Poobert had it very rough before we found him. He was a stray kitten, starving and struggling to survive in a big, scary world. To this day it shapes who he is. Most cats are independent, aloof and adventurous. He is none of those things. He's needy and friendly, but most of all, timid. Open the front door for him, and he'll act like he's interested in what lies beyond the threshold before retreating. Don't give him enough attention, and he'll cry until you pet him for at least five minutes.
The first time we turned on a ceiling fan in our house, he hid for about a week. It took us that long to figure out what what was triggering his problem. A ceiling fan seems like a very ordinary, non-threatening thing, but it wasn't to him. I can only imagine the terror he saw when he looked up and saw those blades slowly turning for the first time.
That's not to say that he's scared of everything. Sometimes he tries to make friends with things he should be scared of. One time I found him trying to make friends with a wasp that had come into our house uninvited. He was trying to have playtime with it. I had to swiftly kill his newfound friend and explain to him the difference between real friends and things he should stay the eff away from. He was sad, but I did him a huge favor.
All of those stories lead to this: Poobert needs love and encouragement - perhaps more than any other pet I've been around. He needs reassurance that he's safe and that everything's going to be OK. He knows how scary the world can be, and it seems like most of his smaller fears all lead to the larger fear of things going back to how they were before he was adopted. For that reason, my wife and I are always telling him "good job." Good job cleaning out your bowl at dinner, Poobert. Good job watching for the pizza guy at the front door. Good job not puking all over the place today. Good job sleeping. Even when he's not doing anything extraordinary, even when he's doing something weird or kinda dumb we tell him he's doing a good job. He needs to hear it.
Poobert only went 15-18 on his picks last week. Good job, Poobert.
This Week's Picks:
The first time we turned on a ceiling fan in our house, he hid for about a week. It took us that long to figure out what what was triggering his problem. A ceiling fan seems like a very ordinary, non-threatening thing, but it wasn't to him. I can only imagine the terror he saw when he looked up and saw those blades slowly turning for the first time.
That's not to say that he's scared of everything. Sometimes he tries to make friends with things he should be scared of. One time I found him trying to make friends with a wasp that had come into our house uninvited. He was trying to have playtime with it. I had to swiftly kill his newfound friend and explain to him the difference between real friends and things he should stay the eff away from. He was sad, but I did him a huge favor.
All of those stories lead to this: Poobert needs love and encouragement - perhaps more than any other pet I've been around. He needs reassurance that he's safe and that everything's going to be OK. He knows how scary the world can be, and it seems like most of his smaller fears all lead to the larger fear of things going back to how they were before he was adopted. For that reason, my wife and I are always telling him "good job." Good job cleaning out your bowl at dinner, Poobert. Good job watching for the pizza guy at the front door. Good job not puking all over the place today. Good job sleeping. Even when he's not doing anything extraordinary, even when he's doing something weird or kinda dumb we tell him he's doing a good job. He needs to hear it.
Poobert only went 15-18 on his picks last week. Good job, Poobert.
This Week's Picks:
Game | jlb1705 | Poobert |
---|---|---|
Baylor (-17.0) at Texas Tech |
| |
West Virginia (+6.0) at Oklahoma | ||
Minnesota (+4.0) at Northwestern | ||
Iowa (+6.0) at Wisconsin | ||
Texas (+14.5) at TCU | ||
Alabama (+2.5) at Georgia | ||
Kansas State (+8.0) at Oklahoma State | ||
Mississippi State (+7.0) at Texas A&M | ||
Notre Dame (-1.0) at Clemson | ||
Ohio State (-21.0) at Indiana |
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