My cat tree!

Chester here! Mom wants me to post old pictures tell more about my first months in NYC. 

In August 2011, I got a cat tree!

Mom and dad moved it to my room for a few months and now it's in their bedroom - next to that big piece of furniture with the tv. So if you think you have seen this cat tree before, you're right. I used it to get to the top of the "ar mwar" a month back!

Another window sill and another sink!

Chester here. I'm taking over blogging duties so I don't have to be stuck in the comments section! 

For everyone who's new here, mommy switches between telling the story of how I first came to my new home and reporting on stuff going on now.   I'm going back to July 2011 -  that's when I've been in my forever home about a month. And when I found another window sill and another sink!

See all of those trees behind me? That's Central Park!

How great is this place!?! Mom took this when I was fast asleep. You can see all of my patterning - I have stripes on my flanks and my legs! But I have spots on my back and sides!

See that piece of paper? That came with something mommy and daddy bought called Eye Envy. I hate the stuff but I have to admit that it *does* get all of the brown from my tearing off of my nose and around my eyes. And I bet you didn't know I have a pink nose. Oh yeah - I'M IN THE SINK!

 Still here!

Just checking things out. That spoon is dirty!

And that's the tour of the sink!

I can't wait until the summer comes back - that sink was a comfy place!

-Chester

Chester's sporting a shorter 'do

Like many cats during this time of year, Chester is shedding his winter coat. His winter coat is extra plushy and dense. There's so much fur that comes off after a good grooming that lately our garbage bin looks like a bag of cotton balls exploded in it.

Shortly after Chester arrived in NY, he started shedding his Spring coat. It was also about the time that he discovered the window sills. Even in a high rise building overlooking a highway, there's lots to keep a cat interested! These pictures are from July 16, 2011.

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.

Exotic Shorthair Chester has other ideas

Chester arrived on Sunday and by Monday morning he wanted out of the safe rooms! I let him out for "supervised visits" to the kitchen/dining room/living room of our apartment before I left for work and after I arrived home. My husband (he doesn't have an internet presence so I won't be using his name) wasn't thrilled that I wasn't following the plan and letting him out of his rooms, but on Tuesday A. was ok with the boy hanging out with us in the living room at night. Now we had to cat-proof the rest of the apartment quickly instead of in the two weeks we thought we had!

Making Exotic Shorthair Chester feel welcome and comfortable

After Chester meditated (or whatever it was that he was doing!), he was ready to check things out. My husband was following my lead on what to do. After all, I grew up with cats! I said we should each introduce ourselves by taking turns rubbing his cheeks.

I was expecting Chester to run for cover under the futon after that. The cat expert at the cat show said Chester would be afraid to be in a new house and that he needed a safe room - well, in our case two safe rooms - and experience taught me that's what cats do. And...

poor Chester

 this was his third home, he was all ready to board a flight and then was bumped, and to make matters worse, he had to be separated from the other cats at the cattery the night before for fighting!

Well, he didn't hide under a bed...