Poor Romeo, now an inside-only cat, welcomes you to another Feline Friday. He’s adjusted pretty well, no longer tries to break for freedom whenever a door opens. Instead, he runs to the door, then falls on his side in a show of passive resistance. If I’m coming into the house, I have to then slide him a bit farther back from the door in order to finish my entrance, then close the door quickly behind me, just in case he breaks for freedom. But he’s learning.

He is still on guard, though, even though it’s from a safe vantage point in the house. Every once in a while, he will let out a long, low moaning yowl. That’s a sign that “black cat,” the interloper from next door, has made an appearance. Sometimes black cat is just out at the edge of the yard, but at other times he takes advantage of the cover of darkness to walk right up onto the deck and within a couple of feet of Romeo’s position.

And Romeo did have a mental breakthrough in his dealing with the new harness. For the first time, he took more than a couple of steps, and made it all the way down the stairs and onto the grass before stopping. And he was rewarded! There was black cat, over on the side of the yard. Romeo saw him, made eye contact, and black cat slowly retreated. It was a Romeo victory despite his restraints.

Elsewhere on the cat front, Ms. Kili hasn’t had any problem adjusting to her new insulin. It’s been a couple of weeks. I’ve only tested her glucose level once since starting insulin, and it had dropped right down to a safe level. Now I’ll have to test more regularly for a bit to see whether the dosage should be changed up or down.

And Wally’s appetite or, more accurately, lack of appetite, continues to be a major issue. This week I broke down and opened a can of people tuna. That cheered her up, and got the systems running for at least the next day or so. She picks at the foods I offer her, sometimes favoring one, then ignoring it when its presented again. I know she’s on a downward slide, and several rounds of testing have failed to come up with a diagnosis. Given her age, we’ve held back from more intrusive testing, and consider her now in hospice care. It’s a tough corner to turn, but we’ve been here before in our long line of feline succession.

–> Check out all of today’s Friday Felines!