I took Dolly for a walk today, and brought her over to Tom’s apartment. She started freaking out as soon as we got outside. I set her down and she would have bolted if it wasn’t for the leash. She was alright when we got to Tom’s place, and she set herself in a steady pounce position in front of his birdcage. When I got back, I set her down outside the apartment door to unlock it, and as soon as the door was open she rushed back in again. I guess she’s really comfortable and secure in her little controlled area. I really wish I knew how she reacted the first time she was let out, but I probably won’t be trying it again anytime soon. That means that I’ll probably end up not even bothering with the microchip operation.

I’m catching Dolly up on the kitchen counters lately. She’s never had the gall to do so before. Nick’s theory is that she was really bored and knew she was alone during the Christmas holidays, so she just jumped up one day and learned that it’s possible. She knows that she’s not supposed to because as soon as she hears one of us walking to the kitchen, she’ll jump down to the floor and give us the honest kitty look. The one where she stands at attention with the big eyes, head slightly tilted to one side. Yeah. She’s an evil kitty.

I’ve been told that Dolly has calmed down now that I’m here. When it was just Nick and Allison, Dolly would jump on them and jump off right away, or go scratching things like crazy. Or if they left to take out the garbage, Dolly would come crazy meowing at the door when they got back five minutes later as if they’d been gone another week. I had to comb her for a while, and must have removed about 10 times the hair I normally do. She’s back to her old self again, except she seems even more affectionate this time, with the headbutting and the lap napping. She seems to want to keep track of everyone now, so she’ll only sleep where she can see everyone, such as on the couch arm if we’re in the living room, or at the juncture of our rooms if we’re in there.

This is Dolly’s way of saying she wants to go with me.

I’m bringing Patches to the vet on Wednesday with Trolley’s help. He’s been shitting on the carpet fairly consistently, in front of Nick’s blue couch. At least he stopped urinating, which was much more difficult to deal with. I doubt this entire thing is health related because he doesn’t seem to be in any pain, although cats are known to hide their pain very well. Dolly still attacks him and has somehow become the alpha male of the house. Patches will back off if she wants food but he’s already eating. I wish I could keep him because he’s a very affectionate cat who’s too old to be moved around anymore, but I think he’s unhappy here. Rob will hopefully end up adopting him, because he also grew up with Patches when he was growing up with Aaron.