One good thing was a visit by my friend Tonya! She totally spoiled Brownie...this cat will be impossible for the next few days...totally expects me to sit around and pat her all day!
Tonya spent a good part of the visit scrounging up old projects and lots of orphan blocks from every corner of the house! (trust me there were a lot of blocks!) She is trying very hard to convince me to be more "liberated" and adventurous in my mixing of fabrics. I am much more adventurous than say, 4-5 years ago but still not able to totally cut loose. Tonya tried mixing my repro crumb blocks with some Moda reds and greens with some brights and Kaffe...I felt like one of the martian in the movie Mars Attacks when their brains explode!!!
There were some less stressful projects like these Carolina Crossroad blocks that ended up in a mislabeled box when we moved back from England. (Yes I still have some boxes I haven't unpacked....)
And these Cowgirl Sampler blocks from when I taught some new quilters...
We also went through some fabric scrap boxes...why I thought needed to save these "strings" I'm not sure!
Now a question for you cat experts out there. Since my dog Mac passed away last week my male cat, Dobby, has been a mess. He is chasing the two older cats around the house, he will not allow me to pet him, an he is just being really aggressive and "confused." He and Mac were really close. When Dobby came into the house 2-1/2 years ago the other two cats wanted nothing to do with him. Mac on the other hand, cleaned him, played with him and kept the peace when the cat fights began. Is there any way to hasten this adjustment of "power" in the house? Today for the first time Dobby destroyed a pillow...he is getting out of control!
19 comments:
I know it sounds trite or insensitive, but maybe he really needs another dog friend. So sad, we just cannot understand what our pets think or feel or if they wonder what has happened.
I am sooo not liberated in my quilting and can totally understand the exploding brain. : )
I really like your Carolina Crossroads blocks.
I wish you well in finding ways to help Dobby. So tough to not be able to communicate with a pet in a situation like that.
I agree with hared regarding another dog friend. Dobby is grieving, I feel, and in his own little cat way is showing how much he misses his canine friend. Any cat psychologists in your area? Dr. Michael Fox, a renowned veterinarian, has a website - http://drfoxvet.com/info/. Here is what he says about animals grieving:
While some animals (not unlike some people) show little or no reaction to another's death, many indeed do. What they cognitively process about death and dying is an educated guess for us who witness their behavior.
Giving animals the opportunity to see the body of the deceased is wise, because many cats and other animals do seem to comprehend and most certainly grieve.
I'm glad you and Tonya had a good visit... and dug up orphan blocks as well as unearthed more planned projects too.
I'm sorry I can't help with Dobby's behavior... poor kitty!
I'm not a cat expert by any stretch of the imagination but I wonder if giving Dobby something that belonged to Mac and has his smell on it would help. A toy or blanket that he could have in his bed. I know when my Grandmother passed away having her eyeglasses on my nightstand helped. It just made me think of her when I saw them. Like I said I'm not an expert but it might be worth a try. Just a suggestion.
I'm not a cat expert by any stretch of the imagination but I wonder if giving Dobby something that belonged to Mac and has his smell on it would help. A toy or blanket that he could have in his bed. I know when my Grandmother passed away having her eyeglasses on my nightstand helped. It just made me think of her when I saw them. Like I said I'm not an expert but it might be worth a try. Just a suggestion.
I like Donna's suggestion. I was going to suggest a plush animal that looked like Mac, but her suggestion is better.
my Carolina Crossroads and yours are the same color scheme - mine ended up being named "Red, White & Blue, and Tigger, Too" because the only light fabric i had was a Pooh and Tigger print ... i dunno anything about cats, but i do know how much i wanted to hit, scream, kick, scratch and punch something when my mom died - poor Dobby ... and poor you.
Poor Dobby! He must really be grieving for his buddy. All I can suggest is extra TLC & patience. If you can't pet him maybe he will play with a string or a feather.
a private lesson with tonya must have been fun
I know what you mean though I am still struggling with being very liberated...a tiny bit I can handle!
sorry about Dobby I just think he is grieving in his own way.
Kathie
Poor Dobby...
Love your ufo's (from Mars) :o) you have some pretty projects on the go!
Maybe you should discuss the matter of Dobby's grief with your Veternarian. They have meds and advice about these matters, just like in humans. Poor Dobby.
Sounds like Dobby is going through the cat stages of grieving. Remember a few days ago, he was depressed, now he is angry. I would let the outbursts go for a couple of days and see if it works itself out. It also seems he is making a "power play" for dominance. Trying to take Mac's place at the top of the pyramid.
Hope Dobby is back on track soon. Hang in there Mom!
Oh poor kitty!! Sorry I wouldn't know what to do except just try and be patient - He is expressing in his own way what you are feeling...
How fun Tonya came to play. I love how liberated she is, but her freedom would scare me lol
I still have Carolina Crossroads on my to do list!!
I don't know if it will help Dobby through his stages of grief, but I tie a big group of those "silly-to-save-these" stings onto the end of a stick to dangle in front of my cats to play.
I think that Dobby is just expressing his grief...his world has changed, he has lost his best mate and he doesn't understand why....he's probably feeling lonely and abandoned, I think he just needs time...poor little fellow, his heart is broken.....
time, just time.......
oh yeah, the 30's and repros look awesome together - just need a bit of integration. try it, you'll like it... go ahead and make new crumby block combing both - that can be the tie. glad i was able to give brownie lots of love - she's a sweetie. a demon sweetie, but sweet all the same.
Wow! A visit from Tonya - what a treat. Sorry poor Dobby is having such a difficult time adjustng to MacBeth's absence. Love seeing he photo of all the orphan blocks. It gives me hope for mine!
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