeks ago, Bacon started showing increased interest in me as I sat on the floor talking to him. Interacting with a cat I can’t touch is a bit of an restraint test for me, and I’ve been trying to earn Bacon’s trust, so I generally sit and offer him treats while I talk to him. Sometimes I even sing and hope that only Bacon and Sally are unlucky enough to hear. On this lucky day, Bacon kept cautiously placing one paw on my lap and then scurrying away, until after ten minutes or so of dithering he finally walked himself into my lap.
He didn’t stay long — Bacon is a creature of perpetual motion when he’s first freed from his crate. But I was thrilled just the same. There’s something very special about earning a cat’s trust and approval.
That’s all the news that’s fit to print for now! Here’s hoping for an early spring for us and continued health for Bacon.