Pandemic Laundry

Laundry is fun!

My human and I disagree about something. She thinks laundry day is a chore. I think it's a lot of fun! 

Something I've noticed over the years is that there is more laundry in the winter than in the summer. In the winter the clothes have longer sleeves and include more socks. Now I see that a summer of COVID brings even less laundry than usual. There were no pairs of long pants in the laundry yesterday, for example, and the piles weren't really big enough to be worth making a bed of. My human calls that a "small silver lining." I am not sure what that means. The laundry piles were small, but I didn't notice any silver coloration. I think it must be a metaphor, but human metaphors are strange. Does anyone out there have any insight on this one?

The piles were very small.

Vets and Vaccines

Feeling pretty sick

Yesterday was awful. My housemate and I had to go to the vet. Vets are bad enough, but to get there you have to go in a car. So even before I got there I was feeling pretty sick and my paws were sweating. Then the vet stuck me with a big needle. 

I was surprised to learn that this needle was a vaccine. My humans have been talking about vaccines a lot lately, and every time they do you can hear a hopeful note in their voices. It is clear that they think a vaccine is a Very Good Thing. They can't wait to get one. So have my humans finally gone crazy?

As it turns out, no. Vaccines are highly unpleasant, but they prevent much, much more unpleasant things. Like rabies, which is a very unpleasant way to die. Family lore tells of the household dog being attacked by a rabid raccoon a few years before I was born. The dog's vaccination saved him, but the raccoon died.

Not having to worry

Upon reflection, the needle was not such a big thing compared to knowing that I don't have to worry about rabies. Similarly, my humans are looking forward to not having to worry about covid-19. 

Bring on the vaccine!

COVID-Still

I have continued to monitor the symptoms of the newly identified Covid-And Stress Syndrome in humans. For a little while, my humans and the humans they interact with via their screens seemed to be recovering. They were exhibiting less stress-induced behavior; they were smiling and laughing more often. (These two strange communicative behaviors in humans are usually a sign of well-being.) They seemed to be adjusting to a "new normal," and my housemates and I started settling into a pleasant new life in which we had more human company without the extra stress that the humans brought home with them when they first started staying at home back in the early spring. 

Lately, though, their recovery has gotten a bit derailed. I am calling this phase of the Covid-And Stress Syndrome "Covid-Still." They are becoming troubled by the fact that they are still at home and the virus is still rampaging through the country and there is still no end in sight. Human behavior tends to change with the seasons, and many of them had expected things to change for the better in time for the fall season. Now those hopes are dwindling, and the humans are having to make yet another adjustment of expectations. Added to this there is the fact that the outpouring of mutual support and creativity with which many humans countered the onset of the pandemic is running out.

So you may find your humans getting irritable and twitchy again. If they feel dull and dry, don't be surprised. 

Direct their attention.

You may both benefit.

So what's a cat to do? You may be able to direct their attention to restorative activities that can brighten their mood. One such activity is gardening. Some of them may not realize that now is in fact a great season to start some seeds. If you can get them to plant some grass for you while they're at it, you will both benefit.

Otherwise, it may be time to call on your own reserves of patience. 

Patience required.