Chester, people, his table, and fireworks

The days that Chester was with us was turning into weeks. A.'s allergies and asthma were not acting up so we didn't have to fall back on our contingency plan which was giving the boy to A.'s cousin in Minneapolis. 

Growing up, there were always cats in the house because my sister had - um - a thing for taking in strays. Which meant the cats could play with each other, go outside, or nap in any number of places. But they - including the Siamese Neffie who sat on my back at night while I slept - didn't require our constant attention. Chester, however, had to be in the center of everything - and it was getting exhausting!

The beginning of July 2011, Chester had a new favorite spot - the dining room table. Just an aside that we were still using contact lens solution around his eyes and nose. It wasn't doing a very good job, though, and the boy's nose is crusty. We soon purchased something called Eye Envy which did the trick in cleaning his face.

I moved my 2 antique Lucky Cats into my clothes closet. I have a few on display but these are the ones that are easy to replace!

My friend calls this picture ode to a lost whisker

Yes, his fur is as soft as it looks. Even the orange fur! He has tabby coloring but it feels like cotton balls.

July 4th fireworks were going off over the water and we invited friends to watch. It was also a great opportunity for the locals who "met" Chester online to meet him in person - and help this new mommy give the furboy the attention he deserved!  He was such a charmer - I couldn't believe it. When he wasn't on the couch accepting rubs and pets, he was on the dining room rug taking in everything. That included keeping tabs on the dining room table. It wasn't where it was supposed to be - we moved it against the far wall. And it was covered with food. Chester was patient - but there came a time where he needed to reclaim his table! After a couple of hours, there he was eying the table, butt maneuvering, getting ready to jump. A few of us saw what was happening and intercepted him after he landed on the tabletop - luckily not on anything. In true Chester fashion, he just walked away after he was returned to the floor and did something else.

He didn't mind the fireworks - except during the finale where so many fireworks went off at the same time and for a couple of minutes. I sat with him and petted him and soothed him with my voice during that period - he was in the corner and was still - which was unusual for him. I realized he did have his limits and felt kind of bad for complaining about him being a handful. He made an instant recovery once the fireworks were over but from then on - whenever motorcycles pass on the highway or helicopters fly by - I'm there by his side to let him know everything's ok.